Hiking The Seven Lakes & Samarkand

This is the second of three parts detailing my cycling and hiking tour around Tajikistan's Fann Mountains in August 2025. Here are links to Part One and Part Three.

Crossing into Uzbekistan was something of a culture shock. I had only spent around ten days in Tajikistan, but had quickly got used to the rather chaotic and ad-hoc way of doing things. Most things seemed to be negotiated, even at the border crossing there were animated discussions between locals and immigration officials about whether or not they were allowed to bring their huge watermelons across the border. It was generally doine in a good spirit though. While cycling on the roads, people offered dried apricots, tea and always wanted to chat.

Uzbekistan was similarly friendly, but immediately appeared much more organized and more affluent, even before I had reached the prosperous city of Samarkand. My first and enduring impression of Uzbekistan was that the people were very diligent and hard working, with a healthy pride in their country. Whereas most Tajiks are ethnically close to Persians, Uzbeks are a Turkic people and saw themeselves as having more in common with Turkey, Kazakhstan and Tatarstan, and culturally it felt different to Tajikistan.

I had wanted to visit Samarkand and Bukhara for a long time, fascinated by their role in ancient trade, the spread of Islam and the influence of the Mongols and their successor states. I wanted to learn more about how Timur is celebrated as a hero in Samarkand, while I had just finished a trip in Georgia and Armenia, where he is very much portrayed as the villain in places like Akhaltsikhe.

Samarkand and Bukhara are both quite heavily visited tourist cities these days, and there is a lot of information online about what to see and where to go, so I won't go into too much detail in this section, but I would definitely recommend to visit both. Samarkand's Registan and Shah i Zinda were awe-inspiring; while Bukhara's old town and caravanserai really helped you to picture the historic importance and merchant traffic that made this region so prosperous.

Before we reached Uzbekistan, however, we also did a couple of excellent hikes around Haft Kul (Seven Lakes) in Tajikistan, about which there is much less information. So, on this page I will focus mostly on those, as well as a couple of enjoyable walks we did around the outskirts of Samarkand.





Our first walk around Haft Kul was a short circular route into the mountains behind Nofin, where we stayed. It only took a couple of hours, but was a very scenic little route passing some shepherd areas, with some fantastic views looking west towards the mountains along the border with Uzbekistan.



The main hike at Haft Kul was a long circular route that followed the dirt track around the sixth and seventh lakes, before climbing to Tovasang via a spectacular ridge and balcony trail. From the pass, we returned quite steeply downhill via the picturesque village of Khftrud, before returning north along the lakes to Nofin.

At 32 km (20 miles) and with 1800m (6000ft) elevation, this was a tough walk, but the trails were in good condition and we finished it without feeling overly tired.

I highly recommend it as an option for experienced hikers. The ascent from the Seventh Lake to Tovasang was absolutely fantastic, in particular the balcony section around Tardane Kvah, as well as the views of the surrounding high peaks from Tovasang Pass.

Technically it was all quite easy (at least in dry conditions), but bear in mind that it is very remote. There are water sources (which need to be filtered), but food is non existent on the demanding part of the route, from the Seventh Lake, until you return to Haftrud.

Uzbekistan

We spent five nights in total in Samarkand and three in Bukhara, which was enough to get a feel for each city. It would definitely be possible to spend longer, particularly if you have a genuine interest in the Silk Road trading routes, Genghis Khan and Timur, as well as the different influences that have shaped modern Uzbek culture.

Although the monumental centre of Samarkand (mostly dating to the 14th and 15th centuries, when the city was ruled by figures such as Timur and Ulug Beg) is absolutely incredibly, my adventurours instincts made me want to explore the rest of the city and its surroundings.

Somehow I ended up in an area called Beer Street, where the Czech owned Pulsar brewey was located. Presumably set up as a kind of clone of Pilsner Urquell, this turned out to be a very tasty beer, and was well worth the trip. Upon leaving the brewery, we were greeted by the noise of a football match next door. Peering through the fence we could make out that Dinamo Samarkand were playing against Pakhtakor (the main team from Tashkent), in a fairly important top of the league clash. A policeman spotted us peering through the fence and, rather than berating us, actually invited us in to watch the match. This was typical of Uzbek hospitality, particularly outside of the typical tourist areas, where locals were very keen to ensure that you left with a good impression of the country. The game finished in a dramatic 1-1 draw, with Dinamo crashing a shot onto the bar in injury time. There was a great atmosphere, with the stadium nearly full and plenty of noise from both the home and away supporters. Uzbekistan qualified for their first World Cup in 2026, and it was good to see passionate fans selling out the stadium.

