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Uzbekistan

Tailor-Made Trip

Best Time to Visit:
Spring and Autumn

Accommodation:
Hotels and yurts

Main Highlights:
Monuments, culture, gastronomy

Price Level:
€

Bread here is never cut with a knife, it is broken by hand, and if a piece falls to the ground, it is picked up and placed higher so that no one steps on it. Non, the round bread from the tandoor, accompanies every meal and every ceremony, and each baker stamps its pattern with his own wooden seal called a chekich. You will find the same attention to detail across the country: Samarkand is crowned by Registan Square with its three turquoise madrasas, Bukhara is watched over by the Kalyan Minaret, which even Genghis Khan spared, and medieval Khiva is dominated by the walls of Itchan Kala around the unfinished Kalta Minor minaret. In the east, in the Fergana Valley, weavers in Margilan make silk ikat and potters in Rishtan fire ceramics with a blue iskor glaze. In the west, beyond Tashkent, the Kyzylkum Desert stretches out with Lake Aydarkul. Spend a night in a yurt and ride a camel between the dunes, taste plov cooked in the giant cauldrons of Tashkent's Beshqozon, which UNESCO has listed as intangible heritage, or climb into the Chatkal Mountains above Tashkent towards the summit of Greater Chimgan.

Plan your trip

What to see and do in Uzbekistan

See Registan Square in Samarkand with its three turquoise madrasas or the Kalyan Minaret in Bukhara, which even Genghis Khan spared, and walk through the fortress city of Itchan Kala in Khiva around the Kalta Minor minaret. In Margilan, watch weavers bind and dye silk threads using the abr method, in Rishtan visit potters working with a blue iskor glaze, and in Tashkent let yourself be immersed in the scent of spices beneath the dome of Chorsu Bazaar. Spend a night in a yurt by Lake Aydarkul in the Kyzylkum Desert, ride a camel there, or climb Greater Chimgan (3,309 m) in the Chatkal Mountains.

Places witsh soul

Samarkand

On the facade of Samarkand's Sher-Dor Madrasa, tigers with sun-faced backs attack white deer, even though Islam forbids depicting living creatures. In the 14th century, Samarkand became the capital of Timur's empire, and Registan Square, whose name means 'sandy place' in Persian, became its heart. The oldest of the three madrasas, the Ulugh Beg Madrasa, was built in 1420; Sher-Dor and Tillya-Kori were added two centuries later by Yalangtush Bahodur. You will walk through portals with turquoise mosaics and reach the Gur-e-Amir Mausoleum, where Timur's tomb of dark jade, the largest piece of this stone in the world, lies beneath the dome. The stone was brought in 1425 by Ulugh Beg. After being stolen, it was broken on the orders of Nadir Shah.

Samarkand

On the facade of Samarkand's Sher-Dor Madrasa, tigers with sun-faced backs attack white deer, even though Islam forbids depicting living creatures. In the 14th century, Samarkand became the capital of Timur's empire, and Registan Square, whose name means 'sandy place' in Persian, became its heart. The oldest of the three madrasas, the Ulugh Beg Madrasa, was built in 1420; Sher-Dor and Tillya-Kori were added two centuries later by Yalangtush Bahodur. You will walk through portals with turquoise mosaics and reach the Gur-e-Amir Mausoleum, where Timur's tomb of dark jade, the largest piece of this stone in the world, lies beneath the dome. The stone was brought in 1425 by Ulugh Beg. After being stolen, it was broken on the orders of Nadir Shah.

Kungurbuka

Kungurbuka means 'brown bull' in Turkic languages, although the mountain is famous today for its caves, not cattle. The mountain lies in the Tian Shan range near Chorvoq and the village of Khodjikent, less than two hours' drive from Tashkent, and reaches a height of 1,964 metres. The name dates back to the Turkic Khaganate, and alongside the word kungur (brown) there is also the older ungur (cave), which is supported by the cave system at the summit. The trail leads you past a rock with more than 90 petroglyphs from the 4th to 3rd millennium BC. After a demanding climb with an elevation gain of over 500 metres, you will reach caves with stalactites. In spring, wild tulips will line your route. On the rock, you will find a scene of a procession of mountain goats repeated six times.

