Uzbekistan in November: weather, crowds and what to do
Places in this article: Samarkand · Bukhara · Khiva · Tashkent
On 1 November the sun sets over Tashkent at 17:20. By the end of the month it goes down at 16:57. That one detail shapes a November trip more than the temperature does: the days are short, so we start early and keep the evenings for dinner and the old towns at dusk.
We live in Tashkent and travel the country all year, and November is one of our two favourite months, together with March. The season is ending, the big groups have gone home, and the afternoons in Samarkand and Bukhara are still good for walking. Here is what to expect, city by city.
Weather in Uzbekistan in November
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 | 14 °C | 4 °C | 51 mm |
| Samarkand | 14 °C | 3 °C | 40 mm |
| Bukhara | 15 °C | 2 °C | 15 mm |
| Khiva | 11 °C | 0 °C | 12 mm |
These are averages for the whole month. October averages about 22 °C in the afternoon and December only 7–8 °C, so the first days of November are warmer and the last ones colder. The desert cities, Bukhara and Khiva, are the driest; Tashkent gets the most rain. Khiva is the coldest, with nights around zero, so when we can we put it in the first half of the month.
Daylight: short days, early sunsets
The whole of Uzbekistan runs on one time zone, UTC+5, with no daylight saving. So the farther west you go, the later the sun rises and sets.
- Tashkent, 1 November: sunrise 06:53, sunset 17:20, about 10 hours 30 minutes of daylight.
- Tashkent, 30 November: sunrise 07:27, sunset 16:57, about 9 hours 30 minutes.
- Khiva, the same dates: sunrise 07:28 and 08:02, sunset 17:56 and 17:32.
In practice we start city walks at about nine and keep museums and indoor sights for the late afternoon. If you take the high-speed train from Tashkent, which leaves at 07:00 every day except Sunday and reaches Khiva at about 14:30, you still have around three hours of daylight inside the walls. Times and days are in our guide to trains in Uzbekistan.
Autumn colours and few crowds
At the end of October the streets and parks of Tashkent turn red, orange and yellow, and this is the time when the city goes out to walk and take photos.
In November the season winds down. In our experience the courtyards of Samarkand and Bukhara are calm, and you can stand in front of a An Islamic college: student cells and classrooms around a courtyard behind a grand portal. In the old towns many now house museums and craft workshops. portal without a stream of groups behind you. In April, May, September and October we book fast trains and well-located hotels early; in November it is much easier to get the train times and rooms you want.
Events and holidays in November
November has no public holidays in Uzbekistan. The next one is Constitution Day on 8 December. For a traveller this is simply a calm, ordinary month: you plan around the weather and the short days, not around a festival.
What to do in November: cities now, mountains later
November is a month for the cities. The trails in the Tashkent mountains are at their best from May to October, and the ski season at Amirsoy, Beldersay and Mountains of the Western Tian Shan about 80 km from Tashkent: hiking in summer, skiing in winter, the Charvak reservoir nearby. Read more → starts in December. More in our guide to the mountains around Tashkent.
Routes that work well this month:
- The 8-day classic tour or the slower 11-day classic tour, both through Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva and Tashkent.
- The 8-day independent tour, if you prefer to walk on your own with hotels, trains and transfers arranged.
- Taste of the Road, our culinary tour: cool weather is good weather for Rice cooked in a kazan with carrots, onions and meat: the dish of every Uzbek celebration. Each region cooks it its own way..
- Samarkand in a day from Tashkent, if you are based in the capital and have only one day.
Our day-by-day plan for Uzbekistan in 7 days works in November too; just start each day a little earlier.
What to pack for November
- Warm layers: a sweater or fleece and a proper jacket for the evenings, when it drops to 0–4 °C.
- Comfortable shoes that cope with wet pavements, especially in Tashkent and Samarkand.
- A hat and gloves if Khiva is at the end of your trip.
- A light scarf for mosques and mausoleums; the rules are in our guide to what to wear and etiquette.
- A card and some cash for bazaars and small shops: see cards, cash and tipping.
In short
- November is one of our two favourite months, with March: about 14–15 °C in the afternoon in Tashkent, Samarkand and Bukhara, 11 °C in Khiva.
- Nights are cold, 0–4 °C: bring warm layers.
- Days are short, with sunset around 17:00 in Tashkent: start early and see Khiva in daylight.
- No public holidays and few crowds; trains and hotels are easier to book than in October.
- Cities now, mountains from December. For the rest of the year, see when to visit Uzbekistan.
