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Domed tombs and a turquoise portal in Samarkand

The Timurid capital · Uzbekistan

Things to do in Samarkand: travel guide

Registan, Shah-i-Zinda and the blue domes of Amir Timur.

Samarkand was the capital of Amir Timur’s empire in the 14th century, and its monuments were built to impress. Registan Square, framed by three tiled madrasahs, is one of the most famous sights in Asia. The city is inscribed by UNESCO as a "Crossroad of Cultures".

It is also the best base for day trips: over the mountain pass to Shakhrisabz, or across the border to the Seven Lakes of Tajikistan.

Time needed
2–3 days
Best time
April–May and September–October
Getting there
The high-speed train from Tashkent takes about 2 hours; Bukhara is about 1.5 hours further west by train. Samarkand also has an international airport.
UNESCO World Heritage
Inscribed 2001
TAJIKISTAN SamarkandDushanbeBukharaTurkistanTashkentFann MountainsFergana ValleySeven Lakes (Haft Kul)IskanderkulNurata & Lake AydarkulKhujand

Don’t miss

Sights in Samarkand

sightsAbdi Darun, Samarkand: a quiet shrine with a pool and old treesA neighbourhood shrine around a Timurid mausoleum, with a pool, centuries-old plane trees and a mosque, where local life continues as it has for centuries. sightsAfrasiyab, Samarkand: the ancient city and its museumThe hill of ruins that was Samarkand for 2,000 years, and the museum with the famous 7th-century Sogdian wall paintings. sightsAk-Saray Mausoleum, Samarkand: the hidden Timurid tombA small 15th-century Timurid tomb behind Gur-Emir with one of the finest painted interiors in Samarkand. Registan Square in Samarkand under a blue sky sightsBibi-Khanym Mosque, Samarkand: Timur’s great mosqueThe colossal Friday mosque Timur built after his Indian campaign, its collapse, its restoration and its legends. sightsEternal City, Samarkand: the Silk Road complex explainedA modern recreation of an old Samarkand town with crafts, food and evening shows, inside the Silk Road Samarkand tourist complex. Gur-Emir mausoleum in Samarkand lit up at night sightsGur-Emir Mausoleum, Samarkand: Timur’s tombThe ribbed blue dome where Timur, Ulugbek and their family lie, the jade tombstone and the story of the 1941 excavation. sightsHazrat Khizr Mosque, Samarkand: carved columns and city viewsA 19th-century mosque on the edge of Afrasiyab with carved wooden columns, painted ceilings and a view over Samarkand. sightsImam al-Bukhari Complex near Samarkand: visiting guideThe tomb of the compiler of Sahih al-Bukhari, one of the most important pilgrimage sites in Central Asia, 25 km north of Samarkand. sightsImam al-Maturidi Mausoleum, Samarkand: the theologian’s tombThe tomb of the 10th-century Samarkand theologian whose school of belief is followed by much of the Sunni Muslim world. sightsIshratkhona Mausoleum, Samarkand: the ruined Timurid tombA haunting, unrestored 15th-century tomb for Timurid princesses, with traces of its painted interior still visible. sightsKhoja Akhrar Complex, Samarkand: the Naqshbandi master’s shrineThe shrine of Khoja Ubaydullah Akhrar, the powerful 15th-century Sufi master, with a 17th-century madrasah and a summer mosque. sightsKhovrenko Winery, Samarkand: wine tasting and historySamarkand’s historic winery, founded in the 19th century, with a small museum and a tasting room for local wines and brandies. sightsKonigil Paper Mill, Samarkand: how Samarkand paper is madeA village workshop just outside Samarkand where silk paper is made from mulberry bark on a water-powered mill, as it was a thousand years ago. sightsMuseums of Samarkand: history, art and archaeologyWhich museums explain Samarkand’s 2,700-year history, from Sogdian murals to Timurid science and 19th-century merchant houses, and how to fit them in. The three madrasahs of Registan Square, Samarkand, at sunset sightsRegistan Square, Samarkand: history, tickets and the best time to visitThe three madrasahs of the Registan, how they were built, what the ticket covers and when the light is best. sightsRukhabad Mausoleum, Samarkand: the abode of the spiritA plain 14th-century domed tomb of a Sufi sheikh between Gur-Emir and the Registan, wrapped in legend. sightsSamarkand New Town: the 19th-century Russian quarterThe tree-lined boulevards, churches and colonial buildings laid out west of the old city after the Russian conquest of 1868. Blue-tiled mausoleums of the Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, Samarkand sightsShah-i-Zinda, Samarkand: the avenue of mausoleumsA street of blue-tiled tombs climbing the slope of Afrasiyab, from the shrine of Kusam ibn Abbas to the mausoleums of Timur’s family. Tiled portal of a madrasah on Registan Square, Samarkand sightsSher-Dor Madrasah, Samarkand: the tigers of the RegistanThe 17th-century madrasah with the famous portal of striped lions chasing deer under human-faced suns. sightsSiab Bazaar, Samarkand: bread, sweets and dried fruitSamarkand’s main market beside Bibi-Khanym, famous for its round bread, halva, nuts and dried fruit. The three madrasahs of Registan Square, Samarkand, at sunset sightsTilya-Kori Madrasah, Samarkand: the gilded mosque of the RegistanThe Registan’s third madrasah, which doubled as Samarkand’s Friday mosque and hides a gold-covered prayer hall. sightsTomb of Daniel, Samarkand: the shrine of Khoja DoniyorA shrine revered by Muslims, Christians and Jews, with an 18-metre tomb on the banks of the Siab stream below Afrasiyab. The three madrasahs of Registan Square, Samarkand, at sunset sightsUlugbek Madrasah, Samarkand: the astronomer’s universityThe oldest madrasah on the Registan, built by Ulugbek as a centre of science as well as religion. sightsUlugbek Observatory, Samarkand: the giant sextant and museumThe remains of the 15th-century observatory where Ulugbek measured the stars, with its underground meridian arc and a museum.

