Samarkand weather by month

The best time to visit Samarkand is April, May and September — 92/100 in September, 29°C and 1 rainy day. The best season is spring, March to May (84/100 on average).

The worst month is January at 59/100 — cold, a little rain. See January →

Updated September 2026 · climate normals from ERA5 reanalysis

Planning the wider trip? Best time to visit Uzbekistan →

Samarkand🇺🇿 Uzbekistan · Central Asia · City92
  1. 59Jan
  2. 65Feb
  3. 74Mar
  4. 88Apr
  5. 89May
  6. 83Jun
  7. 68Jul
  8. 84Aug
  9. 92Sep
  10. 86Oct
  11. 71Nov
  12. 62Dec

Best season: March to May (84/100 on average) · worst January (59/100)

Days
29°C
Nights
12°C
Wet days
1
Sun
11.1 h
Humidity
41%
Daylight
12 h
Samarkand, Uzbekistan
Photo: AXP Photography · Pexels

Samarkand, month by month

Comfort score out of 100 for the kind of trip Samarkand is best for, the average high, rainy days and hours of sun a day from the climate normals, and how busy it tends to be.

MonthScoreTierHighRainSunCrowdsOn
Jan59D8°C9 d7 hQuiet1
Feb65C11°C9 d7 hQuiet1
Mar74B17°C13 d8 hBusy2
Apr88A22°C10 d10 hBusy1
May89A28°C8 d12 hPeak—
Jun83A34°C2 d13 hShoulder1
Jul68C36°C0 d13 hShoulder1
Aug84A34°C0 d13 hShoulder2
Sep92S29°C1 d11 hBusy2
Oct86A21°C5 d9 hShoulder—
Nov71B14°C6 d8 hShoulder—
Dec62C9°C8 d7 hQuiet1

What's on in Samarkand through the year

Festivals, natural spectacles, holidays and the seasons to watch out for — curated and sourced. The month pages carry the detail.

March
  • Navruz21–22 MarFestival
  • Ramazon Hayit1 Mar – 15 Apr (usually)Holiday
June
  • High-summer heat25 Jun – 25 Aug (usually)Hazard
August
  • Melon and grape season1 Aug – 30 Sep (usually)Nature
September
  • Independence Day1 SepHoliday
December
  • Winter quiet1 Dec – 20 FebSeason

Everything on in Samarkand through the year →

Crowds in Samarkand in September

How busy the place itself is — school and mass holidays, the months an editor tagged, and how sought-after the weather makes them. Never part of the comfort score.

BusyIndependence Day, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it(estimated)

JFMAMJJASOND

Peak crowdsBusyShoulder seasonQuiet

Good to know before you go to Samarkand

Real experiences from travellers' own write-ups, quoted with a link to the original.

Visas & entry

A travel guide to Samarkand recommends installing maps.me and downloading the Uzbekistan map before arriving, since Google Maps has been unreliable across Central Asia and a working offline map matters once you're navigating between Registan Square, Shah-i-Zinda, and the more spread-out sights that aren't all within a single easy walking loop. Their dress-code reminder: Uzbekistan is conservative, so shoulders and knees should stay covered at mosques and mausoleums, and short shorts or dresses are best avoided generally, not just at religious sites.
Journal of Nomads · Read the original ↗

Traveller notes on Samarkand

What people who have been say about the place — the year-round notes first, then month by month.

Forum posters describe mid-March in Samarkand as comfortable and warm, with only a brief cooler spell of a day or two rather than a sustained cold snap, though posters are direct that March overall can swing widely, anywhere from snow to 27C depending on the year. Posters consistently rate early March as colder and a bit wetter than late March, with temperatures around 15-20C and some rain, though rarely heavy, once the month progresses. Posters consistently recommend late March specifically, both for more reliable warmth and for the chance to see local Nowruz spring celebrations. Posters generally suggest packing a light windbreaker or knitted jacket for cooler mornings and evenings even during a generally pleasant late-March visit to Samarkand.
Tripadvisor community · March · 1 month ago · Read more on Tripadvisor ↗
Samarkand forum regulars call May and September the two genuinely comfortable months, and pick May specifically for anyone touring the wider countryside: “sites will be quieter in May...better choice of accommodation compared to September,” and “more green plants and water in rivers and springs” make the landscape itself more rewarding than the drier, busier September. The climate framing that repeats across threads: “Uzbekistan only has dry heat — it's never humid,” which is why it stays “quite comfortable for general travelling” even as temperatures climb. A seasonal bonus regulars mention unprompted: May is peak season for fresh strawberries and sweet cherries at local markets. Our record: 25.9°C days, 11.7°C nights, 8.2 rain days and 55.7% humidity — warm and genuinely dry, matching the “comfortable dry heat” read closely.
Tripadvisor community · May · 1 month ago · Read more on Tripadvisor ↗
September and October are the forum's two best months for Uzbekistan — pleasant temperatures, almost no rainfall, a great deal of sunshine — and Samarkand in September runs near 28°C by day falling to about 13 at night, with rain on less than half a day across the month. The heat is dry; regulars repeat that Uzbekistan is never humid. The honest catch follows directly from all that: optimal weather means maximum crowds, and September is the busiest tourism month of the year. May gets you quieter sites and a better choice of accommodation.
Tripadvisor community · September · 1 month ago · Read more on Tripadvisor ↗
Forum posters describe a late-October-into-November Uzbekistan trip as genuinely variable, with one unseasonable heat wave pushing highs to 82F (28C) on some days, but most days landing in the 60s-70sF with mid-40sF early mornings and evenings, cool enough that layers were essential. Posters discussing a separate mid-November visit specifically reported an unusually mild, sunny stretch around 17C (63F) with no rain, while noting that conditions weren't the typical pattern for the period. Posters generally recommend packing for a wide temperature swing across a single day this time of year rather than expecting one consistent November feel. Posters generally rate November as cool and mixed for a Samarkand visit, with real day-to-day and even hour-to-hour variability worth planning around.
Tripadvisor community · November · 1 month ago · Read more on Tripadvisor ↗

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