Country guide
Uzbekistan
Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva: the Silk Road's blue-domed showpieces, linked by fast trains across the desert.
Currency
UZS
Language
Uzbek
+ Russian
English
Limited
Payment
Cash preferred
Power
Type C / F
230 V, 50 Hz
Dialing
+998
Destinations
Bukhara
The Silk Road's most intact old city - two hundred monuments, still lived in, nearly all inside a twenty-minute walk.
✓ best Mar-May, Sep-NovFergana Valley (Margilan)
Uzbekistan's craft heartland: hand-woven ikat silk in Margilan, blue-glazed pottery in Rishton and a khan's palace in Kokand, almost entirely to yourself.
✓ best Mar-Jun, Aug-OctKhiva
A walled desert town you can cross in ten minutes, holding a whole khanate's worth of minarets, madrasas and palaces inside one mud-brick rampart.
✓ best Mar-May, Sep-OctNukus
A concrete provincial capital in the desert holding one of the world's great collections of suppressed Soviet art, and the road out to a sea that is gone.
✓ best Apr-May, Sep-OctSamarkand
Three tiled madrasahs facing each other across one square - the Registan is the single most spectacular thing the Silk Road left standing.
✓ best Mar-May, Sep-OctTashkent
Levelled by an earthquake in 1966 and rebuilt by the whole Soviet Union - Central Asia's biggest city hides a marble metro under its boulevards.
✓ best Mar-Jun, Sep-NovTermez
Uzbekistan's Buddhist city - Kushan monasteries and a stupa on the Afghan frontier, in the country's hottest and least-visited corner.
✓ best Mar-Apr, Oct-NovThe sweet-spot windows
Good weather, thinner crowds, better prices: the windows worth aiming for.
| Where | When | Why it works | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Desert & Aral | Apr-May, Oct | Only sane window for desert treks + Kyzylkum yurt stays | Jun-Aug desert heat tops 40°C |
| Silk Road cities (Samarkand, Bukhara) | Apr-May, Sep-Oct | Silk Road cities at their best: mild, dry, clear skies for photos | Jul-Aug scorching. Book ahead around Nowruz (Mar 21) |
Climate zones, month by month
Uzbekistan has 7 distinct climate zones. The right month depends on where in the country you're going.
Bukhara Silk Road →
✓ Best Mar-May, Sep-Nov · ✗ Avoid Jan
Watch for Jun-Aug extreme heat risk
Cards tinted by calculated verdict · big number = typical daily high, small = low · hover for conditions
Fergana Valley (Margilan) →
✓ Best Mar-Jun, Aug-Oct · ✗ Avoid Dec-Jan
Watch for Jul extreme heat risk
Cards tinted by calculated verdict · big number = typical daily high, small = low · hover for conditions
Khiva Silk Road →
✓ Best Mar-May, Sep-Oct · ✗ Avoid Dec-Feb
Watch for Jul extreme heat risk
Cards tinted by calculated verdict · big number = typical daily high, small = low · hover for conditions
Nukus Karakalpakstan →
✓ Best Apr-May, Sep-Oct · ✗ Avoid Dec-Feb
Watch for Jul extreme heat risk
Cards tinted by calculated verdict · big number = typical daily high, small = low · hover for conditions
Samarkand Silk Road →
✓ Best Mar-May, Sep-Oct · ✗ Avoid Jul-Aug
Conditions Jan Cold & clear · Feb Cold, crisp · Mar Spring, Nowruz · Apr Ideal spring · May Warm & busy · Jun Hot · Jul-Aug Scorching · Sep Warm & clear · Oct Ideal autumn · Nov Cool · Dec Cold
Cards tinted by verified verdict · big number = typical daily high, small = low · hover for conditions
Tashkent →
✓ Best Mar-Jun, Sep-Nov
Watch for Jul extreme heat risk
Cards tinted by calculated verdict · big number = typical daily high, small = low · hover for conditions
Termez →
✓ Best Mar-Apr, Oct-Nov · ✗ Avoid Jun-Aug
Conditions Jan-Feb Cool · Mar Warm spring · Apr Warm, trek season · May Hot · Jun Very hot · Jul-Aug Extreme heat · Sep Hot easing · Oct Warm, trek season · Nov Mild · Dec Cool
Watch for Jun-Aug extreme heat risk
Cards tinted by verified verdict · big number = typical daily high, small = low · hover for conditions