Programme and details
Uzbekistan · 8 Days / 7 Nights · Private Tour
In the Footsteps of Clavijo
Tashkent – Samarkand – Shahrisabz – Samarkand – Bukhara – Tashkent
In May 1403 an embassy of King Henry III of Castile sailed from the Bay of Cádiz to find .Amir Timur (Tamerlane, 1336–1405), founder of the Timurid empire, which had its capital in Samarkand. Born near Shahrisabz. Its leader, ,Did you know? A Spanish ambassador saw Ak-Saray being built Ruy González de Clavijo, sent by King Henry III of Castile, visited Shahrisabz in 1404 and found Timur's palace, begun in 1380, still unfinished after more than twenty years of work. Read more → reached Samarkand in early September 1404 and wrote down what he saw: a palace in Did you know? Shahrisabz means 'Green City', and Kesh 'heart-pleasing' For centuries Timur's home town was called Kesh, a name glossed as 'heart-pleasing'. Its later Persian name, Shahrisabz, means 'Verdant City', and the town is said to be more than 2,700 years old. Read more → still full of builders, an audience in a garden, a mosque whose gateway Timur ordered torn down because it was too low. His account, Embajada a Tamorlán, is one of the most detailed eyewitness accounts of Timur’s court. This private tour takes you to the places he describes, in today’s Shahrisabz and Samarkand, and on to Bukhara, with a guide who tells you on the spot what he saw there.
| Duration | 8 days / 7 nights |
| Price | on request |
| Format | Private, or a small group on your dates |
| Where | Tashkent, Samarkand, Shahrisabz and Bukhara |
| Getting around | Afrosiyob high-speed trains between the cities, a car with driver for the airport, the stations, the road over the pass to Shahrisabz and the sights out of walking distance |
| Guide | Your guide speaks Spanish — included in the price; English or Russian if you prefer |
| Best time | April–May and September–October |
Ideal for travellers from Spain and for anyone who reads Spanish, for history lovers who want to see Timur’s cities through the eyes of a man who was there, and for those with a week around Holy Week, a long weekend or the summer holidays.
Kesh — today’s Shahrisabz, Timur’s home town, where Clavijo saw the White Palace, Ak-Saray, unfinished.
Samarkand — Timur’s capital, where the envoys were received, feasted and shown the great mosque under construction.
Itinerary
Day by Day
Day 1 · Tashkent — Arrival and Amir Timur Square
Our driver meets you at Tashkent airport, whatever time your flight lands, and takes you to your hotel. The airport is inside the city, so the drive is short.
When you have rested, your guide takes you to ,Did you know? Legend: “Strength lies in justice” were Timur's own words The equestrian statue of Amir Timur in central Tashkent, unveiled in 1994, bears the motto “Strength lies in justice” in four languages. Tradition attributes the words to Timur himself, but historians cannot confirm he said them. Read more → with the equestrian statue of Timur in the middle. The Amir Timur Museum, opened in 1996, stands on its south side: a good first look at the ruler Clavijo travelled more than a year to meet.
Good to know: From Spain you fly with one connection, and arrival times vary; if you land late, we move the square to the morning of day 2.
Overnight in Tashkent
Day 2 · Tashkent – Samarkand — The Afrosiyob, Gur-e-Amir and the Registan
A morning transfer to the station and the Afrosiyob high-speed train to Samarkand, about 2 h 10 min. Our driver meets you at the station.
In the afternoon, Gur-e-Amir. Timur began the tomb in 1404 for his grandson ,Did you know? Timur's tomb was built for his grandson Gur-e-Amir was begun in 1404 for Muhammad Sultan, Timur's grandson and chosen heir. Timur had a crypt ready in his home town of Shahrisabz, but when he died in 1405 he was laid in Samarkand, in the tomb meant for the young prince. Read more → the year the Castilians came to his court, and was buried in it himself in 1405. The dark green stone over his grave arrived in 1425.
