What's on in Bukhara, Uzbekistan through the year

Quiet — school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in January.

Still on: Winter quiet (1 Dec – 20 Feb (usually))

Busy — Ramadan and Ruza Hayit, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Holiday

  Ramadan and Ruza Hayit

  1 Feb – 25 Mar · usuallyRamadan & EidClosures

  Uzbekistan is relaxed about the fast and restaurants stay open, but the old town's day reorganises itself around iftar and the tea houses only fill after sunset. Ruza Hayit at the end is a public holiday and families travel for it. Source ↗

Still on: Winter quiet (1 Dec – 20 Feb (usually))

Busy — Ramadan and Ruza Hayit, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Navruz

  21–22 MarNational holidayClosures

  The equinox new year is the biggest holiday of the year: sumalak stirred overnight in copper pots, music around the Lyabi-Hauz pool, and two days when government offices and banks are shut. Source ↗

Still on: Ramadan and Ruza Hayit (1 Feb – 25 Mar (usually))

Busy — Kurban Hayit, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Holiday

  Kurban Hayit

  25 Apr – 15 Jun · usuallyRamadan & EidClosuresCrowded

  Eid al-Adha is a public holiday of family visits and closed offices, and it moves about eleven days earlier each year. Restaurants stay open; museums and government buildings do not. Source ↗

Busy — Kurban Hayit, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Silk and Spices Festival

  20 May – 5 Jun · usuallyMajor festival

  Craft stalls, folk music and a costumed procession fill the trading domes and the Lyabi-Hauz for a long weekend at the end of May. It now runs every two years in odd years rather than annually — the 21st edition was in 2025, the next is due in 2027 — so confirm before planning a trip around it. Source ↗

Still on: Kurban Hayit (25 Apr – 15 Jun (usually))

Busy — Kurban Hayit, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  High summer heat

  25 Jun – 31 Aug · usuallyExtreme heat

  High summer in the oasis is a two-shift day: out at first light, indoors from late morning, back out after six. The brick madrasas hold the day's heat long after the sun has gone off the courtyards.

Still on: Kurban Hayit (25 Apr – 15 Jun (usually)), Silk and Spices Festival (20 May – 5 Jun (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: High summer heat (25 Jun – 31 Aug (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: High summer heat (25 Jun – 31 Aug (usually))

Busy — Independence Day, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Holiday

  Independence Day

  1 SepNational holidayCrowdedClosures

  1 September is a national holiday with evening concerts on the squares. Offices and banks close, and intercity trains from Tashkent and Samarkand book out around the long weekend. Source ↗

• Nature

  Melon and pomegranate season

  1 Sep – 20 Oct · usuallyHarvest

  Melons, figs, grapes, pomegranates, walnuts and persimmons pile up in the bazaar from early September, and the courtyard restaurants move their tables back outside once the worst of the heat has gone out of the evenings. Source ↗

Busy — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in October.

Still on: Melon and pomegranate season (1 Sep – 20 Oct (usually))

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in November.

Shoulder season — school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Season

  Winter quiet

  1 Dec – 20 Feb · usuallyOff-season shutdownClosures

  Damp cold and short days empty the old town of the coach groups almost entirely, leaving the kind of stillness around the trading domes that the tourism board now markets as its own reason to come. The madrasas are quiet enough to hear your own footsteps. Source ↗