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Best time to visit Uzbekistan

The best time to visit Uzbekistan is in spring or autumn, when you will avoid the scorched summers and freezing winters. April and may are particularly pleasant. Our favourite things to do here include exploring the Silk Road and discovering over 200 ancient mosques along the way; admiring the incredible, 3D-tiled buildings of Samarkand; and joining a traditional Uzbek festival.

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Best time to visit Uzbekistan

Hearing traditional music, feeling the desert heat on your back, and receiving a warm welcome from the Uzbeks are things you’ll never forget.

In high summer, the land is parched, so there isn’t much to look at in the countryside, and temperatures soar well over 30°C. This is not the best time to visit Uzbekistan as it is unpleasant when you’re walking around and you won’t want to take your time admiring the monuments. On the flipside, winter can dip to freezing. For optimum comfort temperature-wise and a visual feast of wildflowers, gold, and dark green across the lush Uzbek landscape, plan your trip for April and May or autumn, which is when you’ll experience the best of all it has to offer.

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When to go to Uzbekistan, month by month

A country of two extremes, it is extremely hot in July and August, getting well above 30°C and even 40°C. Especially in the northern desert regions. Boysun Bahori is a wonderful event, usually in May, it is a spring, folklore festival in Boysun in the Surkhandarya Province. For many people, late September to October is the best time to visit Uzbekistan, as the temperatures are cooler, but still in the 20s, and there isn’t too much rainfall, making it perfect for sightseeing. This is also harvest time, so the markets are full of fruits and wine is flowing. It gets very cold from November to March, but the cultural sites are devoid of tourists, and the skies can also be devoid of clouds, making this time a wonderful time for photography – and cheaper flights. January and February are the coldest months, with temperatures dipping to just below zero, although rarely in Tashkent. If you are on a tailor made trip, and want to fit in a bit of skiing in Tien Shan Mountains, just under 100km from Tashkent, December to March are your best months. Independence Day celebrates the end of Soviet rule on 1st September every year, with feasts and festivals all over the country. There is a particularly big event of music and fireworks in Alisher Navoiy National Park in Tashkent. If you want to visit the desert region, treks take place between March to May and September to October. As a Muslim country, Uzbeks observe Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of fasting, abstinence, and prayer. This culminates in Eid ul-Fitr with much feasting and fun. Navruz is a new year celebration held on 21st March every year in Uzbekistan, but one with Iranian origins. It means ‘new day’ in Iranian and is time of year when people celebrate renewal and rebirth. Like a spring festival really. The many species of wild flowers of Uzbekistan, most famously red poppies and tulips, bring the Tien Shan Mountains to life between end March and May.

Tashkent Weather Chart

MIN °C

MAX °C

RAIN (mm)

JAN

-2

FEB

-1

MAR

APR

MAY

JUN

JUL

AUG

SEP

OCT

NOV

DEC

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Jonny Bealby from our supplier, Wild Frontiers:
“Spring and autumn are the best times for avoiding the heat of the summer, when temperatures in Bukhara regularly climb above 40°C. Don’t go too late – winters out there in the Central Asian deserts are brutal.”

Andrew Appleyard, from our supplier Exodus:
“May is my favourite time of year there, or late September. Later than that, it does get really cold down near the Afghan border, but it is warmer further north. There is a huge amount of different temperate zones throughout the country; you find massive variants. We went to bed some nights with all our clothes on, because some of the places we stayed didn’t have heating. But I do love it there!”

EVENTS IN UZBEKISTAN

Boysun Bahori

Boysun Bahori is one of the most culturally significant annual events in Uzbekistan’s calendar – a spring festival held in mountainous Boysun in the Surkhandarya Province. Dating back to pre-Islamic times, it is a colourful celebration of costumes, songs, dance and stories that have stood the test of time.