At the end of the day, the Did you know? The Registan's sun-carrying lion went on a banknote The Sher-Dor Madrasah (1619–1636) is named for the big cats with the sun on their backs on its portal. The image appeared on the reverse of Uzbekistan's 200-som note of 1997. Read more → with your guide. Its three madrasahs were built between 1417 and 1660, after Clavijo had gone home: the square shows you how much Samarkand kept building after Timur.
Overnight in Samarkand
Day 3 · Samarkand — Bibi-Khanym, Siab Bazaar and Shah-i-Zinda
The morning starts where Clavijo’s account is most vivid. Timur began the great mosque now known as Bibi-Khanym in 1399, and its main structure stood by 1404. Clavijo recorded that Timur found the first gateway much too low and had it demolished; too weak to walk, he had himself carried to the site every day, had meat brought for the workers and tossed coins to the masons who pleased him. The portal you see, 35 metres high, is the second one, rebuilt from 1974 on.
Across the road lies :Samarkand's main bazaar, right next to Bibi-Khanym: Samarkand bread, dried fruit, nuts and halva. Read more → dried fruit, nuts, bread and the everyday noise of Samarkand.
In the afternoon, ,Did you know? Why Shah-i-Zinda means 'the Living King' The necropolis grew around the shrine of Qutham ibn Abbas, a cousin of the Prophet Muhammad. Legend says he did not die in battle but went down a deep well to a garden of paradise, where he lives on. Read more → the street of tiled mausoleums where Timur’s sister, niece and wife and his amirs are buried, in more than twenty buildings along one lane.
Good to know: Shah-i-Zinda is a holy site: cover shoulders and knees, and women bring a scarf.
Overnight in Samarkand
Day 4 · Samarkand – Shahrisabz – Samarkand — Kesh and the White Palace
A morning drive south, about 90 km on the M39 over the Takhtakaracha pass at around 1,700 m: an hour and a half to two hours without stops. We stop at the top of the pass for the view.
In Kesh, Clavijo was told that Timur’s palace had been under construction for twenty years, and the craftsmen were still at work. He describes a very high portal, an entrance passage faced with blue tiles, a gateway worked in gold and blue and a vast courtyard paved with white flagstones. Today only the two pylons of Ak-Saray’s gate survive, still about 38 metres high; the arch between them spanned 22 metres. The gold has gone, and the blue is still on the towers.
Then a walk through the park: ,Tashkent's old bazaar under a big blue-green dome, not far from Hazrati Imam. Bring cash in so'm. Read more → the covered bazaar of the 18th century; ,Did you know? Kok Gumbaz's inscription likens its dome to the Prophet's tomb Ulugh Beg built Kok Gumbaz, the “Blue Dome”, in 1435 as Shahrisabz's Friday mosque, in the name of his father Shahrukh. The portal inscription compares its dome with the one over the Prophet's tomb in Medina, and Ulugh Beg's name stands out in gold. Read more → the Friday mosque Did you know? Ulugh Beg measured the year to within 25 seconds Working at his Samarkand observatory, Ulugh Beg put the tropical year at 365 days 5 h 49 min 15 s, about 25 seconds too long, closer than Copernicus a century later. Read more → built in 1437 in ;Did you know? Timur's father lies at the feet of a revered sheikh Dorut Tilavat, the “House of Qur'an Recitation”, grew around the tomb of the Sufi Shamsiddin Kulol, who died in 1370; Timur began his mausoleum in 1373. “Kulol” means potter. Timur's father, Amir Taragay, was buried at the sheikh's feet. Read more → Did you know? Dorus Saodat began as a tomb for Timur's son Jahangir Timur's eldest son and heir Jahangir died in 1376 aged just twenty. Timur then began Dorus Saodat, the “Seat of Power”, as a burial place for the whole dynasty; Jahangir's mausoleum, the Hazrati Imam mosque and Timur's crypt survive. Read more → with the tomb of Jahangir, Timur’s eldest son; and the crypt found in 1943, almost filled by a stone casket prepared for Timur, who lies in Gur-e-Amir instead. Lunch in Shahrisabz, and back to Samarkand by evening.