Kungurbuka

Kungurbuka means 'brown bull' in Turkic languages, although the mountain is famous today for its caves, not cattle. The mountain lies in the Tian Shan range near Chorvoq and the village of Khodjikent, less than two hours' drive from Tashkent, and reaches a height of 1,964 metres. The name dates back to the Turkic Khaganate, and alongside the word kungur (brown) there is also the older ungur (cave), which is supported by the cave system at the summit. The trail leads you past a rock with more than 90 petroglyphs from the 4th to 3rd millennium BC. After a demanding climb with an elevation gain of over 500 metres, you will reach caves with stalactites. In spring, wild tulips will line your route. On the rock, you will find a scene of a procession of mountain goats repeated six times.

Bukhara

When Genghis Khan leaned back while conquering Bukhara to look up at the top of the Kalyan Minaret, his hat fell off, and unlike the rest of the city, he spared it. The minaret was built in 1127 by the Qarakhanid ruler Arslan Khan as a call to prayer. It later also served as a beacon for caravans lost in the desert around Bukhara. In the 16th century, the Po-i-Kalyan complex grew up around it, with the Mir-i Arab Mosque and Madrasa. You will walk past its turquoise frieze with Kufic script and climb up into old Bukhara with its domed covered bazaars called tok. Until the early 20th century, executions were carried out from the top of the minaret by throwing condemned prisoners off it. Hence its nickname, the Tower of Death.

Bukhara

When Genghis Khan leaned back while conquering Bukhara to look up at the top of the Kalyan Minaret, his hat fell off, and unlike the rest of the city, he spared it. The minaret was built in 1127 by the Qarakhanid ruler Arslan Khan as a call to prayer. It later also served as a beacon for caravans lost in the desert around Bukhara. In the 16th century, the Po-i-Kalyan complex grew up around it, with the Mir-i Arab Mosque and Madrasa. You will walk past its turquoise frieze with Kufic script and climb up into old Bukhara with its domed covered bazaars called tok. Until the early 20th century, executions were carried out from the top of the minaret by throwing condemned prisoners off it. Hence its nickname, the Tower of Death.

Fergana Valley

Margilan, the largest silk-making town in the Fergana Valley, is said to owe its name to a lunch served to Alexander the Great, at which he was offered chicken (murgh in Persian) and bread (non). The valley lies in eastern Uzbekistan between the Tian Shan range and the Alai Mountains and is one of the most densely populated and continuously cultivated areas of Central Asia. Cotton, fruit and silkworms have been cultivated here for over two thousand years. In Margilan, you will see weavers binding and dyeing threads by hand using the abr method, which are then woven into silk atlas on the loom. In Rishtan, you will visit potters working with a blue iskor glaze made from plant ash. In Kokand, you will walk through the Khan's Palace, built in 1873. Of its original 120 rooms, only 19 survived the Russian conquest.

Fergana Valley

Margilan, the largest silk-making town in the Fergana Valley, is said to owe its name to a lunch served to Alexander the Great, at which he was offered chicken (murgh in Persian) and bread (non). The valley lies in eastern Uzbekistan between the Tian Shan range and the Alai Mountains and is one of the most densely populated and continuously cultivated areas of Central Asia. Cotton, fruit and silkworms have been cultivated here for over two thousand years. In Margilan, you will see weavers binding and dyeing threads by hand using the abr method, which are then woven into silk atlas on the loom. In Rishtan, you will visit potters working with a blue iskor glaze made from plant ash. In Kokand, you will walk through the Khan's Palace, built in 1873. Of its original 120 rooms, only 19 survived the Russian conquest.

Experiences that make sense

Samarkand Non Bread

The Emir of Bukhara once had the best baker brought from Samarkand, along with the flour, water and clay for the tandir (clay oven), yet the bread still did not taste the same. Samarkand non is denser and heavier than Tashkent loaves, with a glossy crust and a long shelf life; once dried out, it only needs to be sprinkled with water and warmed up. It is baked exclusively by men at the Siyob Bazaar, which has stood by the Bibi-Khanym Mosque since the time of Timur. You will arrive at the bakery in the dark, press a pattern into the centre of the flatbread with a chekich stamp (a metal comb), and watch the baker stick it to the scorching wall of the tandir, where it bakes to a golden colour within minutes. According to old tradition, a loaf taken on a journey stays hung on the wall at home until the traveller returns.

Samarkandský chléb Non

The Emir of Bukhara once had the best baker brought from Samarkand, along with the flour, water and clay for the tandir (clay oven), yet the bread still did not taste the same. Samarkand non is denser and heavier than Tashkent loaves, with a glossy crust and a long shelf life; once dried out, it only needs to be sprinkled with water and warmed up. It is baked exclusively by men at the Siyob Bazaar, which has stood by the Bibi-Khanym Mosque since the time of Timur. You will arrive at the bakery in the dark, press a pattern into the centre of the flatbread with a chekich stamp (a metal comb), and watch the baker stick it to the scorching wall of the tandir, where it bakes to a golden colour within minutes. According to old tradition, a loaf taken on a journey stays hung on the wall at home until the traveller returns.

