Donor tours

Day 1: Arrival in Uzbekistan
Arrive in Tashkent or Samarkand, where you will be met and transferred to your hotel. The first day is left free to rest after your international journey.

Day 2: Samarkand
Travel to Samarkand if arriving via Tashkent, using Uzbekistan’s high-speed rail network. Explore some of the city’s great Silk Road landmarks, including the Registan and Gur-e-Amir, before joining the group for a welcome dinner and introduction to SCA’s work.

Day 3: Zarafshan National Nature Park
Take a short drive from Samarkand to Zarafshan National Nature Park for a guided walk through its riverine tugai forest. Look out for local birdlife, including the Zarafshan pheasant, and learn about efforts to conserve Bukhara deer and this important fragment of natural habitat. Return to Samarkand for a free afternoon.

Day 4: Samarkand to Khiva
Travel by high-speed train across Uzbekistan to Khiva, passing through the changing landscapes of the country on the way west. After arrival, settle in and take a first walk through Khiva’s historic walled city.

Day 5: Khiva
Explore Itchan Kala with a specialist cultural guide, discovering its mosques, madrasas, minarets and historic streets. The afternoon is free, followed by the chance to experience the old city again in the evening.

Day 6: Khiva to Nukus
Travel by private vehicle into Karakalpakstan, stopping en route at the desert fortresses of Elliq-Qala, including sites such as Toprak-Qala and Ayaz-Qala. Continue to Nukus, where you will meet SCA’s field team for a briefing on the conservation programme and the days ahead.

Day 7: Jasliq and Saiga Day
Travel by 4WD across Karakalpakstan and onto the Ustyurt Plateau to Jasliq, a small settlement within the saiga conservation landscape. Join the local community for Saiga Day, meeting local families and schools and spending time with rangers from the Saigachy Reserve.

Day 8: Beleuli and the Saigachy Reserve
Travel by 4WD with Saigachy rangers across the Ustyurt Plateau to the Beleuli Caravanserai, a historic 14th-century waystation surrounded by open saiga habitat.

Visit the Saigachy Reserve field base and saiga reintroduction facility, spend time with the rangers and learn about their work protecting this remote landscape. Continue by road back towards Nukus.

Day 9: Nukus and the surrounding region
Visit the Savitsky Museum, internationally known for its collection of Russian and Central Asian avant-garde art, before exploring more of the surrounding region, including the ancient Chilpyk Zoroastrian tower. Additional heritage and community visits may also be included.

Day 10: Nukus to Tashkent
Fly from Nukus to Tashkent. Spend time exploring the capital or simply enjoy a more relaxed day after the field programme.



Continue to Kazakhstan (Optional)

From Tashkent, continue to Kazakhstan with SCA partner ACBK, travelling from the capital into the vast Altyn Dala steppe and one of Central Asia’s most important wildlife restoration landscapes.

Day 11: Tashkent to Astana
Fly from Tashkent to Astana and overnight in Kazakhstan’s capital.

Day 12: Astana to Alibi
Travel from Astana towards Arkalyk, with the onward journey continuing by ACBK 4WD vehicles across the steppe to the Alibi Reintroduction Center.

The journey itself offers a sense of the immense scale and remoteness of the Altyn Dala landscape.

Day 13: Alibi and Altyn Dala
Spend a full day with ACBK’s conservation team at Alibi.

See where Przewalski’s horses and kulan are acclimatised before release into the wild, learn about the wider wildlife restoration programme, and travel into the surrounding Altyn Dala landscape with ACBK’s field team.

This period also falls within the saiga calving season. Any wildlife viewing will be carefully managed by ACBK’s ecologists to avoid disturbance, and sightings cannot be guaranteed.

Day 14: Return towards Astana
Travel by 4WD back across the steppe towards Arkalyk, then continue towards Astana by regional flight or rail depending on the final transport schedule.

Day 15: Astana and departure
Spend a final morning in Astana, with the opportunity to see some of the city before onward international departures.


Timing
May 2027. Final dates and detailed travel arrangements to be confirmed.