Festivals & Events in Uzbekistan: When to Visit

Navruz — the spring new year (21 March)

Navruz, the spring new year, is the biggest celebration of the calendar: cities fill with music, dancing, sporting contests and the overnight cooking of “sumalak”, a sweet wheat-germ dish stirred by hand. It lands in perfect spring weather, making late March one of the best times to visit.

Silk & Spice Festival, Bukhara (late May)

Bukhara’s Silk and Spice Festival fills the old town with craft markets, folk music, a costume parade and artisan demonstrations. It is a vivid, photogenic time to be in the city and pairs naturally with the warm, pre-summer weather of late May.

Sharq Taronalari, Samarkand (August)

The “Melodies of the Orient” international music festival turns the Registan into a stage for traditional musicians from across Asia. Held in late August, it is a remarkable setting — though summer heat means early starts and shaded afternoons.

Harvest and autumn colour

Autumn brings the grape and melon harvest, with markets at their most abundant and the heat gone. Less a single event than a season, September and October are arguably the most rewarding all-round time to travel — comfortable, colourful and full of local life.

Planning around a festival

Festival dates shift year to year, and hotels book up fast around Navruz and the Bukhara festival. Tell us which celebration you’d like to catch and we’ll build the itinerary around it — securing hotels and train seats well ahead.