Instead of a three-hour transfer between the two great Silk Road cities, take two days over it: Gijduvan ceramics, an 11th-century caravanserai, the holy spring at Nurata, and a night with a family in the mountains.
Estimated price — availability and the final quote are confirmed by our team. No payment is taken on this page.
Private tour — price per person depends on group size:
| 1 traveler | $325 / person |
| 2 travelers | $195 / person |
| 3 travelers | $150 / person |
| 4 travelers | $165 / person |
| 5 travelers | $145 / person |
| 6 travelers | $130 / person |
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Most people move between Bukhara and Samarkand on a fast train. This does it the long way, and turns the transfer into the trip.
Day one runs north-east across the steppe with three stops — the Narzullaev ceramics workshop at Gijduvan, the Rabati Malik caravanserai portal, and Nurata, where a sacred spring full of carp sits below the ruins of a fortress attributed to Alexander the Great. You finish the day in Asraf, a village in the Nuratau mountains, staying with a family.
Day two is a morning walk around the village, a last home-cooked lunch, and the drive down to Samarkand — arriving mid-afternoon with your luggage already where it needs to be.
Pickup from your hotel with luggage, then north-east out of the city.
The Narzullaev family workshop, now in its seventh generation. Hand-painted plates and bowls, and a look at the kiln.
A photo stop at the surviving Karakhanid portal on the old Silk Road between Bukhara and Samarkand.
A sacred spring full of carp beside an old mosque, below the hilltop ruins of the Nur fortress — attributed to Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC.
Lunch at a local restaurant in Nurata.
Arrive at Asraf, a small village in the Nuratau mountains, and settle in with your host family.
Dinner with the host family.
Breakfast with the host family.
A gentle morning walk around Asraf with your host — rock carvings on the hillsides, orchards and irrigation channels, and long views north over the steppe.
A final lunch with the host family before you leave.
The drive down out of the mountains, direct to Samarkand.
Door-to-door drop-off at your Samarkand hotel, around 5 PM.
Questions about this itinerary? We reply within 24 hours, and there is no payment to enquire.
The same village and homestay as a round trip from Samarkand, with a guided mountain hike.
The same Bukhara to Samarkand idea, but sleeping in a desert yurt camp instead.
Two nights in the mountains and a proper guided hike between villages.