Good to know: From December to March, snow can close the pass for a while; the detour around the mountains takes about three hours one way, and we check the road the day before.
Overnight in Samarkand
Day 5 · Samarkand – Bukhara — Ulugh Beg’s observatory and the train west
In the morning, the observatory of Ulugh Beg, Timur’s grandson, who was ten years old when Clavijo came to Samarkand. He built it in the 1420s; its sextant had a radius of 40 metres, and in 1908 the archaeologist Vasily Did you know? A former teacher found the lost observatory in 1908 After Ulugh Beg's death his observatory was taken apart for its bricks and even its site was forgotten. Vasily Vyatkin, keeper of Samarkand's monuments, traced it through a 17th-century land deed and in 1908 dug up the great marble arc. Read more → found and dug out the buried marble arc.
After lunch, the Afrosiyob to Bukhara, under 2 hours. Bukhara’s station is in Kagan, about 12 km from the old city; our driver meets you there. In the evening, a walk to ,Did you know? Bukhara's ponds were once its water supply Pools like Lyabi-Hauz, dug around 1620 and 46 × 36 m, were the city's main source of water. Most were filled in during the 1920s–30s because they spread disease; Lyabi-Hauz survived. Read more → the square around the pond.
Good to know: On request, the morning can go to a tasting at the Bagizagan winery instead (for guests aged 21 and over).
Overnight in Bukhara
Day 6 · Bukhara — Poi Kalyan, the Ark and the trading domes
With your guide: ,Did you know? Legend: the minaret's foundation was laid with camel milk Legend says master Bako laid the foundations of the Kalyan minaret with ganch plaster mixed with camel milk, then vanished for two years to let them harden, and only then built the tower. Locals still show a grave they say is his. Read more → where the Did you know? Diggers went 13 m down and never found its base The Kalyan Minaret of 1127 rises about 46 m, and an excavation reached 13 m without finding the bottom of its foundations. Genghis Khan reportedly ordered it spared. Read more → of 1127, 46.5 metres of patterned brick, stands between the Kalyan mosque and the Did you know? A madrasah still teaching after almost 500 years Mir-i-Arab, built in the 1530s opposite the Kalyan Mosque, was one of only three Islamic schools that kept working through the Soviet period, and it still trains students today. Read more → .An Islamic college: student cells and classrooms around a courtyard behind a grand portal. In the old towns many now house museums and craft workshops. The minaret was already three centuries old when Clavijo crossed Central Asia.
Then ,The fortress-residence of the rulers of Bukhara on a high artificial hill: the oldest structure in the city. Read more → the fortress of Bukhara’s rulers on a hill built by people, and the Did you know? Under Bukhara's domes merchants changed money and gold Four 16th-century trading domes still stand over old crossroads. Toki Sarrafon was the money changers' dome, where merchants from India and China swapped coins; Toki Zargaron held jewellers' workshops, Toki Telpak Furushon sold caps. Read more → on the way back to Lyabi-Hauz.
In the evening you can have dinner with a local family (on request).
Overnight in Bukhara
Day 7 · Bukhara – Tashkent — The Samanid Mausoleum and back to the capital
In the morning, the ,Did you know? Buried in mud, this tomb escaped Genghis Khan The 10th-century Samanid Mausoleum, one of the oldest monuments of Islamic Central Asia, was covered by flood mud and sand before the Mongols came in 1220. Hidden for centuries, its brick lacework survived intact. Read more → a brick tomb from the turn of the 9th and 10th centuries, whose pattern changes with the light. It was dug out of the silt in 1926–1928.
Then the Afrosiyob back to Tashkent, a little over 4 hours. Our driver meets you at the station and takes you to your hotel.
Overnight in Tashkent
Day 8 · Departure — The flight home
At the agreed time, our driver takes you to Tashkent airport for your flight home.
