What's on in Khiva (Xiva), 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 inside the walls (15 Nov – 10 Mar (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Winter quiet inside the walls (15 Nov – 10 Mar (usually))

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

• Holiday

  Ramazon Hayit

  20–21 MarRamadan & EidClosures

  A public holiday at the end of the fast: families visit graves in the morning and the town runs on holiday hours. Museums inside the walls keep normal times, but the craft workshops and half the kitchens do not. Source ↗

• Festival

  Navruz

  21–22 MarNational holidayClosures

  The spring new year lands just as the cold lets go, and the walled town holds its version inside the Ichon-Qala with sumalak, music and wrestling. Two days off, so domestic visitors arrive with it. Source ↗

Still on: Winter quiet inside the walls (15 Nov – 10 Mar (usually))

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

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Ramazon Hayit (20–21 Mar)

Shoulder season — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in May.

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Season

  Desert summer

  15 Jun – 31 Aug · usuallyExtreme heat

  Between two deserts with no shade to speak of, the mud walls hold the heat and throw it back into the lanes well after dark. It is a dry heat and the tour buses still come, but midday inside the walls is punishing. Source ↗

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: Desert summer (15 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: Desert summer (15 Jun – 31 Aug (usually))

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

• Holiday

  Independence Day

  1 SepNational holidayClosuresCrowded

  The first of September is a national holiday and it falls in the best fortnight of the year here, so the walled town takes a domestic crowd on top of the coach groups. Source ↗

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

Nothing new starts in October.

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

• Season

  Winter quiet inside the walls

  15 Nov – 10 Mar · usuallyOff-season shutdownClosures

  It turns cold in November and stays that way into mid-March. The coaches stop, several of the madrasa hotels close, and you can have the minarets to yourself at the cost of unheated rooms and short days. Source ↗

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

Nothing new starts in December.

Still on: Winter quiet inside the walls (15 Nov – 10 Mar (usually))