Uzbekistan Turns Thirty-Five: A Record Silk Road Autumn

On the first of September the whole country steps outside. Fireworks go up over Tashkent, neighbourhood courtyards fill with plov and the smell of woodsmoke, and in Samarkand the Registan glows blue-gold under the lights while families take photographs on the steps their grandparents stood on. Uzbekistan is thirty-five years old today — and it has never been this easy, or this rewarding, to visit.

If you have been quietly meaning to see the Silk Road one day, this is the year the rest of the world stopped waiting.

A record year: the numbers behind Uzbekistan tourism in 2026

Uzbekistan welcomed more than 6.5 million foreign visitors in the first six months of 2026 — an increase of roughly 25 percent on the same period a year earlier, according to national statistics, after a record 2025. Through the first seven months the figure had climbed past 7.7 million. Tourism now accounts for a meaningful slice of the national economy, and the country has repeatedly been ranked among the world fastest-growing destinations this year.

Numbers like that mean something practical for you: more direct flights, better hotels, more English-speaking guides — and the last few years of genuine quiet before the crowds arrive. The best rooms in Bukhara and Khiva for October are already going.

Visa-free travel, and a country you can cross in an afternoon

Citizens of more than ninety countries — across the EU and UK, the Gulf, and many others — enter Uzbekistan visa-free, and travellers from many more can apply for a straightforward e-visa online. There is no invitation letter, no consulate queue, no registration ordeal of the old days.

Getting around has changed just as fast. The Afrosiyob high-speed service already links Tashkent, Samarkand and Bukhara at up to 250 km/h, and in 2026 Uzbekistan added a new high-speed connection running all the way west to Khiva, cutting a journey that used to eat an entire day and night. Four great Silk Road cities, one country, one comfortable week — that combination simply did not exist for travellers ten years ago.

Why autumn is the best time to visit Uzbekistan

Uzbeks call it Oltin Kuz, the golden autumn, and it is the season the whole country is built for. September days settle in the low- to mid-twenties Celsius, October cools further, and the fierce summer glare softens into a light that makes glazed tile look lit from within. Walking Bukhara old town at that temperature is a pleasure rather than an endurance test.

Then there is the harvest. Siab Bazaar in Samarkand and Chorsu in Tashkent overflow with melons, figs, grapes, pomegranates and mountains of nuts and dried apricots; roadside stalls sell you a melon for the price of a coffee at home. Autumn is also when the country returns to itself — weddings, family gatherings, courtyards full of people. You are not visiting a museum. You are visiting a nation that is very much awake.

What to build your first Uzbekistan trip around

Start in Samarkand for the Registan, Bibi-Khanym and the blue corridor of Shah-i-Zinda at opening time, when it is empty. Slow to a walk in Bukhara, where the old town is still a living quarter of trading domes, madrasahs and the Lyabi Hauz pool under its ancient mulberry trees — and where our own team is based. Take the road, or the new train, west to Khiva, a walled city small enough to circle on foot and best seen at first light. Add Tashkent for its underground metro palaces and modernist architecture, or the Fergana Valley for silk and ceramics still made by hand, or a night in a Kyzylkum yurt camp under a sky with no cities in it.

Ten days covers the classic four cities without hurrying. Two weeks gets you the desert, the mountains and the Aral.

Travel it with people who live here

GoUzbekistan is the travel brand of Lochin Express Plyus LLC, a licensed Uzbek tour operator based in Bukhara, running ground operations since 2007 and holding tour-operator licence No. 662280 from the Committee for Tourism Development of the Republic of Uzbekistan. We are on the ground in the cities you will be visiting — which is why our itineraries are private, flexible and timed around the light rather than the bus schedule.

Thirty-five years of independence, a record year of arrivals, and the best season of it starting right now. Create your own custom tour or explore our tours — and let us build your autumn on the Silk Road.

Plan your Uzbekistan trip — in your language

العربية

السياحة في أوزبكستان تنتظرك: سمرقند وبخارى وخيوة على طريق الحرير، بقباب فيروزية وأسواق عامرة بالرمان والبطيخ في الخريف. نحن منظّم رحلات مرخّص داخل أوزبكستان ونصمّم لك برنامجاً خاصاً بسائق ومرشد ناطق بالعربية. صمّم رحلتك الخاصة أو تصفّح برامجنا.

Deutsch

Ihre Usbekistan Reise beginnt hier: eine Seidenstraße Rundreise durch Samarkand, Buchara und Chiwa — mit blauen Kuppeln, Karawansereien und dem goldenen Herbstlicht der Wüste. Als lizenzierter Reiseveranstalter vor Ort planen wir Ihre Privatreise mit deutschsprachiger Reiseleitung. Reise individuell gestalten oder unsere Rundreisen ansehen.

Español

Los viajes a Uzbekistán son el gran descubrimiento de la Ruta de la Seda: Samarcanda, Bujará y Jiva, con cúpulas turquesa, bazares de granadas y otoños dorados. Somos un operador local con licencia y diseñamos tu viaje privado con guía en español. Crea tu viaje a medida o descubre nuestros circuitos.

Français

Votre voyage en Ouzbékistan sur la Route de la Soie: Samarcande, Boukhara et Khiva, leurs coupoles turquoise, leurs caravansérails et la douceur dorée de l automne. Agence réceptive locale agréée, nous créons votre circuit privé avec guide francophone. Composez votre voyage sur mesure ou découvrez nos circuits.

中文

乌兹别克斯坦旅游正当其时：撒马尔罕、布哈拉、希瓦，蓝色穹顶与丝绸之路古城，秋日气候宜人、瓜果飘香。我们是当地持牌旅行社，可为您定制中文导游的专属行程。定制您的专属行程 或 浏览我们的线路。

Русский

Туры в Узбекистан по Шёлковому пути: Самарканд, Бухара и Хива, бирюзовые купола, тихие караван-сараи и золотая осень с гранатами и дынями на базарах. Мы лицензированный туроператор в Узбекистане и составим для вас частный маршрут с русскоязычным гидом. Составить свой тур или посмотреть готовые туры.