Samarkand sits at 700 m elevation with a continental climate:
| Season | Temp (°C) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| --- | --- | --- |
| March | 5–15 | Wet, tree blossoms |
| April–May | 12–28 | Ideal — clear skies, wildflowers, still-empty sites |
| June | 20–36 | Comfortable evenings, hot midday |
| July–August | 24–40 | Very hot; visit sites before 10:00 |
| September–October | 12–28 | Second ideal window — pomegranate harvest |
| November | 3–14 | Chilly, thinning crowds |
| December–February | −3 to 8 | Cold, occasional snow, deserted sites |
Golden hour: about 15 minutes before sunset, the west-facing madrasas at the Registan catch a warm light that photographs make famous. In April this happens around 19:00; in October around 18:00.
Navruz (21 March), the Persian/Central Asian new year, brings public festivities on Registan Square but also large domestic crowds.
Ramadan (moving date) affects opening hours of some smaller cafés and restaurants outside the tourist zone. Most monuments and hotels operate normally.
Samarkand in photos
A short visual companion to this entry — photographs of Samarkand from our travel archive.
Related entries
- Plan
When to visit Uzbekistan: month by month
April–May and September–October are ideal (20–28°C, low crowds). Summer 35–42°C is hot but manageable. Winter 0°C is cold but monuments are empty and prices drop 30–40%.
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The Registan in Samarkand: history and layout
The Registan is a public square framed by three grand madrasas built between 1420 and 1660 — Timurid architecture at its zenith.
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Bibi-Khanym Mosque: Timur's cathedral
The largest congregational mosque in the Timurid world, commissioned by Timur in 1399 after his Indian campaign. Its main iwan reaches 35 metres.
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Gur-e-Amir: Tamerlane's mausoleum
Gur-e-Amir (1403–1404) holds the tombs of Timur, his sons and grandsons — including Ulugh Beg. Its fluted turquoise dome inspired the Taj Mahal.
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Konigil village: 8th-century Samarkand paper
Konigil, 15 km east of Samarkand, is the only workshop still making mulberry-bark paper by the 8th-century method that Chinese POWs brought to the city in 751 CE.
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Shah-i-Zinda necropolis: the living king's alley
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