Uzbekistan Samarkand Bukhara Khiva Tashkent Silk Road Complete Guide 2026
Browse more guides: Uzbekistan travel | Asia destinations Uzbekistan: Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva, Tashkent and the Silk Road Heart TL;DR Uzbekistan packs more turquoise tilework and Silk Road history into one country than anywhere else I have walked. The core runs Tashkent to Samarkand to Bukhara to Khiva on the Afrosiyob bullet train (2 hours, then 2 more). Indian passport holders enter visa-free for 30 days since February 2018; others use the eVisa at USD 20. UNESCO sites: Khiva 1990, Bukhara 1993, Shahrisabz 2000, Samarkand 2001. I budgeted USD 60 to USD 140 a night and ate plov, manti, and lagman for USD 3 to USD 8. Why 2026 is the Year for Uzbekistan I have watched this country shift faster than any other Central Asian neighbour. President Shavkat Mirziyoyev took office in 2016 and pushed through a wave of reforms that scrapped the old multi-tier currency system, dropped exit-visa requirements, and reopened the borders. By February 2018 Indian travellers no longer needed a s...