Which Silk Road Cities Can You Visit on a Tour of Uzbekistan?

A Network, Not a Road

The Silk Road ran from the Mediterranean basin in the west to the Korean peninsula and the Japanese archipelago in the east. Its main eastern end was Chang'an, modern Xi'an in China. Its main western end was Antioch, modern Antakya in Turkey. The overland caravan routes covered between 6,400 and 10,000 kilometers and crossed more than 40 modern countries. Sea routes ran alongside them, also called the spice routes.

The network came into existence in the 2nd century BCE. It lasted until the 15th century CE, when the Ottoman Empire blocked the trade routes after capturing Constantinople.

Even the Name Is Modern

Nobody on the caravans called it the Silk Road. The German geologist Baron Ferdinand von Richthofen named the network Die Seidenstrasse, first in his book China in 1877. What survives is the cities: hubs of culture and learning where science, arts, literature, crafts and technologies were shared.

In Uzbekistan those cities still stand, and a tour moves between them by train and car rather than by caravan.

The Historic Giants

One ranking of the five mega cities of the Silk Road names Xi'an, Samarkand, Aleppo, Mosul and Merv. Xi'an, then Chang'an, was the main eastern end, and Sogdian merchants from Central Asia were vital agents in carrying and trading goods there. Samarkand is the only one of the five inside Uzbekistan.

The myth to drop is that the great cities were all in China or the Middle East. Central Asia sat in the middle of the trade, and Samarkand thrived as Tamerlane's capital from the end of the 14th century.

The Three You Visit

For a traveller, the three major Silk Road cities are Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva. Each carries its own UNESCO listing, and each is a stop on the Uzbekistan Silk Road 8-Day Tour by Train at $1,230.77 per person. Tashkent is the arrival city that ties them together.

The Cities at a Glance

The table compares the Uzbek Silk Road cities on what you see there, their UNESCO listing and which multi-day tours on this site include them. UNESCO years come from UNESCO's own list of Uzbek World Heritage sites, and the tour stops come from each tour's listing.

What the Table Means for a Route

Samarkand and Bukhara are on every multi-day route. Khiva is the one that splits the tours: the Magic Land 9-Day Uzbekistan Tour at $1,234.39 per person leaves it out and adds Shakhrisabz instead. Fergana is a separate trip altogether.

If Khiva matters to you, read the itinerary before you book.

Tamerlane's Capital

Samarkand thrived under Tamerlane, who made it his capital at the end of the 14th century. Ulugh Beg founded one of the greatest observatories there in 1424. The highlights a tour covers are Registan Square, the Shah-i-Zinda necropolis and the Ulugh Beg Observatory.

In Samarkand you can join a guided walk through the Registan and Shah-i-Zinda, compared on the Samarkand tours page. With one free day in Tashkent, the Samarkand day trip from Tashkent covers the same monuments by high-speed train. From Samarkand, day trips reach the Seven Lakes in Tajikistan and Aydarkul Lake.

Bukhara

The Historic Centre of Bukhara was inscribed by UNESCO in 1993. It is a city of narrow alleys, ancient caravanserais and mosques, best seen on foot. All three multi-day tours here stop in Bukhara, and short guided walks of the old city are compared on the Bukhara tours page.

Khiva

Ichan Kala in Khiva was inscribed in 1990 and is Uzbekistan's first World Heritage site. Reaching it is the catch. The Uzbekistan 6-Day Private Tour with Khiva costs $800 per person, and the listing adds $275 in extra charges on top of that base price.

The Tashkent-Urgench flight is not included, and the trains back from Khiva through Bukhara and Samarkand to Tashkent are. The Uzbekistan Silk Road 8-Day Tour by Train at $1,230.77 per person includes all its train tickets. For walks inside the walls and the desert fortresses, see the Khiva tours.

Three Routes Compared

The table compares the three multi-day Silk Road tours on price, length, the cities they visit and how they move between them. The figures come from each tour's own listing.

Leaving the Circuit

The 8-day tour has no refunds, while the 6-day and 9-day tours allow free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead. Some travellers extend the route across a border, for example to the Seven Lakes in Tajikistan from Samarkand. If a trip crosses into neighbouring countries by train or road, Canada advises a multi-entry visa for Uzbekistan plus any visa the other country requires.

For the train links themselves, read how to travel the Silk Road in Uzbekistan by train.

Two Corridors, Two Stories

The Silk Roads Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor was presented by China, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan in 2014. Uzbekistan is not part of it. A separate Silk Roads corridor, Zarafshan-Karakum, was nominated by Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, with about 15 Uzbek sites in the dossier.

The Uzbek cities do not need the corridor to be on the list. Ichan Kala in Khiva was inscribed in 1990, the Historic Centre of Bukhara in 1993, the Historic Centre of Shakhrisabz in 2000 and Samarkand, Crossroad of Cultures in 2001.

Entry and Money

UK citizens can visit Uzbekistan without a visa for tourism or business for up to 30 days. Check your own nationality in the Uzbekistan visa guide before you book.

Money is the bigger planning point. The UK government says the som cannot be obtained outside Uzbekistan and ATMs are scarce outside major cities. Black-market exchange is illegal, and official booths reject US dollars issued before 2013. Change cash in Tashkent before you leave for Khiva or the smaller stops.

From Zhang Qian to the Ottomans

In 128-127 BC the Chinese ambassador Zhang Qian travelled to Bactria, which helped the Han Empire open trade relations with Central Asia. The cities along the routes became hubs of culture and learning where science, arts, literature, crafts and technologies were shared. Sogdian merchants from Central Asia were vital agents in that trade all the way to Chang'an.

The network lasted until the 15th century CE, when the Ottoman Empire blocked the trade routes after capturing Constantinople. Samarkand's great age under Tamerlane came near the end of that span, at the end of the 14th century. That is why its monuments are the grandest stop on the Silk Road tours in Uzbekistan.