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Places in this article: Samarkand · Bukhara · Khiva · Tashkent
When is the Best Time to Visit Uzbekistan? Seasons & Weather
In July the average afternoon in Bukhara reaches 37 °C, and almost no rain falls all month. In November the same streets average 14.5 °C, and the courtyards are quiet. Same city, same monuments, two very different trips. When you come decides how many hours a day you can spend outdoors.
We live in Tashkent and take guests around the country in every month. Our short answer: the season in the cities runs from March to June and from September to November, and our favourite months are March and November. Here is why, and what each part of the year is good for.
The year in numbers
Average daytime highs, from long-term climate normals (1991–2020). Khiva's figures come from the weather station in Urgench, 35 km away.
| Month | Tashkent | Samarkand | Bukhara | Khiva |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7 °C | 7 °C | 7 °C | 3 °C |
| March | 16 °C | 15 °C | 17 °C | 14 °C |
| April | 22 °C | 21 °C | 24 °C | 22 °C |
| May | 28 °C | 27 °C | 31 °C | 29 °C |
| July | 36 °C | 35 °C | 37 °C | 36 °C |
| September | 30 °C | 29 °C | 30 °C | 28 °C |
| October | 22 °C | 22 °C | 23 °C | 20 °C |
| November | 14 °C | 14 °C | 15 °C | 11 °C |
Two things stand out. Khiva, out in the Khorezm oasis, is the coldest of the four in winter. And from April to July Bukhara is two to four degrees hotter than Samarkand.
Spring: March to May
March opens the season. Afternoons are around 15–17 °C in Samarkand and Bukhara, nights are still cool, and the big tour groups have not arrived yet. Pack a jacket and a light sweater: in Samarkand March is also the wettest month of the year.
On 21 March the country celebrates Navruz, the spring new year and a public holiday. Families cook Did you know? Sumalak is sweet, yet nobody adds sugar Traditional sumalak is made of nothing but sprouted wheat and water; its sweetness comes from the sprouts themselves. Add flour to thicken it faster and the paste turns out less sweet. The last night of cooking was traditionally spent singing around the pot. Read more →, a sweet paste of sprouted wheat that simmers in a large pot all night and is shared with neighbours in the morning. Our Navruz in Bukhara tour is built around these days.
April and May are warm and dry, with afternoons in the twenties. This is high season: fast trains and well-located hotels sell out first, so we book early.
Summer: June to August
June is still workable in the cities if you start early. July and August are the hard months: highs average 35–37 °C and rain is almost unheard of. We do not recommend a classic city tour then.
If summer is your only window, we plan around the heat. Sightseeing starts at the opening hour and stops before lunch; the afternoon is for the hotel, a museum or the train; the old town comes back to life after sunset. Bring a hat and sunscreen, and keep a bottle of water with you: bottled water is sold at every kiosk.
Summer is also when the mountains are at their best. On a July afternoon ,Mountains of the Western Tien Shan about 80 km from Tashkent: hiking in summer, skiing in winter, the Charvak reservoir nearby. Read more → about 85 km from Tashkent, is almost ten degrees cooler than the city, and the hiking trails are open from May to October. More in our guide to the mountains around Tashkent.
Autumn: September to November
September still feels like summer in the afternoon, around 30 °C, but the nights are cooler and it barely rains. October is the most comfortable month for long walking days, with highs in the low twenties and very little rain.
November is the second of our favourite months. Afternoons are around 14 °C in Samarkand and Bukhara, a little colder in Khiva, the light is soft and the crowds are gone. Bring warm layers for the evenings.
Winter: December to February
Winter is the quiet season. Daytime highs are around 7–10 °C in Tashkent, Samarkand and Bukhara and 3–5 °C in Khiva, and nights hover around zero or below, coldest in Khiva. Days are short, so we start later and plan more indoor stops.
The reward is empty squares and calm museums. Around New Year we run special trips such as New Year in Samarkand. From December to March the ski areas at ,Did you know? Amirsoy drew about 150,000 visitors in its first three months Amirsoy opened in December 2019 on the northern slope of Mount Maygashkan in the Chatkal range, about 65 km from Tashkent. Some 150,000 visitors, mostly locals, came in its first three months, and its chalets get about 90% of their energy from the sun. Read more → Beldersay and Chimgan, all within 65–85 km of Tashkent, are open.
Eating with the seasons
The calendar shows on the table as clearly as on the thermometer. Navruz is the time of young greens: next to the sumalak, the festive table has green somsa, ko‘k somsa, filled with herbs instead of meat, and green chuchvara dumplings. From May the bazaars fill up with strawberries and cherries, and apricots follow.
Summer is fruit season. Melons and watermelons are harvested through July and August, and in mid-August the grape harvest begins in the vineyards near Tashkent.
Autumn is harvest time. September brings quinces, pomegranates and figs, persimmons come later in the autumn, and grapes keep ripening, one variety after another, until late in the season. This is also when manti and somsa with pumpkin filling appear.
In winter we steer guests towards hot, slow dishes: a bowl of shurpa, or dimlama, braised in its own juices under a tight lid. The bazaars then sell what the summer left behind: raisins dried from kishmish grapes, and almonds.
Each of these dishes has its own story, and we tell them in Uzbek cuisine: 10 dishes worth trying. On our Taste of the Road culinary tour you visit the bazaar in every city and cook with local chefs in three hands-on classes.
Holidays to know about
Navruz on 21 March and Independence Day on 1 September are the big public holidays. Two religious holidays, Ramazon Hayit and Qurbon Hayit, follow the Islamic lunar calendar and move about 11 days earlier every year. We check these dates when we plan your trip.
Not sure which route suits your month? Our 8-day classic tour runs in both seasons, and Uzbekistan in 7 days shows how we lay out the week.
In short
- The city season is March to June and September to November; we like March and November best.
- July and August average 35–37 °C in the afternoon: go to the mountains, or sightsee only early and late.
- Navruz is on 21 March, a good reason to come in spring.
- Winter is quiet and cold at night, especially in Khiva; skiing near Tashkent runs from December to March.
- In April, May, September and October book trains and hotels early.
- Every season has its own table: green somsa at Navruz, melons in July and August, pomegranates and quinces in autumn.
