3 days in Samarkand: the Registan, Timur's tomb & the Silk Road

Three days in the Timurid capital, tightly focused on history: the Registan and Bibi-Khanym on day one, Timur's tomb and the ancient city of Afrasiab on day two, then the stars at Ulugh Beg's observatory and a day trip to Timur's birthplace, Shahrisabz.

1. Day 19 am – 6 pm · 4 stops
2. 9 am 1

   Registan Square at openingSamarkand

   Start early, before the tour groups. Three madrasas around one square: Ulugh Beg (1420), Sher-Dor and Tilya-Kori, with tile mosaics in deep cobalt, turquoise, gold and white. The most magnificent civic space in Islamic architecture and the symbol of Samarkand. UNESCO World Heritage since 2001. Entry about 100,000 UZS.

   11 min walk · 800 m
3. 12:30 pm 2

   Bibi-Khanym MosqueSamarkand

   Walk northeast along the pedestrian street to Timur's great mosque, once among the largest in the Islamic world. The towering entrance portal was an over-engineering failure in its own time and is still being restored. Entry about 60,000 UZS.

   3 min walk · 150 m
4. 1:30 pm 3

   Lunch at Siab BazaarSamarkand

   Right next to the mosque. Browse dried apricots, nuts and stacks of round non bread, and stop for lunch among the stalls. The working bazaar of the old city, not a tourist market.

   10 min walk · 750 m
5. 4 pm 4

   Shah-i-Zinda in the late lightSamarkand

   Come in the late afternoon, when the tiles glow in the softer light. A street of 11 mausoleums from the 11th to 15th centuries, the most intensely tiled necropolis in Central Asia. Entry about 80,000 UZS.

6. Day 29 am – 8 pm · 4 stops
7. 9 am 5

   Gur-e-Amir, Timur's tombSamarkand

   Timur's tomb, completed 1404, with the ribbed turquoise melon dome that directly inspired the Taj Mahal. Inside is Timur's jade tombstone and a gilded interior. Soviet archaeologists opened the tomb in June 1941, two days before Germany invaded the USSR. Entry about 60,000 UZS.

   8 min by train or taxi · 2.0 km
8. 11 am 6

   Hazrat Khizr Mosque and the hilltop viewSamarkand

   The first mosque of Samarkand, on the hill above Shah-i-Zinda. Climb for the view over the necropolis and the Afrasiab mound, and for the quiet after the morning's crowds.

   15 min walk · 1.1 km
9. 2 pm 7

   Afrasiab Museum, the ancient citySamarkand

   The museum of pre-Mongol Samarkand, on the mound of the ancient Sogdian city of Afrasiab. The Sogdian murals are the highlight, plus finds from the site Genghis Khan destroyed in 1220. Entry about 60,000 UZS.

   8 min by train or taxi · 2.3 km
10. 7 pm 8

    Registan by nightSamarkand

    Come back after dark. The three madrasas are floodlit and there is a sound-and-light show on the square. The same place as the morning, completely different at night.

11. Day 39 am – 3:30 pm · 3 stops
12. 9 am 9

    Ulugh Beg ObservatorySamarkand

    The remains of the giant meridian arc built by Timur's astronomer-grandson Ulugh Beg in the 1420s, plus a small museum about his star catalogue, which was the most accurate until the 17th century. A taxi ride northeast of the centre. Entry about 40,000 UZS.

    32 min by train or taxi · 70 km
13. 1 pm 10

    Ak-Saray Palace, ShahrisabzShahrisabz

    Day trip south to Shahrisabz, Timur's birthplace, about 90 minutes by car. The ruined Ak-Saray Palace was his summer palace, its entrance portal once 65 metres high. The standing pylons and tilework show the scale Timur built at.

    17 min walk · 1.3 km
14. 2:30 pm 11

    Kok Gumbaz Mosque, ShahrisabzShahrisabz

    A short walk from the palace ruins. The Kok Gumbaz, Blue Dome, is the Friday mosque of the Dorut Tilovat complex, with the blue-tiled dome that gives it its name. Finish here before the drive back to Samarkand.