Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Itineraries
RUSSIA
MONGOLIA
KAZAKHSTAN
UZBEKISTAN
Konye-
Urgench
Urgench
•
TASHKENT
AZERBAIJAN
•
Khiva
•
KYRGYZSTAN
_
TURKMENISTAN
CHINA
Bukhara
•
•
C A S P I AN
S E A
Samarkand
•
TAJIKISTAN
_
ASHGABAT
Shakhrisabsz
•
Merv
IRAN
PAKISTAN
AFGHANISTAN
INDIA
Silk Road Cities
This loop route through Uzbekistan takes in almost all of Central Asia's greatest histori-
cal and architectural sites. Fly into
Tashkent
(p139) and get a feel for the big city before
taking a domestic flight to Urgench and then a short bus or taxi ride to
Khiva
(p203),
comfortably seen in a day. Then take a taxi for an overnight trip to one or two of the
crumbing
desert cities
of ancient Khorezm, around
Urgench
(p200).
From Urgench take the long bus or taxi ride down to
Bukhara
(p187), which deserves
the most time of all the Silk Road cities. Try to budget a minimum of three days to take
in the sights and explore the backstreets.
From here take the golden (actually tarmac) road to
Samarkand
(p169) for a day or
two. Soak in the glories of the Registan and Shah-i-Zinda and, if you have time, add on a
day trip to
Shakhrisabz
(p181), the birthplace of Timur (Tamerlane).
A potential add-on to this route is to tack on a few days to visit Turkmenistan, visiting
Konye-Urgench
(p393) from Khiva before crossing the desert to
Ashgabat
(p374) and
then travelling to Bukhara via the Mausoleum of Sultan Sanjar at
Merv
(p388).
