Uzbekistan in March: Navruz, spring weather and tips

On 1 March the sun is up over Tashkent for 11 hours 18 minutes. On 31 March it is 12 hours 41 minutes. In one month you gain almost an hour and a half of daylight, the orchards start to blossom, and on 21 March the whole country celebrates the new year.

We live in Tashkent and travel the country all year. March opens the season, and together with November it is our favourite month to travel: the weather turns mild, and the big tour groups have not arrived yet. Here is what to expect.

Weather in Uzbekistan in March

Average daytime highs and night lows from the long-term climate normals (1991–2020), the same figures we use across this site. Khiva's numbers come from the weather station in Urgench, 35 km away.

City	Day	Night	Rain in the month
Tashkent	16 °C	5 °C	66 mm
Samarkand	15 °C	5 °C	73 mm
Bukhara	17 °C	5 °C	25 mm
Khiva	14 °C	2 °C	22 mm

These are averages for the whole month. February averages about 9 °C in the afternoon and April about 23 °C, so the start of March is cool and the end of it already feels like spring. In Samarkand March is the wettest month of the year, and Tashkent is not far behind; Bukhara and Khiva are much drier.

Navruz in Uzbekistan: 21 March

Navruz, the spring new year, falls on 21 March and is a public holiday. It is on UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage, which Uzbekistan shares with twelve other countries.

The dish of the holiday is sumalak. Sprouted wheat and water cook in a big pot from evening until morning, and the people around it take turns to stir and make wishes; near the end whole walnuts go into the pot. In the morning the warm, sweet paste is shared with neighbours, relatives and friends.

Our Navruz in Bukhara tour runs on fixed dates, 18 to 25 March, and puts you in Bukhara on the day itself: a morning walk through the festive city, an introduction to Navruz traditions with a tasting of sumalak and national sweets, and a festive dinner in the evening. The route also takes in Khiva, Samarkand and Tashkent.

Two weeks before Navruz, on 8 March, International Women's Day is also a public holiday.

Ramadan in 2027

In 2027 Ramadan falls mostly in February. It is expected to begin around 8 February and to end around 9–10 March with Ramazon Hayit, a public holiday. The exact days follow the moon, and we confirm them when we plan your trip.

Uzbekistan is a secular country, and in the cities cafés and restaurants stay open in the daytime during Ramadan. How to behave and what Ramazon Hayit looks like is in our guide to etiquette in Uzbekistan.

Blossom in the valleys, snow in the mountains

March is when almond and apricot trees flower; after a warm winter the apricots in the south can open as early as February. A March frost can still catch the blossom, so the exact timing changes from year to year.

In the mountains it is still winter. The ski season at Amirsoy runs until late March, at Beldersay until early April and at Chimgan until about mid-March, all 65–85 km from Tashkent. Our ski weekend in the Tashkent mountains fits in before or after a city tour. More in our guide to the mountains around Tashkent.

Crowds and booking

In our experience March is calm: the squares of Samarkand and Bukhara have few groups, especially in the first half of the month. High season starts in April, when fast trains and well-located hotels sell out first. Around Navruz we book train seats and hotels in good time.

Routes that work well in March:

• The 8-day classic tour or the slower 11-day classic tour through Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva and Tashkent.
• The 10-day off-the-beaten-path tour, for a second trip or a slower pace.
• The 8-day group tour of Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva, if you prefer to travel with a group.

Our day-by-day plan for Uzbekistan in 7 days shows how we lay out a week.

What to pack for March

• Layers: a T-shirt for a sunny afternoon, a sweater and a jacket for nights around 2–5 °C.
• A waterproof jacket or a small umbrella, above all for Samarkand and Tashkent.
• Shoes that stay dry in the rain.
• Real winter clothes if you are going up to the ski areas.
• A light scarf for mosques and mausoleums, and a card plus some cash: see cards, cash and tipping.

In short

• March opens the season and, with November, is our favourite month: about 14–17 °C in the afternoon, 2–5 °C at night.
• Navruz on 21 March is a public holiday; sumalak is cooked all night and shared in the morning.
• In 2027 Ramadan is expected to end around 9–10 March with Ramazon Hayit.
• Almonds and apricots blossom, while the ski lifts near Tashkent still run.
• Pack for rain in Samarkand and Tashkent. For the rest of the year, see when to visit Uzbekistan.