Presentation
Stages: Tashkent – Khujand – Artouch – Samarkand – Bukhara – Tashkent
Description: Combined tour of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan for 12 days / 11 nights from €1795.
Day 1: TashkentArrive in the morning in Tashkent. Airport reception. Transfer and installation at the hotel. Visit to Tashkent. Lunch and dinner in town. Night at the hotel.
Day 2: Tashkent – Khujand
Breakfast at the hotel and departure for Khujand. Customs formalities and crossing the Uzbek-Tajik border. Change of team and road to Khujand. Arrival and settling in with the locals.
Khujand, second important city of Tajikistan, close to the borders of Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, created by Alexander the Great under the name of Alexandria Eskhatè, “ultimate Alexandria”, that is to say the most remote Alexandria . It was called Leninabad before the country’s independence.
Visit the city of Khujand, regional museum and the city market. The city is the regional capital of Sughd province, formerly Leninobod. The city is populated by 149,000 inhabitants.
In 323 BC. BC, after his marriage to Roxane and before undertaking the Indian campaign, Alexander left his headquarters at Maracanda (Samarkand) for Tashkent, to the south of which, on the Jaxartes (Syr-Daria), he ordered the construction of a trading city and fortress which he named Alexandria Eskhaté. It is at this precise location that the great river leaves the mountain massif to spread out peacefully over a large fertile plain. Beyond, began the lands of the nomadic warrior tribes of the Sakes (Scythians) and the Massagetae, whom Alexander never dared to confront.
Lunch and dinner in town and night at a local’s home.
Day 3: Khujand- LAKE ALOUDDIN (158 km)
Departure for Lake Alouddin. Discovery of the splendid mountain landscapes on the road and arrival at the Alouddin mountaineers’ camp. Getting to know the local team: mountain guide, cook and mulitiers. Continuation of the road (1 hour walk) on foot towards Lake Alouddin. Arrival and installation of tents. Bivouac by the lake. Alouddin is a splendid lake which has a turquoise color and is located at an altitude of 2780 meters.
Day 4: LAKE ALOUDDIN – LAKE MOUTNIY – LAKE ALOUDDIN
Departure towards Lake Moutniy located at the altitude (3540 m). Picnic. Magnificent views of the peaks: Energuya (5120 m), Zamok (5070 m) Tchimtarga peak (5489 m). At the end of the day, return to the bivouac.
Day 5: LAKE ALOUDDIN – LAKE KOULIKALON
Great day of hiking to reach the splendid Kouli-Kalon lake and discover beautiful panoramas. Today we pass a pass named Alauddin (3850 m) with a height difference of around 1000 m, from where we have a view of the emerald-colored Lake Alauddin (2780 m), as well as the snow-capped peaks. Picnic. Descent into the valley and meet the Tajik shepherds, and setting up tents on the banks of Lake Koulikalon (2800 m).
Day 6: LAKE KOULIKALON – LAKE TCHOUKOURAK – ARTOUCH
The hike requires 6 hours of walking, on a good shepherds’ path, and with an elevation gain of around 695 m. The start again will be that of magnificent landscapes, glaciers, snow-capped peaks, crystal clear lake… Picnic at noon. Descent (-760 m) towards Lake Tchoukourak (2400 m). Continue to the Artouch mountaineers’ camp. Installation of tents. Hot dinner in the evening. Bivouac.
Day 7: ARTOUCH – KHODJENT (195 km)
Departure by car for Khujand. Arrival and settling in with the locals. Dinner and night.
Day 8: KHODJENT – Samarkand (260 km)
Transfer by 4×4 to the border. After crossing the Tajik-Uzbek border, we take our mini-bus back to Samarkand. Arrival and installation at the hotel.
Day 9: Samarkand
Capital of Timur (Tamerlane), Samarkand was the main city of ancient Sogdiana. It prospered at the crossroads of the great trade routes coming from China, Siberia, Persia and the West, until the surge of the Mongol hordes of Genghis Khan who destroyed the city. Samarkand’s hour of glory came two centuries later, when Timur made it the capital of his empire. The marvelous madrasas of Registan Square (15th-17th century), decorated with dazzling earthenware, will allow us to better understand the multiple influences which will mark the evolution of Timurid architecture. The Bibi Khanum Mosque and the Shakhi-Zinda Mausoleum. The mausoleum of Roukhabad and Gour-Emir, tomb of the great conqueror which preserves the remains of Timur, his sons and his grandsons. Lunch and dinner in town. Night at the hotel.
Day 10: Samarkand-Bukhara Departure to Bukhara. Arrival and installation at the hotel.
Day 11: Bukhara – Tashkent
Visit to Bukhara. This city located in the Zerafshan valley still retains its authentic charm. It was one of the important cities of the Silk Road, where all the traders rushed to sell their goods, especially carpets and jewelry. Although Islam originated elsewhere, it was Bukhara that was the center of development of this religion. The city is home to hundreds of Islamic schools, madrasas, and as many mosques and tombs of saints. The historical monuments take us back to the medieval period and even well before: The Ark (the citadel) I-IV century, the whole of Poï-Kalian 15th-16th century, Kosh madrasa of Oulougbek and Abdoulaziz Khan 15th century -17th century, the whole of Liabi-Khaouz 16th -17th century.
Transfer to Bukhara airport and flight to Tashkent. Arrival and installation at the hotel.
Day 12: Tashkent – Europe
Return flight to Europe.
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