History · Samarkand · Uzbekistan
8 historic sites to see in Samarkand
The places that tell the story of how the city came to be.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Petar Milošević, CC BY-SA 4.0
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Quick answer
Start with Registan, Gur-e-Amir and Shah-i-Zinda. Together the 8 picks below take roughly 8–9 hours across 5 areas; all charge for entry.
Key facts
- Places in this guide
- 8
- Free entry
- 0
- Time to see them all
- 8–9 hours
- Areas
- Registan and Old Town, Gur-e-Amir quarter and Afrasiyab
Historic sites in Samarkand
Landmark · Registan and Old Town
1.Registan
Former student cells around the courtyards now hold craft and souvenir shops.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Iconic
- Architecture
- History
- After dark
- Photo spot
Historic site · Gur-e-Amir quarter
2.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.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- Iconic
- History
- Architecture
- After dark
Historic site · Afrasiyab
3.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.
- Time needed
- 1–1.5 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Iconic
- Architecture
- History
- Photo spot
Religious site · Siab Bazaar and Bibi-Khanym
4.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.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes
- Cost
- Low cost
- Iconic
- Architecture
- History
Historic site · Chupan-Ata hill
5.Ulugh Beg Observatory
It was destroyed after his death in 1449; in 1908 the archaeologist Vasily Vyatkin uncovered the curved underground trench of the giant meridian instrument. A small museum explains the work.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Kids
- Off the beaten path
Museum · Afrasiyab
6.Afrasiyab Museum
Ceramics and finds from the excavations fill the other rooms.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Art
- Rainy day
- Off the beaten path
Religious site · Afrasiyab
7.Mausoleum of Daniel (Khoja Doniyor)
The setting, with a spring and a pistachio tree in the grounds, is calm and green.
- Time needed
- 30–45 minutes
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Nature
- Off the beaten path
Historic site · Gur-e-Amir quarter
8.Rukhobod and Ak-Saray mausoleums
Rukhobod, a plain brick 14th-century tomb of the Sufi Burhaneddin Sagarji, is one of the city's oldest surviving buildings and now houses craft stalls. Ak-Saray, behind Gur-e-Amir, has rare 15th-century painted interior decoration.
- Time needed
- 30 minutes
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Off the beaten path
- Architecture
Grouped by area
| Area | Places | Time needed |
|---|---|---|
| Registan and Old Town | Registan | 2–3 hours |
| Gur-e-Amir quarter | Gur-e-Amir and Rukhobod and Ak-Saray mausoleums | 1 hour + 30 minutes |
| Afrasiyab | Shah-i-Zinda, Afrasiyab Museum and Mausoleum of Daniel (Khoja Doniyor) | 1–1.5 hours + 1 hour + 30–45 minutes |
| Siab Bazaar and Bibi-Khanym | Bibi-Khanym Mosque | 45 minutes |
| Chupan-Ata hill | Ulugh Beg Observatory | 45 minutes |
Booking and timing
Of these 8, 8 low cost. None needs booking far in advance. The longest visit is Registan; group the rest by area to save travel time.
How to fit them into 2 half-days
Grouped by area and kept to about four hours each, so you walk more than you ride.
- Half-day 1 (Registan and Old Town and Gur-e-Amir quarter): Registan → Gur-e-Amir → Rukhobod and Ak-Saray mausoleums, at least 4 hours.
- Half-day 2 (Afrasiyab, Siab Bazaar and Bibi-Khanym and Chupan-Ata hill): Shah-i-Zinda → Afrasiyab Museum → Mausoleum of Daniel (Khoja Doniyor) → Bibi-Khanym Mosque → Ulugh Beg Observatory, at least 4 hours.
The quietest months for queues
- January: highs of 6°C (43°F), about 9 rainy days, very quiet crowds. Cold and often grey with frosty nights and occasional snow on the domes; monuments are almost empty and hotel rates are at their lowest.
- December: highs of 8°C (46°F), about 9 rainy days, very quiet crowds. Cold, short days and few tourists; bring a warm coat, as some older buildings are poorly heated.
- February: highs of 8°C (46°F), about 10 rainy days, very quiet crowds. Still wintry but warming by late month; a quiet time for photography without crowds, if you pack warm layers.
The neighbourhoods they are in
- Registan and Old Town — Guesthouses in lanes around the three madrasas and the Chorsu dome
- Siab Bazaar and Bibi-Khanym — Market stalls, bread sellers and the giant mosque at the north end of Tashkent Street
- Gur-e-Amir quarter — Quiet residential streets around Timur's mausoleum
- Russian New Town — Plane-tree boulevards, larger hotels and cafés west of the old city
- Old Jewish Mahalla — Narrow lanes and family homes east of the Registan
More of Samarkand
Questions travellers ask
+Where should I start in Samarkand?
Registan. Samarkand's old public square is framed by three madrasas: Ulugh Beg's (1417–1420), the Sher-Dor (1619–1636) with its mosaics of tigers chasing deer beneath sun faces, and the Tilya-Kori (1646–1660), whose mosque interior is covered in gilding.