Village to village hiking tour in the Nuratau Mountains 7 days

At 9:00 be picked up by our driver from your hotel and drive to Sentob village. Arrive in Sentob village by lunchtime and settle in the homestay.  Your host welcomes you and shows you the homestay facilities. Almost all the houses in Sentob village have large gardens with the river passing through. Settle in a homestay. Lunch with the local family.
After lunch, wander around the village to see the mosque, local school, village shop, and the building style of the local houses. Sentob is one of the few villages where almost all the houses are built in the traditional way using local rocks. Wandering through the village is a fantastic way to see locals doing their traditional livelihood activities. You will meet many friendly and curious villagers willing to talk to you. In the afternoon, you have free time to chat with your host family. You may also watch or participate in traditional cooking practices. Dinner with your host family.
Overnight stay in a homestay in Sentob.
Please note that on this day you explore the village on your own, the guided tour starts on the next day.

Breakfast with the family. Today, your local escort guide well familiar with all hiking trails around will take you on a whole day’s hiking tour to Kadvan valley (7,5-8 hours/ 15km return trip). Start hiking up Sentob valley, pass an old watermill, ruins of an ancient fortress, and an Arabic script on a rock. The hike leads you along a crystal clear mountain stream with small waterfalls, lush vegetation, and natural swimming pools. Have a picnic on the way. The valley is great for bird watching and has a very diverse flora. Those who are interested in birds can spot the following bird species: Spotted Flycatcher, Asian Paradise Flycatcher, Mistle Thrush, Eurasian Blackbird, Pied Wagtail, Eurasian Golden Oriole, Persian Nuthatch, Blue Rock-Thrush, Rock Pigeon, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Laughing Dove, Common Nightingale, Eurasian Magpie, Chukar, and occasionally one of the owl species.
Return to Sentob the same way.Dinner with the host family
Overnight stay in a local homestay

Breakfast with the family. Our today’s trek will take us to the mountain Lake Fazilman (10 hours / 22km return trip). ). In the summer, many villagers move up to their mountain huts near Fazilman lake to grow vegetables in a fertile mountain plateau. On the way to the lake, you will meet many farmers bringing fodder or firewood on donkeys from the mountains down to the village. Hike up the Chavaksoy valley to Guzbin (8.3km, 3 ½ hours), reach the mountain pass, near peak Gaukum and continue on the plateau to Lake Fazilman (2.8km, 1 hour). Have a picnic and a good rest at the lake and return to Sentob via Saridasht.
Dinner with the host family.
Overnight stay in a local homestay

Breakfast with the family. Prepare for the departure to the next Nuratau village.

9:00 Transfer by car to Hayat village, visit the lake Aydarkul on the way. On the main Nurata-Jizzakh tar road branch off near Andigen village to the dirt road which takes you through vast Kyzyl-Kum steppes to the lake Aydar. Driving through Kyzyl-Kum you might spot steppe tortoises, hares, and desert agamas.
Arrive at the lake, depending on the time of the year you can have a swim, walk along the lakeshore or watch the rich aquatic birdlife (cranes, pelicans, many duck and goose species, and numerous waders, etc.). At the lake, you will meet many fishermen from the villages nearby.

12:00 Leave for Hayat village. Arrive at Shiringul’s homestay in Hayat village.

Your host welcomes you and shows you the homestay facilities. Settle in Shiringul’s homestay. The homestay has six separate guestrooms, furnished with carpets, kupacha mattresses, and pillows. The owner of the homestay Parda Musaev works as a warden in the Nature Reserve.

Have lunch with the family.

Start your excursion through the village by visiting the nearby breeding enclosure of highly endangered Severtsov’s wild sheep. According to official statistics, approximately 2000 wild sheep are outside the enclosure in the Nuratau Mountains valleys. From the enclosure, continue walking up to the ruins of local fortress Shaxi Korgon situated on the hill opposite the enclosure. From the top of the hill, you will see many abandoned houses that belonged to the families who were forced to resettle in the 1950s by Soviet Government to cotton-growing areas. Continue hiking up Hayat valley. Particularly in spring, you can see the diverse flora and fauna of the region and admire the lush green landscape.

Return to the homestay and take a rest in the huge shady garden along the mountain brook on tapchans or benches. Dinner with the host family

Overnight stay in Shiringul’s homestay.

Breakfast with the family. Today we hike to the village of Upper Ukhum (return trip 12km). Start guided hike through Guzar and the Sari Bedak passes to Upper Ukhum village (5,4km /3,5 hours – one way). The luggage will be transported by donkeys to the next homestay.  From the pass, you will have a beautiful view of peak Karaul and Hayat village. Hiking up through Uhum valley, you will see local women baking bread in the tandir oven and doing other household chores. Women in the village are still spinning, weaving carpets, or making kurpacha mattresses. Many people will welcome you to enter their yards and watch what they are doing. In Upper Ukhum village, see the ancient irrigation channels still used by the local farmers and visit the petroglyph site that is an indicator of the ancient settlement history of the area. A picnic lunch will be provided for you en route. In the afternoon, arrive and settle in Ulugbek’s homestay in Uhum village, the luggage will be transported from Hayat by donkeys. Dinner with the family.

Overnight stay in Ulugbek’s homestay.

Breakfast with the family. Prepare for hiking to your next homestay in Asraf village. Our escort guide will accompany you and the donkey will transport your luggage.

Start hiking through Ukhum valley to Asraf village (11 km-4,5 hours). Once you reach the school turn left, continue walking down through the valley (about 1 km), and stop at the old community watermill. The old watermill is still in operation and three you will see a hydro pump that lifts water up to a local house without using electricity. The owner, Bakhrom Kasimov, will be proudly demonstrating the use of these old devices to you. Continue walking down Mushibirion valley and turn right at the ruins of the old Mongol fortress “Qorgoni Honkeldi”. To get to Asraf village you still have to hike another 3,5 km to the east.

Arrive in the local homestay in Asraf village and be welcomed by your host.

Lunch with the family.

After lunch, relax on the tapchans under huge walnut trees and get to know your host family. In the evening, you may wander around the village watching people doing their daily chores or help the family to prepare traditional dish Plov from homegrown vegetables and mountain spices.

Dinner with the family.

Overnight stay in one of the local homestays.

Breakfast with the family. Our morning hike takes us along the buffer zone of Nuratau Nature Reserve to the next Nuratau Mountain village Eski Forish (return trip 11 km/5 hours). You have a great view of Lake Aydar and the vast plains of the Kyzylkum steppe during this easy hike. On the way, see ancient petroglyphs and visit the ruins of a medieval look-out point in Eski Forish which was used to observe the Kyzyl-Kum plains to avoid the sudden attacks of the steppe nomads. Return to Asraf village and have lunch with the family.

Say goodbye to your hosts and leave for the next destination