Uzbekistan & Tajikistan Silk Road & Fan Mountains: Self-Launched 11-Day Adventure

Land at Tashkent airport and take the metro or a Yandex Go taxi (£2-4) to a hostel or guesthouse in the centre. Spend the afternoon exploring the Old City on foot: Khast Imam complex (home of the Uthman Quran), Chorsu Bazaar and the Museum of Applied Arts. Ride a few metro stations — the Soviet-era stations are attractions in themselves. Many city guides offer short walking tours for £15-25; otherwise the sights are self-explanatory and cheap to enter (most under £3).

🚌Airport to city: metro or Yandex Go taxi, ~£3

🛏Central Tashkent hostel or guesthouse (private room £14-18)

• →Khast Imam Complex
• →Chorsu Bazaar
• →Museum of Applied Arts
• →Tashkent metro station-hopping

Book the Afrosiyob high-speed train from Tashkent to Bukhara in advance online (or via the UzRailways app) — roughly £15-20 in second class, about 4 hours. Check into a guesthouse in the Old Town, then walk the classic circuit: Lyab-i Hauz pond, the three trade domes (Taki Sarrafon, Taki Telpakfurushon, Taki Zargaron), the Jewish quarter with its synagogue, the Ark Citadel, Kalyan Minaret and Mosque, and the Ismail Samani and Chashma Ayub mausoleums. Bukhara's core is compact and best seen on foot — a half-day local guide runs about £25 if you want history explained.

🚌Afrosiyob high-speed train Tashkent–Bukhara, ~£18

🛏Old Town Bukhara guesthouse or small hotel (private room £15-20)

• →Lyab-i Hauz
• →Taki trade domes
• →Ark Citadel
• →Kalyan Minaret & Mosque
• →Ismail Samani Mausoleum
• →Chashma Ayub Mausoleum
• →Jewish quarter & synagogue

Hire a bike or take a shared taxi/marshrutka north of the city to Sitorai Mokhi-Khosa, the Emir's summer palace (£2 entry), then continue to the Bahauddin Naqshbandi mausoleum and necropolis, an important pilgrimage site. Back in the centre, browse the covered bazaars and caravanserais. In the evening, opt for the famous Bukhara hammam (£10-15) and a folk music and dance show at the Nadir Divan Begi madrasah (£5-8).

🚌Bike hire or shared taxi to palace and shrine, ~£5

🛏Old Town Bukhara guesthouse or small hotel (private room £15-20)

• →Sitorai Mokhi-Khosa Summer Palace
• →Bahauddin Naqshbandi necropolis
• →Bukhara hammam
• →Folk music & dance show at Nadir Divan Begi

Take the morning train Bukhara to Samarkand (around 2-3 hours, £8-12) and check into a hostel near the Registan. Spend the afternoon at Registan Square and the surrounding madrasahs, then browse Siab Bazaar and the Bibi-Khanym area. Take a marshrutka or cheap taxi out to Konigil village on the outskirts to see traditional silk paper-making at the Samarkand paper mill — free to visit, paper souvenirs from £3. Lunch at a local chayhana costs about £3-4.

🚌Train Bukhara–Samarkand ~£10; shared taxi to Konigil ~£3

🛏Samarkand hostel near Registan (private room £14-18)

• →Registan Square
• →Siab Bazaar
• →Bibi-Khanym Mosque
• →Konigil silk paper workshop

A full day exploring Samarkand's monuments on foot and by tram: Gur Emir mausoleum where Timur is buried, the Shahi Zinda mausoleum avenue (best in morning light), Ulugh Beg Observatory and the Afrosiab Museum with its 7th-century murals. A combined ticket for several sites works out to around £8-10. Grab plov for lunch and finish with a walk through the old mohalla lanes — plenty of free viewpoints over Registan from the raised terrace opposite.

