Seven Lakes Day Trip from Samarkand: Tajikistan's Fann Mountains by 4×4
Cross into Tajikistan for a day at the Seven Lakes: Panjakent bazaar, the lakes of the Fann Mountains by 4×4 and the UNESCO site of Sarazm on the way…
Samarkand to Tashkent via Tajikistan in 3 Days: Seven Lakes, Istaravshan and Khujand
Travel between Samarkand and Tashkent the long way, through Tajikistan: Sarazm, Panjakent, the Seven Lakes up to the seventh by 4×4, a night by Lake 6, the mountain road to Istaravshan and a night in Khujand. Private cars, rooms, border help included. Either direction, May to October.
About this trip
The train between Samarkand and Tashkent takes two hours. This trip takes three days and goes through Tajikistan instead: two border crossings on foot, the Seven Lakes of the Fann Mountains, a night in a room above the sixth lake, the mountain road through the Shahristan tunnel, the old town of Istaravshan and Khujand on the Syr Darya. You end up where the train would have taken you, having seen a country most visitors to Uzbekistan never enter.
The trip is private, from your hotel door to your hotel door. Each stretch has its own car and driver: an Uzbek car to the first border, a 4×4 for the lakes and the rough track to the seventh, a comfortable car over the mountains and through Khujand, and an Uzbek car from the second border. Rooms, the main meals, tickets and both crossings are arranged.
The three days, either way
| Day | Starting in Samarkand | Starting in Tashkent |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jartepa border, Sarazm, Panjakent, the lakes, 4×4 to Lake 7; night by Lake 6 | Oybek border, Khujand; night in Khujand |
| 2 | Ayni, Shahristan tunnel, Istaravshan; night in Khujand | Istaravshan, Shahristan tunnel, up to the lakes; night by Lake 6 |
| 3 | Khujand, Oybek border; Tashkent by late afternoon | 4×4 to Lake 7, Panjakent, Sarazm, Jartepa border; Samarkand by late afternoon |
Choose where you start at the top of the page and the day-by-day plan below changes to match. The price is the same either way.
Where you sleep
- By Lake 6: the tour base above Marguzor, the sixth and largest lake, with private rooms, their own bathroom and the lake under the window. Dinner and breakfast are cooked there. The lake is at 2,100 m: bring a warm layer even in July.
- In Khujand: a good central hotel near the river and the bazaar, private room with breakfast. Dinner in Khujand is yours to choose; your driver can suggest a place.
Good to know
- When: from May to early October, while the track to the seventh lake is open and the lake base is staffed.
- Passports and visas: you leave Uzbekistan and come back in, so an Uzbek e-visa, if your nationality needs one, must allow two entries. Most nationalities enter Tajikistan without a visa; some need an e-visa, issued online. Read our Tajikistan visa rules, Uzbekistan visa rules and guide to the land borders.
- Your drivers and guide: the drivers speak Russian. Add an English-speaking driver for all three days, or a professional guide in Spanish, Italian, German, French, Korean, Turkish or Chinese; the prices are in the options when you book.
- The road: paved most of the way, gravel up the Seven Lakes valley and a rough 4×4 track between the sixth and seventh lakes. Day 2 is the long one, about six hours on the road with stops.
- Shorter versions: a single day from Samarkand, or two days from Tashkent via Khujand and Iskanderkul: see our Seven Lakes day trip and Tashkent to Samarkand via Khujand. Read our overnight guide to the Seven Lakes and guide to Sarazm and ancient Panjakent.
A bigger group, a fourth day in the Fann Mountains, or a night at Iskanderkul on the way? Message us on WhatsApp.
Day by day
- Day 1
Samarkand to the Seven Lakes, via Sarazm and Panjakent
Pickup at your hotel in Samarkand at 08:00 and an hour's drive to the Jartepa border. You cross on foot in about twenty minutes; your Tajik driver is waiting on the other side with a 4×4. First stop is Sarazm, the 5,500-year-old settlement on the UNESCO list, then Panjakent bazaar for dried fruit, bread and a look at the town, and lunch. In the afternoon the road climbs the Shing valley past the lakes in turn, each a different colour, with stops at the best of them. The 4×4 carries on beyond Marguzor, the sixth lake, up the rough track to Hazorchashma, the seventh and highest, then brings you back down to the tour base above Marguzor. Dinner at the base and a night by the lake.
