NEW YEAR IN SAMARKAND
Details
The Silk Road in Winter: Khiva, Bukhara, Samarkand Three legendary cities, three faces of the Silk Road, and a night like no other. This journey takes you from Khiva, the museum-city enclosed within its earthen walls, to Bukhara, the holy city of a thousand domes, crossing the Kyzylkum desert. It ends in Samarkand, where you will welcome the new year in front of the three madrasas of the Registan. In Uzbekistan, New Year is a big, joyful family celebration: illuminated fir trees on the squares, Qorbobo (the Uzbek Father Christmas) and his granddaughter Qorqiz, generous tables and music late into the night. Yet the "real" traditional new year, Navruz, is celebrated at the spring equinox: your guide will tell you about both traditions. Route: Tashkent – Urgench – Khiva – Bukhara – Samarkand 📅 Dates: 26 December 2026 – 3 January 2027 ✈️ Flights: arrival in Tashkent, departure from Samarkand (flights via Istanbul); domestic flight Tashkent – Urgench included 💶 Price: €1,282 per person in a double room, excluding international flights Good to know 🛂 Formalities. No visa required for French, Belgian and Swiss nationals for stays of less than 30 days; passport valid for at least 3 months after return. ❄️ Climate. Days are often sunny and crisp, nights are cold, especially in Khiva and in the desert. Bring warm clothes, a hat, gloves and good walking shoes. 📷 Photography. Winter light is ideal in the morning and late afternoon; the programme leaves free time at those hours. 🎆 New Year's Eve. The festivities on Registan Square depend on the official programme of the city of Samarkand, announced in December. 📌 Booking. Places for the New Year's Eve dinner are limited. Booking recommended before 15 November.
Highlights
Trip highlights 🕌 The monuments all to yourself: in winter, the high-season crowds are gone. The madrasas of Khiva, the domes of Bukhara and the Registan can be visited in peace. 📸 Unforgettable photos under the winter sun: the dry, clear air, the low-angled light and the deep blue sky make the colours of the tilework shine. ❄️ And if it snows… minarets and earthen ramparts dusted with white offer images that few travellers are lucky enough to bring home. 🎆 Ringing in the new year on Registan Square, in the heart of Samarkand lit up for the holidays. 💶 Attractive winter rates: the low season lets you enjoy the Silk Road on far gentler terms than in spring or autumn.
Itinerary (9 days)
Arrival in Tashkent via Istanbul. Welcome at the airport by your French-speaking guide, transfer and check-in at the hotel. Breakfast and time to rest after the flight. Late morning devoted to the old town. The Khast-Imam complex, the spiritual centre of the capital, brings together the Barak-Khan madrasa (16th century), the Tilla-Sheikh mosque and the mausoleum of Kaffal Shashi, a 10th-century scholar and poet. Its library holds the Uthman Quran, one of the oldest Quran manuscripts in the world, brought to Samarkand by Tamerlane according to tradition. Nearby, the Chorsu bazaar and its great turquoise dome: spices, dried fruit, round breads decorated with a stamp, qurut sour-milk cheeses... This is where you best understand the daily life of Tashkent's residents and, at the end of the year, the atmosphere of New Year preparations. Lunch, then discovery of the modern city: Amir Timur Square, the Museum of Applied Arts, housed in the residence of a Russian diplomat decorated by the finest carved-stucco (ganch) and woodwork artisans of the time, and a walk through the Tashkent metro. Opened in 1977, it is among the most beautiful in Central Asia: each station has its own theme, from cosmonauts to the poet Alisher Navoi, with chandeliers, ceramics and marble. Welcome dinner.
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