Uzbekistan
Samarkand and Bukhara are the Silk Road at its most intact
Population
37m people
Currency
Uzbek Som
Main Language
Uzbek
best time to visit
April – May and September – October
Climate
Continental desert, very hot summers, cold winters, dry year round
Visa
Visa free for up to 30 days for UK, EU and most Western visitors
Country overview
Uzbekistan holds the greatest concentration of Silk Road architecture anywhere and has spent the last few years becoming dramatically easier to visit. Visas were scrapped for most Western nationalities, the registration rules were relaxed and a high-speed train now links the main cities, which together turned a difficult trip into a straightforward one.
Samarkand is the headline. The Registan, three madrasas facing a public square, tiled in a blue that does not really photograph accurately, is one of the great architectural sights on earth. Bukhara is more intact as a living old town, with a 47-metre minaret that Genghis Khan reportedly spared out of admiration. Khiva is a walled desert city that feels close to a museum piece.
Beyond the monuments, this is Central Asia proper. The food runs on plov, lamb and bread baked in tandirs. The Fergana valley is fertile and traditional. And the Aral Sea, or what remains of it, sits in the northwest as one of the most stark environmental disasters anywhere, with ships stranded in sand.
Annual events and festivals
- Navruz (21 Mar) — Persian new year and the biggest festival of the year. Sumalak wheat pudding cooked overnight in huge cauldrons.
- Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr, Ramazon Hayit (varies) — a public holiday with family visits and charity.
- Eid al-Adha, Qurbon Hayit (varies) — the second Eid, also a public holiday.
- Independence Day (1 Sep) — marks the 1991 declaration, with large staged concerts.
- Sharq Taronalari, Samarkand (Aug, odd years) — an international festival of traditional music in the Registan.
- Boysun Bahori (Apr) — a UNESCO-recognised spring festival of folk traditions in the mountains.
- Silk and Spices Festival, Bukhara (May) — craft markets and folk performance in the old town.
- Melon Festival (Aug) — Uzbek melons are a serious national point of pride.
- Constitution Day (8 Dec) — marks the 1992 constitution.
- Art Week and Tashkent Biennale (Oct-Nov) — a growing contemporary art scene in the capital.
Uzbekistan Travel Guides
Uzbekistan guides are coming soon.