Leave Samarkand for two days in the Kyzylkum Desert, with a stop in Nurata, lunch at Aydarkul Lake and a night in a yurt camp. This tour is run with a driver. A driver does not give guided tours of the sites.

Day 1: Samarkand – Nurata – Aydarkul Lake – Yurt Camp

On the private tour, your driver choices you up at your hotel in Samarkand. On the group tour, you meet at the meeting point shown for that option. In Nurata, visit the sacred Chashma Complex and the ancient fortress ruins linked to Alexander the Great.

Continue to Aydarkul Lake for lunch by the shore and time to walk along the water. Swimming is possible in the warm months.

Arrive at the yurt camp in the desert. In the late afternoon, ride a camel for 10 to 15 minutes across the dunes. In the evening, have dinner at the camp and listen to folk songs by a local Kazakh akyn around the fire. Sleep in a yurt.

Day 2: Yurt Camp – Samarkand or Bukhara

After breakfast, travel to Samarkand or Bukhara, whichever you choose when you book. On the way you stop at the Rabati Malik caravanserai and a pottery workshop in Gijduvan. Your driver drops you at your hotel, train station or airport.