Khujand is the Ferghana valley's Tajik gateway and an easy two days. Start at Panjshanbe Bazaar and the Sheikh Muslihiddin complex across the square, then walk to the fortress and the Sughd history museum. Ride the cable car over the Syr Darya to Somoni Park for the evening. On day two see Arbob Palace and swim in the Tajik Sea, or drive to Istaravshan.
Tajikistan's second city sits on the Syr Darya where the Ferghana valley opens, and it is older than almost anywhere in Central Asia: Alexander took it in 329 BC and called it Alexandria Eschate, the furthest. Leninabad for most of the Soviet era, it is now the capital of Sughd and the north's market town.
One of the largest covered markets in Central Asia, a Soviet-era pavilion with oriental arches facing the Sheikh Muslihiddin mosque. Go early for the dried fruit and nut rows, taste before you buy and bargain; the name means Thursday, the old market day.
The citadel on the river was rebuilt again and again, most famously after its governor Timur Malik held it against the Mongols in 1219. Walk the restored walls for the river view, then step into the Historical Museum of Sughd in the southeast corner.
The region's story from prehistory to independence, told inside the fortress walls; the marble mosaics of Alexander the Great are the set piece. Allow an hour, and ask at the door whether the small archaeology museum in the eastern wall is open on the same ticket.
A mausoleum for Muslihiddin Khujandi, the 12th-century poet and ruler of the town, rebuilt after the Mongols, with a mosque and a 19th-century minaret beside it. It is a working shrine: dress modestly, and come between prayers.
A collective-farm palace built in 1957 and modelled on Peterhof, where the Supreme Soviet's 1992 session elected Emomali Rahmon chairman. The south wing holds a museum of the farm and of collectivisation; the formal gardens are the reason to linger.
A cable car crosses the river between Somoni Park on the right bank and the fortress on the left, the quickest way to see how the city sits on the water. The lower station is the blue building in the park. Ride it toward the fortress late in the day, with the low sun on the water.
A memorial park rebuilt from 2014 on the riverbank below the fortress, where the poet Kamol Khujandi is said to have been born. He is buried in Tabriz; the tomb here is symbolic, consecrated with soil from his grave, and a bronze statue stands nearby.
Moved out of the centre in 2011 and still the tallest Lenin in Central Asia, about 12 metres of statue on a pedestal of the same height. The park is a short taxi ride out and turns into a fairground in the evening.
The Kayrakkum reservoir on the Syr Darya, renamed the Tajik Sea by parliament in 2016 and lined with Soviet-era sanatoriums. Skip the free beach by the dam, which is often littered, and pay the small fee at a sanatorium beach instead.
One of Tajikistan's oldest towns, an hour by road, with the blue-domed Kok Gumbaz madrasa, the hilltop Mug Teppe fortress and the Hazrati Shoh mausoleum. One day covers it; go on the way to or from Dushanbe if you travel by road.
A reconstructed old house outside the west wall, with bread baked to old recipes.
A 1957 collective-farm palace on the Peterhof model, with a museum wing.
A full public holiday, with concerts and family gatherings.
Four public holidays for the Persian new year, with concerts and street food.
The north's tulip festival, hosted by a different town each year.
The 1945 Soviet victory, marked in Victory Park.
Marks the 1997 accord that ended the civil war. Offices close.
Parades and concerts for the 1991 break with the Soviet Union.
The old Persian harvest festival, as the valley's fruit comes in.
A public holiday for the constitution adopted in 1994.
About 10 km southeast in Buston. Somon Air flies to Dushanbe daily in about an hour and to Russian cities; a taxi in is 15 to 25 minutes, fare agreed first.
The usual way to Dushanbe: about 340 km over the Anzob tunnel on the M34, five to six hours. Seats fill at the taxi stands before departure.
Taxis to the Fotehobod and Oybek crossing leave from the northern bus station; the border opens 24 hours. Tashkent is about four hours door to door.
Minibuses cover the main roads cheaply and taxis are inexpensive; agree the fare first. The cable car links the two banks.
Plov from the kazan; Khujand's version uses yellow carrots.
Torn flatbread soaked in qurut whey, topped with fried onion.
Tandoor pastries filled with lamb and onion, or pumpkin.
Round tandoor flatbread, baked fresh around the bazaar.
Mutton skewers over coals, ordered by the stick.
Hand-pulled noodles in broth with meat and vegetables.
The valley's best-known crop, sold by weight at Panjshanbe.
Black tea boiled with milk and butter, a breakfast in a bowl.
Subscribe to the Wimup newsletter for new guides, travel news and more.
Tajikistan
