Uzbekistan Discovery: 9-Day Adventure – What the Extra Days Add

If you can give Uzbekistan nine days instead of seven, the question is what to do with the extra time. On the Uzbekistan Discovery 9-day adventure, the answer is the countryside between Bukhara and Samarkand and a slower pace in Samarkand. The cities are the same as on the 7-day version — Tashkent, Khiva, Bukhara and Samarkand — but instead of the train from Bukhara you travel by road, stop at a pottery workshop and a medieval caravanserai, and sleep in a yurt camp by a desert lake.

Key facts

• Route: Tashkent – (flight to Urgench) – Khiva – Bukhara – Gijduvan – Aydarkul Lake – Samarkand – Tashkent.
• Duration: 9 days, 8 nights, starting on any day.
• What the extra days add: a ceramics master class in Gijduvan, Rabat-i Malik, a night in a yurt camp near Aydarkul Lake, and a free day in Samarkand.
• Transport: domestic flight to Urgench, road or train to Bukhara, road via the desert to Samarkand, Afrosiyob high-speed train back to Tashkent.
• Accommodation: hotels in the cities, one night in a yurt camp.
• Good for: travellers who want the classic cities plus a taste of rural and desert Uzbekistan.
• Prices: depend on the number of travellers and the season — see the tour page or contact us.

7 days or 9: the difference

The first four days are almost identical to the 7-day Uzbekistan Discovery route: arrival in Tashkent, a morning flight to Urgench and a walk through Khiva's Ichan-Kala, the long desert drive to Bukhara, and a full walking day in Bukhara's old town. On the 9-day tour, a visit to the 9th-century Samanid Mausoleum can be added on request.

From day 5 the routes split:

• 7 days: free time in Bukhara, the train to Samarkand, one sightseeing day there and the train to Tashkent the same evening.
• 9 days: a road day through Gijduvan and Rabat-i Malik to Aydarkul, a night in the desert, a morning in the camp, then two days in Samarkand — one guided, one free — before the train to Tashkent.

Day 5: Gijduvan pottery and Rabat-i Malik

Leaving Bukhara in the morning, the first stop is Gijduvan, a town known for its ceramics. In the workshop of the potter Abdulla Narzullayev you see how the local ware is made and paint a ceramic plate yourself in a short master class.

Further on lies Rabat-i Malik, the remains of a large caravanserai on the old road between Bukhara and Samarkand, with a sardoba — a domed water cistern built for travellers and their animals — standing nearby. It is one of the few places on the route where you can picture what overland travel along the Silk Road actually involved.

Day 5–6: a night at Aydarkul Lake

By the afternoon you reach Aydarkul, a large lake in the Kyzylkum desert. It is not a natural lake: it formed after 1969, when floodwater from the Syr Darya was released into the Arnasay lowland, and it has been fed by the river's overflow ever since. Today it is a long stretch of blue water between sand and steppe.

You spend the night in a yurt camp near the lake. Depending on the season and your wishes, the camp offers a camel or horse ride, a walk in the surroundings or, on request, fishing. The next morning is free in the camp; at about 11:00 you set off for Samarkand, through villages and farmland. Our article on staying in a traditional yurt camp describes what a night in a yurt is like.

Samarkand without rushing

On day 7 a six-hour tour covers Gur-e-Amir, Registan Square, Bibi-Khanym Mosque, the Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, Ulugh Beg's Observatory and Siab Bazaar. Day 8 is free until the evening train to Tashkent, which leaves room for what a one-day visit usually skips: a second, quieter visit to the Registan or Shah-i-Zinda, time in the bazaar, or a cooking class with a local family booked as an extra.

On day 9 you see old and new Tashkent on a five- to six-hour tour — from Amir Timur Square and Independence Square to the Khast Imam complex and Chorsu Bazaar — before your evening flight home.

Practical tips

• Pack a small overnight bag for the yurt camp, so you do not need to open your suitcase in the desert.
• Bring a warm layer and a torch: desert nights are cool, even after a hot day.
• The camel and horse rides are optional; wear long trousers if you plan to ride.
• Plan your free day in Samarkand in advance if you want to add a cooking class or a guided extra.
• Keep your passport in your hand luggage on flight and train days.
• Carry some cash in the local currency for workshops, the camp and bazaars.

Plan it with TravelBliss

The programme of the Uzbekistan Discovery 9-day adventure links the flight to Urgench, the train journeys, hotels, the yurt camp, transfers and local guides — ask us what the tour includes. We can also add the Samanid Mausoleum or extras for your free day. Prices depend on the number of travellers and the season — see the tour page or contact us with your dates.