The trading city · Uzbekistan
Things to do in Bukhara: travel guide
Two thousand years of merchants, madrasahs and domed bazaars.
Bukhara’s historic centre is a living town rather than a museum. People still pray at the mosques, trade under the 16th-century domes and gather by the Lyabi-Hauz pool in the evening. The Kalyan minaret, built in 1127, has watched over the city for almost nine centuries.
Give it at least two full days: the lanes of the old town are best explored slowly, with time for a hammam, a suzani workshop and a long dinner on a rooftop.
- Time needed
- 2–3 days
- Best time
- April–May and September–October
- Getting there
- High-speed and regular trains connect Bukhara with Samarkand and Tashkent. Khiva is about 450 km away across the Kyzylkum desert, a full day by road.
- UNESCO World Heritage
- Inscribed 1993
Don’t miss
What to see in Bukhara
- 01
Poi Kalyan
The Kalyan minaret, Kalyan Mosque and Mir-i-Arab madrasah around one square.
- 02
The Ark
The fortress-residence of the emirs of Bukhara.
- 03
Samanid Mausoleum
A 10th-century masterpiece in patterned baked brick.
- 04
Lyabi-Hauz
A shaded pool ringed by madrasahs, and the heart of the evening.
- 05
Trading domes
Toki Zargaron, Toki Telpak Furushon and Toki Sarrafon, still full of craftsmen.
- 06
Chor Minor
A small gatehouse with four turquoise-capped towers.
- 07
Sitorai Mohi-Xosa
The summer palace of the last emir, on the edge of town.
Photos of Bukhara
Tours
Tours that include Bukhara
Desert Castles of Uzbekistan & the Seven Lakes of Tajikistan
Tashkent → Khiva → Desert fortresses of Khorezm → Bukhara → Samarkand → Seven Lakes (Haft Kul) → Shakhrisabz
Central Asia grand tour: five countries in 21 days
Ashgabat → Darvaza gas crater → Kunya-Urgench → Khiva → Bukhara → Samarkand → Seven Lakes (Haft Kul) → Tashkent → Margilan → Osh → Bishkek → Song-Kul → Issyk-Kul → Almaty
Uzbekistan essentials in 7 days
Tashkent → Khiva → Bukhara → Samarkand
Uzbekistan & Kyrgyzstan: cities and mountains, 14 days
Tashkent → Khiva → Bukhara → Samarkand → Bishkek → Issyk-Kul → Karakol → Song-Kul
Uzbekistan in depth: 12 days
Tashkent → Kokand → Rishtan → Margilan → Khiva → Desert fortresses of Khorezm → Bukhara → Nurata & Lake Aydarkul → Samarkand → Shakhrisabz
Things to do
Experiences in Bukhara
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