Accommodation
Where you stay
| City | Stay |
|---|---|
| Tashkent | A hotel in Tashkent, 1 night on arrival and 1 night before departure |
| Samarkand | A hotel in Samarkand, 3 nights |
| Bukhara | A hotel in Bukhara, 2 nights |
We confirm the hotels and the train tickets for your dates before booking.
Price
Price
The price is given on request: it depends on the dates, the hotels, the train classes and the size of your group.
Good to know
Conditions
- Spanish citizens enter Uzbekistan without a Entry rules depend on your passport. Once you are here, each stay must be registered within three days, and hotels do it for you; customs and registration rules are in our guide. Read more → for up to 30 days (rules as of October 2026). The passport must be valid at least three months after the end of your stay. We check the current entry rules for your passport before booking.
- Your guide speaks Spanish — included in the price. Tell us the language you want when you book, the earlier the better.
- Short on time? Without Bukhara the tour takes 6 days: on day 5 the Afrosiyob takes you from Samarkand back to Tashkent.
- Train tickets go on sale 60 days before departure and are issued to your passport: we need the full name and passport number of every traveller, and we book as soon as your dates are fixed.
- Tell us about your food preferences when you book, and we take them into account when we plan the meals.
- Drink only bottled water.
- Flight and train timetables can change: we check them for your dates before we confirm the programme.
- Read before you go: our guides to travelling to Uzbekistan from Spain, Ak-Saray, the Did you know? 95 elephants hauled stone for Timur's great mosque Bibi-Khanym, begun in 1399 after Timur took Delhi, was the largest mosque of his empire. Some 200 stonecutters worked on site and 95 elephants brought from India hauled the loads; the courtyard was meant to hold 10,000 people. Read more → and a day trip to Shahrisabz.
- Reservations are confirmed with passport copies only.
Cancellation policy
| Cancellation timing | Penalty |
|---|---|
| 21 days before the service | 20% |
| 20–7 days | 50% |
| 6–0 days | 100% |
Transportation
| Vehicle | Group size |
|---|---|
| Chevrolet Cobalt | 2 pax |
| Hyundai Starex | 3–4 pax |
| Toyota Hiace / King Long | 5–8 pax |
| Mercedes Sprinter | 9–14 pax |
Vehicles may differ in make and colour.
🌿 Responsible tourism: we allocate part of our profits to good causes and are preparing for GSTC certification.
Expert opinion
Pluses
- History with an eyewitness: at ,Did you know? Legend says the architect asked the queen for a kiss Legend says the architect of Bibi-Khanym would finish on time only for a kiss from Timur's wife, and Timur punished him. In fact the mosque was Timur's own project; his wife Saray Mulk Khanum built her madrasah across the road. Read more → Did you know? Timur's tombstone went to Persia and came back The dark-green jade slab on Timur's grave in Gur-e-Amir was carried off by Nader Shah in 1740. It broke, and on his advisers' urging he sent it back to Samarkand. Read more → and Did you know? Ak-Saray's gate arch spanned 22 metres Only the pylons of the portal of Timur's White Palace survive, yet they still stand about 38 m high. The vault that once joined them spanned 22 m, and the facade glows with ochre and blue glazed brick. Read more → your guide tells you what the Castilian envoy saw there in 1404.
- A Spanish-speaking guide: included in the price in every city on the programme.
- Fast trains: the Uzbekistan's high-speed train: Tashkent to Samarkand in about 2 hours 10 minutes, Tashkent to Bukhara in about 4 hours. Tickets are tied to your passport. Read more → takes you between Tashkent, Samarkand and Bukhara; the only long drive is the day over the pass to Shahrisabz.
Minuses
- No Khiva: Khiva adds days; our classic tours include it.
- A mountain road: the day to Shahrisabz means three to four hours of driving over the Did you know? Legend: water once cascaded from a pool on Ak-Saray's roof Guides tell of a pool on the roof of Timur's White Palace, fed with water from the Takhtakaracha pass, from which streams poured down the façade. Nothing of the roof survives, so the story cannot be checked: only the gate pylons still stand. Read more → pass, which snow can close in winter.
