2 days in Samarkand

Day by day

1. Day 1: Registan and Tashkent Street

   Registan, Tashkent Street, Chorsu trading dome and Gur-e-Amir, then Eternal City at Silk Road Samarkand in the evening.

   1. Morning

      Registan

      Former student cells around the courtyards now hold craft and souvenir shops.

   2. Late morning

      Tashkent Street

      It is the natural walking route between the old town's two largest sights and is pleasant on a summer evening.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Samarkand plov

      Plov centres and teahouses around the Siab Bazaar and in the new town; go by early afternoon, as many cook one batch a day.

   4. Afternoon

      Chorsu trading dome

      Restored, it now hosts art exhibitions, and it gives a good angle on the Sher-Dor and Tilya-Kori madrasas from the north-east.

   5. Late afternoon

      Gur-e-Amir

      Timur lies beneath a dark green jade tombstone alongside his grandson Ulugh Beg and other descendants; the actual graves are in a crypt below.

   6. Evening

      Eternal City at Silk Road Samarkand

      Visit around sunset and combine it with a stroll along the complex's canal-side promenade.

2. Day 2: Shah-i-Zinda and Afrasiyab Museum

   Shah-i-Zinda, Afrasiyab Museum, Mausoleum of Daniel (Khoja Doniyor) and Bibi-Khanym Mosque, then The Registan after dark in the evening.

   1. Morning

      Shah-i-Zinda

      The carved, glazed terracotta here is the finest and most varied in the city, and it remains an active place of pilgrimage.

   2. Late morning

      Afrasiyab Museum

      Ceramics and finds from the excavations fill the other rooms.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Samarkand bread

      The bread rows of the Siab Bazaar, or any neighbourhood tandir bakery early in the morning.

   4. Afternoon

      Mausoleum of Daniel (Khoja Doniyor)

      The setting, with a spring and a pistachio tree in the grounds, is calm and green.

   5. Late afternoon

      Bibi-Khanym Mosque

      Built in haste, it decayed over centuries and an earthquake in 1897 brought down much of it; Soviet and later restorations rebuilt the main domes and portal. A giant marble Quran stand sits in the courtyard.

   6. Evening

      The Registan after dark

      Sit on the steps of the viewing platform as the three madrasa facades are floodlit, then walk Tashkent Street towards Bibi-Khanym.

Where to stay for this itinerary

Pace and daylight

The sights in this plan add up to roughly 9–12 hours of visiting over 2 days, before meals and getting between them. Daylight runs from about 9.4 hours in December to 15 hours in June, so in winter start early and keep museums for the afternoon.

Getting between stops: Walking. Gur-e-Amir to the Registan is about 10 minutes on foot, and the Registan to Bibi-Khanym about 10 minutes along pedestrian Tashkent Street, with Shah-i-Zinda a further 10–15 minutes beyond.

More or fewer days

• One day in Samarkand
• 3 days in Samarkand

Questions travellers ask