🚌Local tram/taxi between sites, ~£3

🛏Samarkand hostel near Registan (private room £14-18)

• →Gur Emir Mausoleum
• →Shahi Zinda necropolis
• →Ulugh Beg Observatory
• →Afrosiab Museum

Hire a driver (£40-60 shared between 2-4 people) from Samarkand to the Jartepa border crossing, walk across the border into Tajikistan, and pick up another shared taxi or arrange a driver to Penjikent. Visit the Rudaki Museum and the Ancient Penjikent ruins of the Sogdian city, then continue up the Zeravshan valley to the Seven Lakes (Marguzor). Stay at a lakeside guesthouse or homestay — dinner and breakfast usually included for £15-20. Note: some nationalities need a Tajik visa/e-visa (~£25) — check before you travel.

🚌Shared driver Samarkand–border–Penjikent–Marguzor, ~£35 per person when shared

🛏Marguzor lakeside homestay (full board, £18-22)

• →Jartepa border crossing on foot
• →Rudaki Museum
• →Ancient Penjikent ruins
• →Marguzor Lakes drive

Drive on to Artuch alpine camp (shared 4x4, about £15-20 per person from Marguzor) where the road ends. From here, hike roughly 8km up to the Kulikalon Lakes basin — a steady climb of 3-4 hours past the Bolshoi and Maly Kulikalon lakes. You can day-hike back down and overnight at Artuch camp (£12-15 dorm or tent), or camp wild near the lake with your own gear. Pack a picnic and plenty of water; no shops up here.

🚌Shared 4x4 Marguzor–Artuch, ~£18

🛏Artuch alpine camp dormitory or wild camp

• →Kulikalon Lakes hike (8km)
• →Fann Mountains scenery
• →Picnic by the lakes

Arrange a shared 4x4 from Artuch back down the valley and south to Iskandarkul Lake (roughly £25-35 per person when shared). Walk along the lake shore and continue up to see the 'Fan Niagara' waterfall, a thundering cascade close to the lake. Lunch in a lakeside chayhana. Overnight in a guesthouse near the lake or in the nearby village of Saritag (about £15-18 with breakfast and dinner).

🚌Shared 4x4 Artuch–Iskandarkul, ~£30

🛏Iskandarkul/Saritag guesthouse (half board, £15-18)

• →Iskandarkul Lake walk
• →Fan Niagara waterfall
• →Fann Mountains viewpoints

A relaxed day in the Fan Mountains: short hikes on village trails with views over the peaks, a visit to a Tajik mountain village to meet locals, and a cooking session learning to make plov, qurutob or flatbread with a host family (£8-10). Evenings in the villages are long and quiet — bring a book, a pack of cards and cash, as there are no ATMs.

🚌On foot / local arrangements, ~£3

🛏Saritag village homestay (half board, £15-18)

• →Village hike
• →Local village visit
• →Tajik cooking class

Take a shared taxi/4x4 from Saritag to Dushanbe through the Varzob gorge and the Istiklol tunnel (roughly £25-40 per person, 4-5 hours). In the afternoon, walk the capital: Navruz Palace (free entry to the gardens), the Museum of Ethnography, the 14m 'Sleeping Buddha' statue next to it, the Ismoili Somoni monument and Rudaki Park. Check into a hostel or budget hotel in the centre — Dushanbe has the best wifi and ATM access of the whole trip, so top up here.

🚌Shared 4x4 Saritag–Dushanbe, ~£32

🛏Central Dushanbe hostel or budget hotel (private room £18-22)

• →Varzob gorge
• →Istiklol tunnel
• →Navruz Palace
• →Museum of Ethnography & Sleeping Buddha
• →Somoni monument
• →Rudaki Park

Depending on your flight time, squeeze in one last wander around Rudaki Park and the Green Bazaar for dried fruit and spices before heading to Dushanbe airport. Note the original tour ends back at Tashkent — if you need to fly out of Tashkent instead, look at direct Dushanbe–Tashkent flights (from about £70-100) or book your international return from Dushanbe.

🚌Taxi to Dushanbe airport ~£4; optional Dushanbe–Tashkent flight ~£80

🛏N/A — departure day

• →Green Bazaar
• →Rudaki Park morning walk