Tajikistan Tour | Small group tour

Upon arrival we will come to the hotel individually. Participants joining from the Stans Odyssey tour will be at the hotel from previous day. Dinner will be at the hotel this evening. (D)

Following an early breakfast we'll transfer to the airport for our flight to Dushanbe. On arrivel we'll be met and enjoy a full day of sightseeing in Dushanbe beginning with the Tajikistan United Museum, which includes exhibits on history, natural history, and art. The statue of Buddha in Nirvana is one of the valuable exhibits of the museum. We then visit the Bazaar, an oriental market and the most crowded place in the city.

After an early breakfast we have a 250 kilometre drive north to Penjikent via the Anzob Pass, 3,373 metres above sea level. After passing over the Zerafshan Mountains we stop at Iskandar Lake in the Fan Mountains. Iskandar Kul, known as the Lake of Alexander the Great, was built as a reservoir in 1969. Lunch is at a local restaurant, then we continue our drive on to Penjikent. Dinner will be at our guest house. (B,L,D)

Following breakfast we will visit the Museum of Rudaki, an important local site given that Penjikent is the birthplace of Abu Abdullah Rudaki, considered by many to be the father of Persian poetry. We continue our sightseeing at Ancient Penjikent with the ruins of the old Sogdian town founded in 5th C but abandoned in the 8thC after the Arab conquest. Foundations of houses, a citadel with a couple of Zoroastrian fire temples, and the city bazaar are visible in the excavated ruins. We then drive to the Seven Lakes area to see 4 of these picturesque water bodies with different colors set in the mountains of Tajikistan, at just over 2,000 metres above sea level. We have a picnic lunch at one of the lakes then drive back to Penjikent for some free time and dinner. (B,L,D)

After breakfast and checkout we drive east to Khodjent via Istaravshan, a journey of about 230 kilometres. Lunch is at a local house and followed by visits in Istaravshan, a well preserved town located at 3,378 metres in the Turkestan Mountains. Here we see Mug Tepa. Situated in Ura-Tube, it is one of the most ancient settlements in Tajikistan. We will see the Khazrati Shoh architectural complex from the 19th C, which consists of Khazrati Shoh mausoleum, the grave of brother of Kusam ibn Abbas, Khudayar Valami mausoleum, and mosque Namozgoh. The Bazaar completes our day. It is claimed this oriental market is a place where you can find everything. We drive about 40 kilometres to Khodjent (Khojand) where we have dinner and overnight. (B,L,D)

After breakfast we have some local visits, then cross the border and complete the day with some sightseeing as we drive to our hotel in Tashkent. Khodjent is on the Amu Darya river, and very close to its source in the Fergana Valley of Uzbekistan. We will visit the Museum of Archaeology and Fortification, which is in the middle of the northern part of the city set within a 7th C to 8th C enclosed fortress. It was destroyed several times by various conquerors and the last reconstruction was in the 18th C. The biggest oriental bazaar of Central Asia is Payshanba bazaar, one of the most interesting places in Khodjent, attracting people with various languages and tastes. Lunch is at local restaurant and after lunch we drive to Tajik-Uzbek border at "Shirin." From here we drive north to Tashkent for dinner and overnight. (B,L,D)

The tour ends after breakfast.