Hammam Bozori Kord Baths, Bukhara

Most visitors to Bukhara walk past the Bozori Kord hammam without noticing it, since only a low dome and a small wooden door protrude from the street. The rest of the building is set below the level of the pavement, where the surrounding earth keeps the stone halls warm throughout the day. The bathhouse stands by the Toki Telpak Furushon trading dome and, together with the women's Kunjak bathhouse near the Kalyan Minaret, is one of the last two functioning historic hammams in the city. At the entrance, you will receive slippers, a towel and a lungi (a cotton wrap), and descend into a heated chamber, where an attendant will massage you on a shared stone platform. Afterwards, in the changing room upstairs, you will sit down with a cup of green tea and wait for your body to cool down slowly.

Hammam Bozori Kord Baths, Bukhara

Most visitors to Bukhara walk past the Bozori Kord hammam without noticing it, since only a low dome and a small wooden door protrude from the street. The rest of the building is set below the level of the pavement, where the surrounding earth keeps the stone halls warm throughout the day. The bathhouse stands by the Toki Telpak Furushon trading dome and, together with the women's Kunjak bathhouse near the Kalyan Minaret, is one of the last two functioning historic hammams in the city. At the entrance, you will receive slippers, a towel and a lungi (a cotton wrap), and descend into a heated chamber, where an attendant will massage you on a shared stone platform. Afterwards, in the changing room upstairs, you will sit down with a cup of green tea and wait for your body to cool down slowly.

Navruz

Navruz has survived for three thousand years and was almost broken by the twentieth century. Soviet power condemned it as a relic of the past and suppressed public celebrations, and it only became a state holiday after independence was declared. It is celebrated on 21 March, at the spring equinox, and its roots reach back to pre-Islamic Persia and Zoroastrianism. The main ritual is the cooking of sumalak, a thick sweet porridge made from sprouted wheat, flour and water, without a single grain of sugar added. In the mahalla (traditional neighbourhood), you will join the women who stir a giant cauldron from evening until morning, singing songs about spring as they do so. Whoever then finds in their bowl the pebble that protected the porridge from burning is said to have their wish granted.

Navruz

Navruz has survived for three thousand years and was almost broken by the twentieth century. Soviet power condemned it as a relic of the past and suppressed public celebrations, and it only became a state holiday after independence was declared. It is celebrated on 21 March, at the spring equinox, and its roots reach back to pre-Islamic Persia and Zoroastrianism. The main ritual is the cooking of sumalak, a thick sweet porridge made from sprouted wheat, flour and water, without a single grain of sugar added. In the mahalla (traditional neighbourhood), you will join the women who stir a giant cauldron from evening until morning, singing songs about spring as they do so. Whoever then finds in their bowl the pebble that protected the porridge from burning is said to have their wish granted.

Premium accomodaion

Lotte City Hotel Tashkent Palace

Lotte City Hotels Tashkent Palace is located in the centre of Tashkent at Buyuk Turon 56, about 10 minutes from the airport and 500 metres from Mustaqillik Maydoni metro station. The building dates from 1958 and offers 232 rooms in categories ranging from the Standard Double Room (27 m²) through the Deluxe and Junior Suite (37 and 54 m²) to the Premier Suite (81 m²) and the Luxury Residence with a kitchen and terrace (75 m²). Dining is provided by the Bella Notte restaurant and a rooftop bar serving Italian, Uzbek and Korean cuisine, with breakfast served buffet-style. The hotel offers an outdoor pool, a Finnish sauna, a fitness centre and massage, three conference rooms and free guarded parking.

L'Argamak Samarkand

L'Argamak Hotel is located in the historic centre of Samarkand, about 5 minutes' walk from the Gur-Emir Mausoleum and about 10 minutes from Registan Square. The four-star hotel, built in 2015, is an Uzbek-French partnership. It offers Standard Double and Standard Twin Rooms of 21 m² and Deluxe Double Rooms of 40 m² with a king-size bed, all with air conditioning, satellite TV, a bathtub and a bathrobe. Breakfast is served in the room or on the garden-level terrace, with a second terrace on the roof offering views of the main sights. The hotel includes the AmanBagh restaurant, open to guests and the public since September 2025. A 24-hour reception, wi-fi and free parking are available.

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