UZ · Samarkand Region · 39.65°N 66.98°E

samarkand

Blue-tiled madrasas, Silk Road tombs and rounds of bread still warm from the oven.

Best time
April–May and September–October are warm and comfortable for sightseeing. July–August is very hot in the open squares; winter is cold and quiet, with the odd snowfall.
How long
2–3 days
Getting there
About 8 hours direct from KL to Tashkent on Uzbekistan Airways, then about 2 hours on the fast Afrosiyob train. Uzbekistan is 3 hours behind KL, and Malaysians can stay 30 days without a visa.
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UZ · Samarkand Regionsamarkand39.65°N 66.98°Egowherelah.com
Dear group chat,Blue-tiled madrasas, Silk Road tombs and rounds of bread still warm from the oven.— gowherelahTo: whoever’s drivingSamarkandUZ, Samarkand Region
KLsamarkand
≈ 5,356 km from KL, as the crow flies
The Registan Square in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

Photo: Registan_-_Gusjer.jpg: Gustavo Jeronimo from Aranjuez, Spain derivative work: MrPanyGoff · CC BY 2.0

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Photos: Wikimedia Commons, credited on each.

Samarkand was Timur's capital, and it has the huge blue domes and tiled courtyards from every Silk Road photo. The monuments sit inside an ordinary working city, with bread stalls and teahouses in between.

Makan

  1. Samarkand plovRice, carrots and lamb cooked in layers and served with the meat on top, rather than stirred together as in Tashkent.Map ↗
  2. Samarkand nonHeavy, glossy rounds of bread stamped with patterns, carried home across the country as gifts.Map ↗
  3. SamsaFlaky pastry filled with lamb and onion, baked on the wall of a tandoor.Map ↗

Things to do

  1. RegistanThree tiled madrasas facing each other across one great square, lit up after dark.Map ↗
  2. Shah-i-ZindaA lane of tombs climbing a hillside, each one covered in turquoise and cobalt tilework.Map ↗
  3. Gur-e-AmirTimur's mausoleum, with a ribbed blue dome over a gilded interior.Map ↗
  4. Bibi-Khanym MosqueTimur's vast Friday mosque, partly rebuilt after earthquakes.Map ↗
  5. Siyob BazaarThe main market beside Bibi-Khanym: stacks of Samarkand bread, dried apricots, nuts and spices.Map ↗

Good to know

  • Book Afrosiyob seats as soon as your dates are fixed; the convenient departures sell out.
  • Shah-i-Zinda is a place of pilgrimage, so cover shoulders and knees.
  • As across Uzbekistan, meat in local restaurants is halal as a rule; pork turns up mainly in Russian and Korean places, and alcohol is widely sold.

Last checked October 2026. Things change, so check opening times, fees and transport before you go.