From Samarkand we took the train to Bukhara. It was easy to buy tickets online and the journey took only around two hours. Both stations were a little way out of town, but the Yandex app worked well to arrange a transfer; there are also buses, but they seemed to fill up quite quickly as the trains let off hundreds of people.

Bukhara was a lot smaller than Samarkand and more charming in some ways. We were content to wander around the old town, visiting the impressive Ark, the stunning Kalan Mosque and a couple of museums. I had some mild food poisoning with a light fever, which made it pretty uncomfortable to be out in the 45°C heat, so much of the day was also spent resting and recuperating. We stayed in a hotel that was a former caravanserai (an inn used by travelling merchants along the silk road), so it was a nice place to just rest and soak up the atmosphere.

Samarkand Hikes

From Bukhara we returned by train to Samarkand and had a couple more days to spend in the city. We wanted to do something more active and also to see something outside of the main tourist centre, so planned a couple of hikes. The first one was more of a sightseeing walk around the north of the city.

We got a Yandex (the equivalent of Uber in Uzbekistan) from the centre to the Sieb Aryk river, close to where it joins the M39 road. From here we followed a path along the river for over 12km. It began by passing through the scenic Konigil tourist village which showcases 17th century water mills and traditional crafts.

The scenic walkway then continues to the northern edge of the Afrosiyob - the remains of ancient Samarkand. It is a vast area that was once a city of great importance on the Silk Road, before being destroyed following a siege by Genghis Khan in 1220. The mud brick houses were burned and badly damaged and, over time, began to return to mud leaving small mounds where they once stood.

You can freely enter the site to wander around and it's possible to appreciate the original imposing city walls which rose up from the Sieb Aryk River, where traders and embassies would be greeted and either welcomed into the city or sent packing.

Next to the Afrosiyob is also the site of a mausoleum dedicated to St Daniel - a figure who is venerated in Islam, Christianity and Judaism. He was supposedly a royal descendent of King David and Solomon, who was exiled from Jerusalem to Babylon in the 6th century BCE, under the rule of Nebuchadnezzar. There he showed academic talents, which led him to become a leading politican under the Persian ruler Darius. This angered locals, who slandered him and had him thrown to the lions, but the lions refused to touch him. Darius, apparently taking heed of the miraculous circumstances, then had the slanderers put to death. The historicity of Daniel being buried in Samarkand is slightly dubious, but the original mausoleum here was constructed by Timur in his honour.

The hike finished by continuing along the river for another few kilometres. At this point we were feeling pretty tired in the heat and so ordered a Yandex to take us back to the centre, but it is also walkable.



The second hike was less about sightseeing and more to explore the nature around Samarkand, in particular the mountain peak of Kemuqton. We took a Yandex out to Yuqori Og'alig, where the paved road ended, and hiked into the hills from there.

It was a really nice route that was difficult to find much information about in advance, but I highly recommend it if you want to do something active outside of the city. The first part of the walk was on a dirt road, before turning off onto sheep tracks which ascended to Kemuqton.

Most of the route was easy technically, although there is some scrambling towards the top of Kemuqton where you have to hop across some large boulders. The views are really impressive and it was somewhat surprising to us that such a beautiful mountain so close to Samarkand was empty, even when we visited on the weekend.

The only other people we saw were a few shepherds with their flocks and (well-behaved) dogs. Bear this in mind if you choose to go here, as there might not be anyone else around to help if you get into difficulties!

Returning to Samarkand was slightly awkward as there was no mobile phone reception in much of the area. Eventually though we found a shared taxi point (marked on the map), and a driver promptly took us back to the edge of Samarkand.





Anyway, in summary it was a very enjoyable hike, which I recommend if you are spending several days in Samarkand and want to see a different side to the city.

Having spent a week in Uzbekistan, travelling between the two cities, I was pleased with my decision not to bring my bike here. It was extremely hot in August and the scenery was mostly desert and pretty underwhelming compared with what I had been experiencing in the Fann Mountains. I was happy to mostly explore the cities and return to Tajikistan refreshed and ready for more riding.

From Uzbekistan I would head to the isolated and supposedly beautiful Yaghnob Valley.


Part 1 - Cycling Artuch to Panjakent

Part 3 - The Yaghnob Valley

Tajikistan Fann Mountains Tour Overview

Cycle Touring Guides