Plan your visit

Samarkand guides

Don’t miss

What to see in Samarkand

  1. 01

    Registan Square

    Three madrasahs facing one square, best at sunrise and after dark.

  2. 02

    Shah-i-Zinda

    A street of tiled mausoleums climbing a hillside.

  3. 03

    Gur-e-Amir

    The ribbed blue dome over Amir Timur’s tomb.

  4. 04

    Bibi-Khanym Mosque

    Once one of the largest mosques in the Islamic world.

  5. 05

    Ulugh Beg Observatory

    The remains of a 15th-century astronomical sextant.

  6. 06

    Siab Bazaar

    Bread, dried fruit and spices next to Bibi-Khanym.

  7. 07

    Konigil paper workshop

    Silk paper made by hand from mulberry bark, just outside the city.

Photos of Samarkand

Domed tombs and a turquoise portal in Samarkand
The three madrasahs of Registan Square, Samarkand, at sunset
Blue-tiled mausoleums of the Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, Samarkand
Tiled portal of a madrasah on Registan Square, Samarkand
Registan Square in Samarkand under a blue sky

Tours

Tours that include Samarkand

All Samarkand tours

Things to do

Experiences in Samarkand

2–4 hours · Tashkent, SamarkandHigh-speed train across UzbekistanRide the Afrosiyob between Tashkent, Samarkand and Bukhara.

Nearby

Continue your journey

All of Uzbekistan
UNESCO TajikistanPenjikentAncient Sogdian ruins and the gateway to the Fann Mountains. 1 day Statue of Amir Timur before the ruins of the Ak-Saray palace, ShakhrisabzUNESCO UzbekistanShakhrisabzThe ruins of the Ak-Saray palace, over the mountains from Samarkand. Day trip from Samarkand TajikistanSeven Lakes (Haft Kul)Seven lakes of changing colour in the Shing valley. Day trip, or 1 night in a homestay TajikistanFann MountainsA compact range of turquoise lakes and 5,000 m peaks. 3–7 days

Tour to Uzbekistan · Koshona street 75/1, Khiva, Uzbekistan · WhatsApp +998 91 920 94 20 · tours.uzbekistan@gmail.com · tourtouzbekistan.com/destinations/uzbekistan/samarkand/

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