Places in this article: Samarkand · Bukhara · Tashkent
Navruz in Uzbekistan: the sumalak night, 21 March and how to join the celebration
Sumalak has no single cook. On the eve of Navruz a pot of sprouted wheat goes on the fire in the evening, and until daylight whoever is awake takes a turn at stirring, makes a wish and hands the paddle on. In the morning the sweet brown paste is carried round to the neighbours.
We live in Tashkent, and Navruz is the week when the whole country is out of doors. This is our practical guide for travellers: what the holiday is, what to eat, where you can join in and what to book before everyone else does. The longer story of the holiday is in our article Navruz: Uzbekistan’s New Year Is Older Than Islam and Bigger Than a Holiday.
What Navruz is
Navruz is the new year of spring. It falls on 21 March, around the equinox, when the first greens come up and the orchards start to flower.
In 2009 UNESCO added Navruz to its list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity; Uzbekistan was one of the countries that nominated it. The entry has since been widened twice and now covers thirteen countries, from Türkiye to Mongolia.
In Uzbekistan the holiday is not just one day. Customs run before and after 21 March: houses and streets are cleaned, neighbours plant trees together, and in villages and mahallas, the neighbourhood communities, people sit down to a shared holiday meal. Folk musicians play, children fly kites and swings go up.
Navruz 2027: dates and days off
21 March is a public holiday every year; in 2027 it falls on a Sunday. Extra days off are announced each year by presidential decree. For 2026 the decree came out in late December 2025 and gave three days off, 21 to 23 March.
The public programme is also set each year. In 2026 the festivities in Tashkent ran from 20 to 23 March, and the venues were published a few days before. We follow the announcements and plan your days around them.
Sumalak: the dish that takes all night
Sumalak starts days before the holiday, when wheat is soaked and left to sprout. The sprouted wheat is cooked with water and flour in a large kazan, and the final cooking runs from evening until daylight. The paste must be stirred all the time, so sumalak is cooked in company: people sit around the pot, take turns at stirring, sing and make wishes. Near the end whole walnuts go in, each with a wish of its own.
By morning it is a thick, sweet brown paste; the sweetness comes from the sprouted wheat. It is shared out warm with neighbours, relatives and friends.
The easiest way for a traveller to taste it is at a public celebration: in 2026 the Tashkent City park sayl served sumalak on each of its three days. If you are invited into a courtyard where a pot is on the fire, say yes and take your turn with the paddle.
Halim, ko’k somsa and the green dishes
March brings the first spring greens, and the Navruz table shows it. Uzbekistan’s national list of intangible heritage names the seasonal dishes of the holiday:
- Halim: a thick, slow-cooked porridge of wheat and meat.
- Ko’k somsa: somsa, the baked pastry, filled with spring herbs.
- Ko’k chuchvara: small fried dumplings with a filling of herbs.
At the 2026 festivities in Tashkent, sumalak, halim, somsa and Rice cooked in a kazan with carrots, onions and meat: the dish of every Uzbek celebration. Each region cooks it its own way. were cooked on the spot for visitors to taste. Plov is not a Navruz dish as such, but it turns up at every big gathering; how it changes from city to city is in our guide to plov in Uzbekistan.
Concerts, sayl and mahalla celebrations
Navruz works on two levels. At the top, each year’s presidential decree sets the national programme: a main theatrical concert in Tashkent, decorated squares and streets in every region, folk games, craft fairs, sports competitions and open-air kitchens selling spring dishes. The big outdoor festivities are called sayl.
At street level it is the mahalla. Neighbours clean the streets together in a hashar, plant saplings, visit elderly residents and lay a holiday table for families who need help. This part is not a show for visitors, but in the days before the 21st you will see it all over town.
Where travellers can join Navruz
Tashkent
The capital has the biggest programme. In 2026 the city listed events in every district. The main venues were the O’zbekiston Ovozi tourist street, the Taras Shevchenko food street, Al-Khorezmi tourist street and the Navro’z ethno park on the Anhor canal, where the celebration ran for all three days. The ethno park, with houses in the styles of every region and craftsmen’s stalls, is worth a visit on any day of your trip.
Tashkent City park held a sayl from 20 to 22 March, with sumalak every day, concerts, a laser show, folklore performances and a craft fair. Entry was free.
Bukhara
Every region runs its own Navruz programme, and Bukhara’s is announced shortly before the holiday. Our Navruz in Bukhara tour is built around it. On 21 March you walk through the festive city in the morning, get to know Navruz traditions over a tasting of sumalak and national sweets, and end the day with a festive dinner.
Samarkand
Samarkand also holds its own regional celebration, announced in March. On our Navruz tour you reach Samarkand on 23 March by fast train from Bukhara, for the ,Did you know? The Registan's sun-carrying lion went on a banknote The Sher-Dor Madrasah (1619–1636) is named for the big cats with the sun on their backs on its portal. The image appeared on the reverse of Uzbekistan's 200-som note of 1997. Read more → ,Did you know? Timur's tombstone went to Persia and came back The dark-green jade slab on Timur's grave in Gur-e-Amir was carried off by Nader Shah in 1740. It broke, and on his advisers' urging he sent it back to Samarkand. Read more → Did you know? Why Shah-i-Zinda means 'the Living King' The necropolis grew around the shrine of Qutham ibn Abbas, a cousin of the Prophet Muhammad. Legend says he did not die in battle but went down a deep well to a garden of paradise, where he lives on. Read more → and the ,Samarkand's main bazaar, right next to Bibi-Khanym: Samarkand bread, dried fruit, nuts and halva. Read more → while the city still has its holiday look.
Practical tips for Navruz week
- Trains. Tickets go on sale 60 days before departure, so seats for 21 March 2027 open on 20 January. Holiday trains sell out first. How to buy them is in our guide to trains in Uzbekistan.
- Hotels. Navruz is a long weekend for Uzbek families too, and well-located hotels in Samarkand and Bukhara fill early. We book them as soon as your dates are firm. Our overview of where to stay explains the options.
- Crowds. Concerts and sayls draw big crowds. Agree a meeting point with your group and keep your phone charged.
- Cash. Cards work in almost all terminals, but stalls at a sayl and bazaars want cash. More in cards, cash and tipping.
- Manners. If someone invites you to their table, our notes on what to wear and how to behave in Uzbekistan cover shoes, bread and tea.
- Weather. What the rest of the month is like is in Uzbekistan in March.
Our Navruz tours
Navruz in Bukhara is an 8-day group tour on fixed dates, 18 to 25 March: two days in Khiva, Navruz in Bukhara on 21 March, then Samarkand and Tashkent. If those dates do not suit you, we can build a private trip around Navruz in Tashkent or another city with a guide in your language: start with our tour finder. Other events of the year are in our festivals calendar for 2027.
In short
- Navruz, the spring new year, is on 21 March; in 2027 it is a Sunday, and the extra days off are announced each year.
- Sumalak is cooked all night, stirred in turns with wishes, and shared in the morning.
- Look for halim, ko’k somsa and ko’k chuchvara: the green dishes of the season.
- Tashkent has the biggest public programme; our tour puts you in Bukhara on the day itself.
- Seats for 21 March go on sale on 20 January; book trains and hotels early.
