Silk Road cities of Uzbekistan compared: Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva and more

The most famous city of the Silk Road and the capital of Amir Timur. Samarkand has the most spectacular monuments in Central Asia: the Registan, the tiled necropolis of Shah-i-Zinda, the Gur-Emir and Bibi-Khanym. It is a large, modern city around these sights, with good hotels and an international airport. UNESCO World Heritage site since 2001.

Best for: first impressions, architecture, Timurid history. Access: 2–2.5 hours by fast train from Tashkent.

A holy city and great trading centre, Bukhara has the best-preserved medieval centre of Central Asia, with more than a hundred historic monuments. It is walkable and atmospheric: the Poi-Kalyan ensemble, the trading domes, the Ark, the Samanid mausoleum, Chor Minor and the evening life of the Lyabi-Hauz. UNESCO since 1993.

Best for: atmosphere, crafts, food, slow travel. Access: 1.5 hours by train from Samarkand.

A walled oasis town at the edge of the desert, Khiva’s inner city, Ichan-Kala, is so complete that it feels like an open-air museum. Within its mud-brick walls are madrasahs, mosques, palaces and minarets, including the turquoise Kalta Minor. It is small enough to cross on foot in fifteen minutes and is magical at sunset and at night. Nearby are the desert fortresses of ancient Khorezm. UNESCO since 1990.

Best for: photography, history, quiet evenings, the desert. Access: flight to Urgench or 6–7 hours by train or car from Bukhara. See Bukhara to Khiva.

Timur’s birthplace, south of Samarkand over the Takhtakaracha pass. The ruins of his colossal Ak-Saray palace and the Dorut Tilovat complex are impressive, though the town centre has been heavily rebuilt. UNESCO since 2000.

Best for: Timur enthusiasts, a day trip from Samarkand, the road to Termez.

The capital is mostly modern, rebuilt after the 1966 earthquake, but has the Khast Imam complex with one of the oldest Qurans, the Chorsu bazaar, the decorated metro, museums, the best restaurants and nightlife, and the mountains nearby. See Is Tashkent worth visiting?

Best for: arrival and departure, food, contemporary Uzbekistan.

Kokand, capital of a 19th-century khanate, has the colourful Khudayar Khan palace and mosques with painted wooden ceilings. The surrounding Fergana Valley is the land of crafts: silk in Margilan and ceramics in Rishtan.

Best for: crafts, everyday life, a second trip. Access: 4–5 hours from Tashkent by train or road.

On the Amu Darya, at the border with Afghanistan, Termez was a centre of Buddhism under the Kushans and later of Islamic scholarship. See its Buddhist monasteries, stupas and the shrine of al-Hakim at-Termizi. See things to do in Termez.

Best for: archaeology, off-the-beaten-track travel. Access: flight from Tashkent or a scenic drive from Samarkand.

• 3 days: Samarkand and Bukhara. See 3-day itinerary.
• 5 days: Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva. See 5-day itinerary.
• 7–10 days: add Tashkent, Shakhrisabz or a desert yurt camp. See 7-day itinerary.
• 2 weeks: add the Fergana Valley, Termez or Karakalpakstan. See 14-day itinerary.

For head-to-head comparisons, read Samarkand or Bukhara and Khiva or Bukhara.

The most efficient route goes east to west or west to east, to avoid backtracking: Tashkent → Samarkand → Bukhara → Khiva, then fly back from Urgench, or fly to Urgench first and travel east. Starting in Samarkand, which has international flights, also works well. Our team in Khiva can help plan the order and book trains, flights and cars.

Samarkand is the most impressive but also the most modern, with busy avenues between the monuments. Bukhara is the most atmospheric, with a living old town where people still live among the madrasahs. Khiva is the most complete, with its walls intact and almost every building historic, but at night, after the day visitors leave, it is the quietest. Tashkent is cosmopolitan and lively, Kokand provincial and friendly, Shakhrisabz small and green, and Termez hot, remote and full of surprises. Each has its own rhythm, and seeing several gives the best picture of the country.

• Samarkand: Samarkand bread, layered plov, wine tastings.
• Bukhara: oshi sofi and bakhsh plov, dinner at Lyabi-Hauz.
• Khiva: shivit oshi green dill noodles, tukhum barak egg dumplings, melons in late summer.
• Tashkent: the Plov Centre, norin, international restaurants.
• Fergana Valley: rich plov with devzira rice, fruit, kuksi.

See Uzbek dishes and Uzbek plov.

Choose central accommodation in each city: near the Registan in Samarkand, near Lyabi-Hauz in Bukhara, and inside or just outside Ichan-Kala in Khiva. Historic guesthouses in restored merchant houses offer the most atmosphere; larger hotels offer more facilities. See where to stay in Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva.

Spring and autumn are ideal everywhere. In summer, Samarkand, at a slightly higher altitude, is a little cooler than Bukhara and Khiva, and Termez is the hottest. In winter, Khiva is the coldest and quietest, while Termez is mild. The Fergana Valley and Tashkent are comfortable in late spring and early autumn. See the month guides, such as Uzbekistan in October.

Fast trains link Tashkent, Samarkand and Bukhara; trains or cars cross the desert to Khiva; flights connect Urgench, Termez and Nukus with Tashkent. See Uzbekistan by train and domestic flights.