Private tour — price per person depends on group size:
| 1 traveler | $220 / person |
| 2 travelers | $130 / person |
| 3 travelers | $120 / person |
The Haft Kul — the Seven Lakes — lie in the Shing valley on the western edge of the Fann Mountains, each one a different shade of turquoise and green, strung one above the other up a single mountain road.
They are close to Samarkand as the crow flies, but they are in another country. This is a full, long day: about 140 km each way, an international border crossing in both directions, and roughly 70 km of mountain road beyond Penjikent. We build the day around that reality rather than pretending it away.
On the way in you stop at Sarazm, a UNESCO-listed settlement over 5,000 years old that sits right by the border, and at Penjikent, the old Sogdian town. Then the road climbs to the lakes, where you have around three hours and a picnic lunch.
This tour crosses from Uzbekistan into Tajikistan at Jartepa–Sarazm. Your Samarkand driver takes you to the border; you cross on foot and complete your own passport formalities, then a Tajik-side driver meets you just across and drives you on — and the same in reverse on the way back.
Pickup at 07:00 from your Samarkand hotel and an hour to the Jartepa border. Starting early is what makes the day work.
We allow a realistic 45 minutes for the crossing. You cross on foot with your own passport; a driver waits on each side, so you are met as soon as you clear.
Sarazm sits right by the border, so it comes first — no doubling back — followed by the old Sogdian town of Penjikent.
Up the Shing valley to the Haft Kul for a picnic lunch and time to walk between the lower lakes, then the long drive home.
Pickup from your hotel and the drive west to the Jartepa border post (~46 km).
You leave the vehicle, clear Uzbek exit control yourself, walk the short neutral strip and clear Tajik entry, where a Tajik-side driver meets you. Typically 30–60 minutes depending on traffic.
Sarazm lies just beyond the border, so it is the first stop rather than a detour.
One of the oldest settlements in Central Asia — a proto-urban site occupied from around 3500 BC, on the UNESCO World Heritage list since 2010.
A short hop east along the Zarafshan valley (~15 km).
The Sogdian town once called the Pompeii of Central Asia — ruined citadel and streets above the modern town, plus a chance for coffee before the mountain road.
South into the Shing valley — around 70 km, the last stretch on rough unpaved road as the valley narrows and climbs.
Seven lakes strung up a single valley, each a different colour. The lakes are 10–15 minutes apart by road; we drive between the lower ones, walk the shorelines and stop for a picnic lunch.
Back down the Shing valley and along the Zarafshan to Jartepa.
The same crossing in reverse, back into Uzbekistan.
The last hour back into Samarkand, with a door-to-door drop-off at your hotel around 6:30 PM.
A working country bazaar, thousand-year-old plane trees and a water-powered paper mill.
Experience nomad life in the Kyzylkum Desert and sleep in a traditional yurt.