“Taste of the Road” — A Culinary Tour of Uzbekistan

Airport pickup, transfer and hotel check-in.

After some rest — a food walk through Chorsu Bazaar. Not just tasting, but a conversation with the city through its produce: qurt, suzma, qazy, dried fruit, navat, spices, hot samsa and tandoor bread.

Dinner — a contemporary take on Uzbek cuisine: seasonal appetizers, chargrilled meat, a tea ceremony and an introduction to local styles of plov.

Overnight: Tashkent

Morning flight to Urgench and transfer to Khiva. Hotel check-in.

For lunch — Khorezm’s signature dish: shivit oshi, green dill noodles served with a meat sauce and a fermented-milk dressing. In the evening — a walk through Itchan Kala and dinner in the old town.

Overnight: Khiva

In the morning — a market visit, choosing ingredients together with the chef: eggs, herbs, flour, spices, meat and seasonal vegetables.

Cooking class: we make tuxum-barak — thin dough with an egg filling — and learn to make shivit oshi at home. Lunch is what we’ve cooked ourselves.

In the afternoon — a walk through Khiva: Kunya-Ark, Tash-Khauli, the Juma Mosque, craft workshops. In the evening — dinner with Khorezm-style chalov plov and local sweets.

Overnight: Khiva

Drive to Bukhara across the Kyzylkum desert. An unhurried day: roadside stops, tea, dried fruit, flatbread, conversation and desert horizon out the window.

Arrival in Bukhara towards evening and check-in. Dinner by Lyab-i Hauz: Bukhara-style dastarkhan appetizers, meat, vegetables, pastries and tea with halva.

Overnight: Bukhara

In the morning — the market: spices, rice, legumes, herbs, dried fruit and Bukhara sweets. Together with the chef, we look at how the same dish, plov, changes from city to city.

Cooking class and lunch: bakhsh — the green plov of Bukhara’s Jewish community, made with herbs, rice and meat; served in the traditional style whenever possible.

After lunch — a walk through Bukhara: the Ark, Kalyan minaret, the trading domes. In the evening — dinner at a home or a small local restaurant, with dishes that rarely make it onto a standard tourist menu.

Overnight: Bukhara

High-speed train to Samarkand.

After check-in — an evening introduction to the city and dinner. On the menu — Samarkand-style plov, where the ingredients are layered and cooked without stirring, chargrilled meat, fresh salads and tea.

Overnight: Samarkand

In the morning — the Siab bazaar. Here we buy the famous Samarkand flatbread, halva, nuts, dried fruit and spices.

Next — a Samarkand plov masterclass: from preparing the rice and zirvak to serving it on a large lyagan platter. Lunch is served family-style, at one table.

In the afternoon — a walk through Registan, Gur-e-Amir and Shah-i-Zinda. In the evening — a farewell food feast: dishes from every region we’ve tasted on the trip, plus a short tasting of Uzbek sweets.

Overnight: Samarkand

Breakfast and a high-speed train to Tashkent. Transfer to the airport and flight home.