- No nonstop flight from Spain: you fly with one connection, and the first and last days follow your flight times.
AroundCA numbers
How we counted
By the AroundCA programme: we count only what is written in the day-by-day programme of this tour. If the programme gives no figure, we show nothing.
- Hotel changes
- 3
- Longest transfer
- 4 h · by train
- Walking
- Medium
Best time
Apr–May, Sep–Oct
April–May and September–October: comfortable weather for long walking days in Samarkand, Shahrisabz and Bukhara, and the pass is open.
Better to avoid
Jul–Aug
July and August: afternoons of 35 °C and more, so we keep the walks to the mornings and evenings.
A typical day
On day 4 you drive about 90 km from Samarkand over the Takhtakaracha pass to Shahrisabz, Timur’s home town of Kesh. Under the two surviving pylons of Ak-Saray your guide tells you what Clavijo saw there in 1404: builders still at work, blue tiles and gold, a courtyard paved with white stone. Then a walk through the park to Kok Gumbaz, Dorus Siadat and Timur’s empty crypt, lunch in town and back to Samarkand by evening.
What the price includes
What is included
- Train tickets: the Afrosiyob Tashkent – Samarkand, Samarkand – Bukhara and Bukhara – Tashkent
- Accommodation: 7 nights in hotels with breakfast
- A private car with driver for the airport and station transfers, the day trip to Shahrisabz and the sights on the programme
- A local guide in your language in every city on the programme: Spanish, English or Russian
- Lunch in Shahrisabz on day 4
- Entrance tickets on the programme
- Bottled drinking water every day
Not included
- International flights
- Meals and drinks not on the programme
- Dinner with a local family in Bukhara and the Bagizagan tasting (on request)
- Photo and video fees at the sites
- Tips and personal expenses
Extra cost on site
- Photo and video fees at the sites
- Tips and personal expenses
Good for
- Travellers from Spain with a week around Holy Week, a long weekend or the summer holidays
- History lovers who want Timur’s cities with the story of an eyewitness, not only the famous squares
- Spanish speakers from anywhere who want a guide in their own language all the way
Maybe not for you if
- Travellers who want Khiva in the same week: it adds days, and our classic tours include it
- Those who expect a re-enactment or a costumed show: this is a tour of the real places with a guide
- Those who would rather not spend a day on a mountain road: the trip to Shahrisabz is three to four hours of driving
Questions about this tour
How much does the tour cost?
The price is given on request: it depends on the dates, the hotels, the train classes and the size of your group.
Do Spanish citizens need a visa?
No, for a stay of up to 30 days (rules as of October 2026). The passport must be valid at least three months after the end of your stay. Rules can change, so we check the current ones for your passport before booking.
Is there a Spanish-speaking guide?
Yes. Your guide speaks Spanish, and that is included in the price. Tell us when you book, the earlier the better.
How do we fly from Spain?
In the 2026/27 winter timetable there is no nonstop flight from Spain to Uzbekistan: you fly with one connection, most often in Istanbul. You book the flights; we plan days 1 and 8 around your arrival and departure times.
Do we need to read Clavijo before the trip?
No. Your guide tells you at each place what the envoy saw there. If you would like to read him, his account is published in Spanish as Embajada a Tamorlán, and in several modern editions.
Can we shorten or extend the tour?
Yes. Without Bukhara the tour takes 6 days. To add Khiva, look at our classic tours, and for the pass and the town in more detail, read our guide to the Shahrisabz day trip. Tell us your dates, and we fit the route to them.
Didn’t find your answer? Ask about this tour →
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Tick what you’d like to add — it goes into your request, and the manager confirms the final price.
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Arrival, departure, transfers
© Photos
Ak-Saray portal pylons seen from above, Shahrisabz — Erik Albers / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0; Amir Timur Square, Tashkent — Adam Harangozó / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0; Kok Gumbaz mosque, Shakhrisabz — Marat Nadjibaev / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
