Uzbekistan · 2 days

Samarkand

Timur's capital from 1370: the Registan, the Shah-i-Zinda necropolis and the Gur-e-Amir mausoleum, two hours from Tashkent by high-speed train.

Registan, Samarkand: the three madrasas lit up against a deep blue sky, their glowing portals facing the open square

Why go

Why Samarkand

Samarkand is the reason most people come. The Registan, three madrasas around one square, is the single most impressive thing in Central Asia, and it is only the start. Shah-i-Zinda is a street of mausoleums whose tilework was never surpassed. Gur-e-Amir, Timur's tomb, is where the design of the Taj Mahal began.

The city is big and modern around the monuments, so a guide and a driver save you time. Two nights lets you see the Registan at dusk and again in the morning, which is the way to see it.

See and do

What to see

The Registan
Ulugh Beg (1420), Sher-Dor (1636) and Tilya-Kori (1660). Go late afternoon, then again in the morning.
Shah-i-Zinda
A necropolis of fourteenth- and fifteenth-century mausoleums. Early morning, before the groups.
Gur-e-Amir
Timur's mausoleum, with the jade slab over his grave.
Bibi-Khanym Mosque and the Siab Bazaar
Timur's great mosque, and the market beside it for Samarkand bread.
Ulugh Beg Observatory
The arc of the sextant Ulugh Beg built in the 1420s, cut into the hill.
Konigil paper mill
Paper made from mulberry bark by hand, the way Samarkand made it a thousand years ago.

In pictures

Sher-Dor madrasa on Registan, Samarkand: a tiled minaret and ribbed turquoise dome against a clear blue sky
Registan, Samarkand, at night: floodlit madrasa portals and a turquoise dome above a dark square with a few visitors
Inside Gur-e-Amir, Samarkand: the gilded inner dome, covered in relief patterns, with a gold chandelier at its centre
Bibi-Khanym, Samarkand: a ribbed turquoise dome rises over a brick portal with a geometric wooden lattice entrance
Bernard Gagnon
Octagonal mausoleum at Shah-i-Zinda, Samarkand: walls of blue and turquoise tile, open arches and a pale tiled dome
Bernard Gagnon

Practical

When and how

How long
2 days
Best time
March to June and September to November. Spring is green; autumn is clear and the light is best.
Getting there
The Afrosiyob train from Tashkent takes about two hours ten minutes, from Bukhara about ninety minutes. Samarkand also has an international airport.

Tours

Trips that go to Samarkand

Plan a trip

Tell us your dates and we build a trip around Samarkand, with a firm price, within a working day.

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