- Day 2
Over the mountains to Istaravshan and Khujand
Breakfast with the lake below the window, then down the valley to the Zarafshan river and east to Ayni, with a stop at the old Varz minaret. The road turns north over the Turkestan range through the five-kilometre Shahristan tunnel, with wide views on both sides. Lunch on the way. In Istaravshan, one of the oldest towns in the region, climb Mug Teppe, the hill fortress said to be Cyropolis, founded by Cyrus the Great, see the blue dome of the Kok Gumbaz mosque and walk through the old quarter where the knife-makers work. An hour more brings you to Khujand on the Syr Darya. Check in to your hotel; the evening is free.
- Day 3
Khujand, the Oybek border and Tashkent
Breakfast at the hotel, then the morning in Khujand: Panjshanbe Bazaar under its arched hall, the mausoleum of Sheikh Muslihiddin across the square, and the fortress by the river with the Sughd historical museum. Lunch in town at your own choice. About an hour's drive brings you to the Oybek border; you cross on foot and your Uzbek driver takes you on to Tashkent, about two hours, arriving at your hotel in the late afternoon.
- Day 1
Tashkent to Khujand, via the Oybek border
Pickup at your hotel in Tashkent at 08:00 and about two hours' drive to the Oybek border. You cross on foot; your Tajik driver is waiting on the other side. An hour later you are in Khujand on the Syr Darya: Panjshanbe Bazaar under its arched hall, the mausoleum of Sheikh Muslihiddin across the square, and the fortress by the river with the Sughd historical museum. Lunch in town at your own choice. Check in to your hotel; the evening is free.
- Day 2
Istaravshan and over the mountains to the Seven Lakes
Breakfast at the hotel and an hour's drive south to Istaravshan, one of the oldest towns in the region. Climb Mug Teppe, the hill fortress said to be Cyropolis, founded by Cyrus the Great, see the blue dome of the Kok Gumbaz mosque and walk through the old quarter where the knife-makers work. The road then crosses the Turkestan range through the five-kilometre Shahristan tunnel, with wide views on both sides. Lunch on the way. Down to Ayni and the old Varz minaret, west along the Zarafshan river and up the Shing valley past the lakes, each a different colour, to the tour base above Marguzor, the sixth lake. Dinner at the base and a night by the lake.
- Day 3
Lake 7 by 4×4, Panjakent and on to Samarkand
Breakfast with the lake below the window. A 4×4 takes you up the rough track beyond Marguzor to Hazorchashma, the seventh and highest lake, with time to walk along it, then back down the valley past the other lakes. In Panjakent, the bazaar for dried fruit and bread, and lunch; then Sarazm, the 5,500-year-old settlement on the UNESCO list, right by the border. You cross at Jartepa on foot and your Uzbek driver takes you to your hotel in Samarkand, arriving in the late afternoon.
What's included
- 1 night at the Seven Lakes tour base at Marguzor (lake 6): private room with bathroom and a view of the lake, breakfast included
- 1 night in a central hotel in Khujand: private room with breakfast
- Lunch on the lakes day and on the mountain day, and dinner at the lake base
- Private car between your Samarkand hotel and the Jartepa border (sedan for up to 3, SUV for 4–6)
- Private 4×4 with a Russian-speaking driver on the lakes day: Sarazm, Panjakent, all seven lakes and the track to Lake 7 (minivan for 4–6)
- Private car with a Russian-speaking driver on the mountain day and between Khujand and the Oybek border (comfortable sedan for up to 3, minivan for 4–6)
- Private car between the Oybek border and your Tashkent hotel (sedan for up to 3, SUV for 4–6)
- Help at both borders
- Entrance tickets: Sarazm, Mug Teppe and the Khujand fortress museum
- Bottled water
Not included
- Visas or e-visas, if your passport needs them
- Lunch and dinner in Khujand
- English-speaking driver or guide, unless you add it as an option
- Tips for drivers
- Travel insurance — required for every traveller
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