Curated Itinerary
Silk Roads: the Zarafshan–Karakum Corridor
With the Zarafshan River from Panjakent to the Karakum fringe: Samarkand and Bukhara as anchors, Rabati Malik on the desert road, Varakhsha and Paykend in the sands.
This itinerary follows the Zarafshan–Karakum Corridor of the Silk Roads, inscribed by UNESCO in 2023 across Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. It runs with the river: from the Sogdian ruins of Panjakent in the Tajik hills, through Samarkand, past the Rabati Malik caravanserai on the desert highway, to Bukhara and the abandoned oasis cities of Varakhsha and Paykend on its fringe.
The order matters. Panjakent explains who the Sogdian traders were; Samarkand and Bukhara show what their wealth built; the caravanserai and the two ruined cities show the machinery that moved it. Six stops, two borders, one river doing all the work underneath.
A week is enough for the core route from Samarkand to Bukhara with the Panjakent excursion. Go in spring or autumn, arrange drivers in the cities for the desert sites, and verify the Tajik border crossing before travelling.
Read the full story of this route in the CHO Magazine →
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A word from your host
Everyone photographs Samarkand; almost nobody drives forty minutes further to a Sogdian ruin. This route is for the second kind of traveller. The murals of Panjakent and the silence at Paykend are the payoff.
Getting around
Base yourself in Samarkand and Bukhara, both linked by fast train. Panjakent is a day trip across the Tajik border when the crossing is open. The desert sites west of Bukhara need a hired driver and a morning start.
Step by step
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GPX for Garmin / Komoot / OsmAnd. KML for Google Earth and Maps.