Tashkent, Samarkand & Bukhara, 5 Nights

Tashkent's airport is close to the centre. After check-in and a rest, an afternoon drive shows both halves of the capital. In the old town, Hazrati Imam's madrasas surround a square, and its library keeps a seventh-century Quran linked to the Caliph Uthman. The new city was rebuilt after the 1966 earthquake. Here you see Independence Square, Amir Timur Square with the blue-domed Timurid museum, the Navoi opera house built by Japanese prisoners of war, and Broadway's painters as the evening begins.

The morning train crosses cotton fields and orchards to Samarkand in about two hours. First, a short drive north to the memorial complex of Imam al-Bukhari, compiler of the most respected collection of hadith and a pilgrimage site for many visitors. Back in the city, Gur-e-Amir holds Timur's tomb under its ribbed dome, and the Registan's three madrasas face each other across the square. Staying the night means you can return after dinner, when the facades are floodlit.

A morning train west to Bukhara. The afternoon covers sights on the edge of the old town. Chor Minor is a small gatehouse of 1807 with four turquoise-capped towers. Sitorai Mohi Khosa, north of the city, was the summer palace of the last emirs, a mix of Russian and Central Asian styles, with peacocks in the garden. The Naqshbandi shrine, a short drive further, honours the founder of one of the great Sufi orders and is busy with pilgrims.

Bukhara's old town is compact and best seen on foot. The Samanid mausoleum, a tenth-century cube of intricate brickwork, is among the oldest buildings in Central Asia. Chashma Ayub stands over a spring nearby, and Bolo Hauz mosque faces its pool on tall carved wooden pillars. The Ark was the emirs' walled citadel. After lunch, the Poi Kalon square joins the Kalon minaret of 1127, the great Kalon mosque and the working Mir-i-Arab madrasa, and the trading domes lead to Lyabi-Hauz for dinner by the water.

A last walk in Bukhara's lanes if the train time allows, then the journey east. The high-speed service takes around four hours, with the Kyzylkum's edge giving way to farmland and orchards. On arrival in Tashkent, transfer to the hotel. The evening is free for Broadway, or for a plov dinner, the rice dish cooked in huge cauldrons, which Uzbeks consider their national meal. Ask for a vegetable version if you need one.

Breakfast, then time for Alay bazaar or the craft shops if the flight is later. Samarkand silk paper, Bukhara's gold-thread embroidery and Rishtan ceramics are best bought in the cities where they are made, so this is the chance to pick up anything you missed along the way. The airport is only about twenty minutes from central hotels, so a late checkout is rarely needed.