In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great

This morning we board the high speed train from Tashkent to the ancient city of Samarkand. We won't be able to check in to our rooms until 14:00 but we will leave our main luggage at the hotel. The rest of the day is dedicated to sightseeing of Samarkand’s major attra...

After breakfast we head out for more Samarkand sightseeing, covering the remains of meridian quadrant of Ulugh Beg’ observatory which allowed Samarkand's astronomers to produce the most accurate calibration of the stars position. Their outstanding body of work compris...

This morning we check out and head to the train station to board the high speed train once again, this time to Bukhara. Bukhara is one of the most ancient cities of Uzbekistan, situated on the sacred hill, it is supposed to have been founded in the 13th Century BC dur...

Today we continue our exploration of the ancient walled city of Bukhara. During our two days in Bukhara we'll visit the mausoleum of the founder of the Samanid dynasty the plans of which are based on the geometric pattern of a Buddhist mandala, Bukhara’s citadel belte...

Today we drive to Shakhrisabz. Along the way we will visit the sights of Nautaka (present day Karshi) located on the banks of the Limpid River (Kashkadarya). In Nautaka, Alexander the Great and his army passed two winters and planned his Indian campaign. Here we will...

This morning we explore more of Shahrisabz before continuing south to Baysun. Baysun is a picturesque region situated in the grand Ketmen-Chapti massif. Its deeply rooted folk traditions were included on UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. A vis...

After a leisurely start we leave Baysun and begin our drive to the rarely visited city of Denau, located close to the Tajikistan border. On arrival we will take in some of the city's sights before continuing onwards Sangardak Waterfall, Uzbekistan's tallest. The falls...

This morning we drive south to visit the well-preserved, C12 corrugated Jarkurgan Minaret. The road passes through numerous rural villages along the Baisuntau Ridge with peaks soaring up to 4000m. We cross at the Sariosiyo border point and once in the Tajik territory ...

With a rural hinterland of grassy pastures and snow-capped mountains visible from downtown, Dushanbe is a delightful city built around parks, lakes and fountains. Dushanbe's origins stretch back some 3,000 years though the city grew from a village into a city under So...

Today we leave the city behind and transfer to the legendary Lake Iskanderkul (Alexander's lake) via the picturesque Varzob gorge and Anzob tunnel. Iskanderkul is a mountain lake of glacial origin in Tajikistan's Sughd Province. It lies at an altitude of 2,195m on the...

Today we set off for Khujand our route will lay through the mountain pass “Shakhristan”. Along the way we will visit the ancient city of Kiropolis, present day Istravshan, founded by Persian King Cyrus in 7th century B.C. We will explore the old city with its bazaar K...

Today we will get around Khujand and visit its main sights such as Sheikh Maslikhiddin Mausoleum and Mosque (XIV-XIX c.c.), Payshambe bazaar and Country estate of Urumkhodjaev family which bears resemblance to the palace of Russian tsars in Petergof. After lunch we c...