Eastern Caravan — Fergana, Rishtan, Kokand, Tashkent, Samarkand, Gijduvan, Bukhara — 8 Days
Most travelers know Uzbekistan through Samarkand and Bukhara — and miss the green, fertile Fergana Valley, where the country’s craft traditions actually live. This tour starts right there: with the clay-stained hands of Rishtan’s potters and the khan’s palace in Kokand, before crossing a mountain pass into the equally striking, if more familiar, classics.
A 10-day version continuing on to Khiva and Urgench is available on request.
Route
Fergana/Namangan → Rishtan → Kokand → Tashkent → Samarkand → Gijduvan → Bukhara.
Why this tour
- The only route in our catalog that starts in the Fergana Valley — most tours don’t mention it at all.
- Two pottery centers in one trip: Rishtan at the start and Gijduvan at the end, so you can compare different schools of blue ceramics.
- The Kamchik pass (2,285 m) is one of the country’s most scenic drives, not just a way to get from A to B.
- At 8 days, this is the right format if you can’t take a two-week vacation but still want to see the country beyond the postcard.
Day by day
- Arrival in Fergana/Namangan, drive to Kokand.
- Kokand: Khudoyar Khan’s palace with its painted halls, the Madari-Khan mausoleum, the Jami mosque. Drive to Rishtan — the workshop of the famous blue pottery, a ceramics demonstration.
- Drive to Tashkent over the Kamchik mountain pass (2,285 m).
- Tashkent: the Khast-Imam complex, Chorsu Bazaar, the old town. Drive to Samarkand.
- Samarkand: Registan Square, the Gur-Emir mausoleum, the Bibi-Khanym mosque, the Shah-i-Zinda ensemble.
- Drive to Gijduvan — a pottery masterclass with the ceramicists, a family-recipe kebab lunch. On to Bukhara in the evening.
- Bukhara: the Samanid mausoleum, the Ark fortress, the Poi-Kalyan ensemble, evening tea by Lyab-i Hauz.
- Transfer to Bukhara airport, departure.
Included (placeholder — confirm before publishing)
- Comfortable air-conditioned transport
- Guide in each city
- Breakfasts, lunch at the plov center and at the Gijduvan ceramicists’ house
- Entrance tickets to listed monuments
Not included
- International flights, insurance
- Dinners not listed in the itinerary
Confirmed hotel categories, guaranteed departure dates and the final price are arranged with your travel consultant at booking.
Upcoming departures
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