Uzbekistan in May: weather, holidays and travel tips

On 31 May the sun sets over Khiva at 20:26. Step off the morning train from Tashkent at half past two and you still have six hours of daylight for the old town, the city walls and a late dinner on a rooftop. May gives Uzbekistan its longest evenings of the spring, and they are warm enough to spend outside.

We live in Tashkent and travel the country all year. May is the second half of the spring season: the showers fade, the afternoons climb towards thirty degrees, and the mountains open for walking. Here is how the month looks in each city, and how we plan around it.

Weather in Uzbekistan in May

The figures are long-term averages (climate normals 1991–2020), the same ones we use across the site. For Khiva we take the weather station in Urgench, 35 km away.

City	Day	Night	Rain in the month
Tashkent	28 °C	14 °C	41 mm
Samarkand	27 °C	14 °C	40 mm
Bukhara	31 °C	16 °C	11 mm
Khiva	29 °C	15 °C	13 mm

May sits between a mild April, with afternoons in the low twenties, and a hot June, when the average is about 34 °C. Early May is pleasant everywhere; by the last week Bukhara and Khiva already feel like summer at midday. Bukhara is the warmest of the four and passes 30 °C on an average May afternoon.

Rain falls mostly in Tashkent and Samarkand, about 40 mm in the month, roughly a third less than in April. In Bukhara and Khiva it barely rains at all. Nights stay at 14–16 °C, so evenings are for walking, not for coats.

Daylight in May

Uzbekistan keeps one clock for the whole country, UTC+5, and never switches to summer time. Khiva lies far to the west, so the sun rises and sets there about 35 minutes later than in Tashkent.

• Tashkent, 1 May: sunrise 05:19, sunset 19:21, about 14 hours of daylight.
• Tashkent, 31 May: sunrise 04:51, sunset 19:50, almost 15 hours.
• Khiva, the same dates: sunrise 05:55 and 05:26, sunset 19:57 and 20:26.

The fast train to Khiva leaves Tashkent at 07:00 every day except Sunday and arrives at about 14:30, which in May leaves five and a half to six hours before sunset. The schedule and how to buy tickets are in our guide to trains in Uzbekistan.

Holidays in May 2027

9 May is the Day of Remembrance and Honour, a public holiday. It honours those who died in the Second World War and those who worked on the home front, and in Tashkent people lay flowers at the memorial in Victory Park, opened in 2020.

The second holiday moves with the lunar calendar. Kurban Hayit, the Feast of Sacrifice, is expected on 16 or 17 May 2027; the exact day is announced shortly before. It is a public holiday too, and for trains around those dates we buy tickets on the first day of sales. Other events of the year, with the dates that are already fixed, are in our festival calendar for 2027.

The mountains open for walking

May is the first month of the hiking season in the mountains near Tashkent, which runs to October. The slopes are at their greenest. At Chimgan the average afternoon is 18 °C and the night 10 °C, ten degrees cooler than the city, but May is still wet up there, with about 120 mm of rain in the month. We keep a free day in the plan and choose the walking day by the forecast.

Lower down, the Nuratau ridge between Samarkand and Bukhara is at its best in April and May, when the hillsides are covered in wildflowers. Our Nuratau Mountains extension adds a night with a family in a village and a guided morning walk to a classic route. Where else to walk, and how hard it is, is in our guide to hiking in Uzbekistan.

For a trip by car there is the Jeep Expedition: High Tashkent, and from Samarkand the Seven Lakes jeep expedition into Tajikistan, which runs from March to November.

Crowds and booking

May is high season. Together with April, September and October, it is the month when the morning Afrosiyob trains and the hotels close to the old towns of Samarkand and Bukhara sell out first. Train tickets go on sale 60 days before departure: for a trip in mid-May, that means mid-March. We book on the first days.

Routes that suit May:

• The 8-day classic tour, or the 11-day classic tour with more time in each city: Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva.
• The 8-day group tour of Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva, which starts every Friday in 2026 and 2027.
• The 4-day Samarkand group tour, with arrivals every Friday, for a short trip.
• The Fergana Valley crafts tour: silk in Margilan and ceramics in Rishtan, with afternoons around 28 °C in Fergana.

How we lay out a first week is in Uzbekistan in 7 days. If you prefer the softer weather of early spring, read Uzbekistan in April.

What to pack for May

• Light, breathable clothes that cover shoulders and knees: cool in the afternoon heat and right for mosques.
• A sun hat, sunglasses and sunscreen, especially for the open squares of Bukhara and Khiva.
• A thin sweater for nights of 14–16 °C, and a rain jacket if you are going to the mountains.
• A refillable water bottle; plan sightseeing for the morning and evening at the end of the month.
• A scarf for religious sites (see what to wear and etiquette), and some cash next to your card for bazaars (see cards, cash and tipping).

In short

• May is warm: 27–31 °C in the afternoon, 14–16 °C at night, with rain mainly in Tashkent and Samarkand.
• The days are the longest of the spring: almost 15 hours of light at the end of the month, and sunset in Khiva at 20:26.
• Holidays: 9 May, and Kurban Hayit around 16–17 May 2027.
• The hiking season opens in May; Chimgan is green but still rainy.
• It is high season: train tickets go on sale 60 days ahead, so book early. Other months are compared in when to visit Uzbekistan.