TASHKENT-KHUJAND-PANJAKENT-SEVEN LAKES-SAMARKAND

Day 1 Tashkent – Khujand 

Breakfast at the hotel.
08:00 Meet the driver in the hotel in Tashkent.
Transfer to the border post Oybek. Please note: while passing the land borders one needs to be ready to handle all the luggage across the border by him/herself.
After crossing the border, meet the guide-driver at the Tajik side of the border (ETA 10:00). 
Transfer from the border post to Khujand.
Start sightseeing tour in Khudjand visiting 
-  Pushkin square with Kamoli Khudjandi Square;
-  Timur Malik’s fortress and Sugd museum;
-  Muslihiddin memorial complex;
-  Panjshanbe bazaar (Khujand’s central market that has many shops offering different kind of goods and services. The name Panjshanbe comes from Persian language meaning “Thursday”. Panjshanbe is considered as one of the oldest markets in Tajikistan. The Silk Road which passes Khujand city, which had always made Panjshanbe to be crowded with traders and tourists).
-  Arbob palace (Arbob palace had its particular significance in 1992, when it was the place for the meeting of the Tajik Soviet which officially declared independence from the Soviet Union. Also, it was the site where the Tajik flag was chosen. 
Resting time in the evening. Overnight at the hotel.

Day 2 Khujand –Istaravshan – Penjikent

Breakfast at the hotel.
Transfer to Panjakent (about 5,5 hrs drive) via Istaravshan,78 km from Khujand.
 Istaravshan is one of the most ancient cities of Tajikistan (more than 2500 years). Ancient name Cyropolis founded by Cyrus the Great in 544 BC as a boarding fort of the Achaemenid Empire. Overview sightseeing in Istaravshan visiting:
- Mazori Sharif mausoleum;
- Kog Gumbaz madrasa (16th century);
Arrival in Panjakent, visit:
- The archaeological site of the ruins of old Panjakent - a walled inter-city (2500-years ago) that was a Sogdian trading city on the Silk Road. 
-The Sarazm Important Bird Area (UNESCO World Heritage) lies downstream of the city on the tugay-vegetated floodplain of the river.
Resting time in the evening. Overnight at the hotel.

Day 3 Penjikent – Seven lakes – Samarkand

Breakfast at the hotel.
08:00 Transfer to Marguzor, the famous seven lakes - seven wonderful water mirrors full of mountain riverside drops. Each lake looks different whenever the sun changes its position. Colors may vary from deep blue to indie color ripple. Most of them are cold to swim even in summer. These lakes belong to Fann Mountains system.
On the western edge of the Fan Mountains in the valley of the river Shing there are seven lakes, six of them are dammed origin, besides the lake Hazorchashma. Lakes are called Marguzor, but each lake has its own name: Nezhigon, Soybean, Gushor, Nofin, Hurdak, Marguzor, Hazorchashma. The difference in level between the upper and lower lake is 692 meters. Easy hike at the lakes.
 Afternoon transfer to border post Jartepa (ETA 15:30).