Local operator, Samarkand · Haft Kul and Panjakent
Hotel pickup in Samarkand, a short stop in Panjakent, an assisted border crossing and a day of viewpoints up the lakes, with a traditional lunch and the echo at Lake Hushyor. Pick it for the combination no other Seven Lakes listing here offers: hotel pickup, a private group option and the Tajik visa fee covered through an invitation letter.
Three of the five Seven Lakes listings collect you from your hotel, and two list the visa fee as included. This is the one that does both, and adds a private group option. The listing gives two pickup options in Samarkand, then private transport with a local Tajik driver once you're across the border. The guide speaks English, and Russian is listed too.
The visa part works through an invitation letter: the listing names "Tajik visa fees (invitation letter)" among its inclusions. It also spells out who is visa-free (many European countries, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand), and warns that if you need a visa for Uzbekistan, it has to be double or multiple entry. That warning applies to every day trip from Samarkand, but this is the listing that says it clearly.
The day is a brief stop in Panjakent, the border, a traditional lunch, and viewpoints and photo stops up the lakes, including the cliffs at Lake Hushyor, where the guides like to show off the echo. You drive back in the late-afternoon light. Museum tickets are listed, but the Rudaki Museum in Panjakent and the Sarazm ruins are optional extras with their own fee, so ask what's covered before you go in.
One of two pickup options in Samarkand.
The guide helps on both sides, then a Tajik driver takes over.
A brief stop in the town.
Viewpoints and photo stops up the valley, and a traditional lunch.
The echo at Lake Hushyor, then the drive to Samarkand in the late-afternoon light.
★★★★★Dilo is an excellent guide. She is knowledgeable and open for any questions.
★★★★★The 7th lake was phenomenal. You can swim there too, but it's really cold.
★★★★★Great trip. Not just the beauty of the mountains and lakes, but also our super nice guide Zuli
★★★★★Highly prepared and efficient but also very friendly and full of energy
Read next:
The listing names "Tajik visa fees (invitation letter)" among its inclusions. Confirm after booking what the provider needs from you and how long it takes. Our visa and safety guide covers who needs one.
Yes, the listing offers a private group option. Choose it at checkout.
Hushyor (also spelled Gushor) is the third lake, at about 1,770 m. The listing describes an echo between the cliffs there, a stop the guides like to make.
Museum tickets appear on the listing, but the Rudaki Museum in Panjakent and the Sarazm site are marked optional with an extra fee. Ask before you go in.
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The Seven Lakes with hotel pickup, a private group option and the invitation letter included.
Seven Lakes Fully Inclusive Day TourGur-e-Amir at 7 AM, a lakeside picnic, a swim in the last lake, and the Tajik visa fee listed as included.★ 4.9 · 11 to 12.5 hours · from $65
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