Top-10 must-try experiences in Uzbekistan from a local
Uzbekistan’s headline attractions are easy to name: the Registan square in Samarkand, Bukhara’s old city and the walled streets of Khiva. But some of the country’s most memorable experiences take place away from monuments, in workshops, desert camps, bazaars and mountain valleys.
From making ceramics with a master potter in Rishtan to sleeping in Kyzylkum desert, these are ten experiences that offer a closer look at the crafts, landscapes and traditions that make Uzbekistan distinct.
- Make your own Rishtan ceramics
- See how Uzbek ikat is made from a silkworm cocoon
- Spend a night in a yurt by Aydarkul
- Bake Samarkand non in a traditional tandir
- Try a centuries-old Bukhara hammam
- Watch a silk carpet being made by hand in Samarkand
- Shop for ikat at Kumtepa Bazaar
- Climb to the ancient Chilpyk Tower of Silence
- Watch a performance at Tashkent's Ilkhom Theatre
- Ski above Tashkent at Amirsoy
- Beyond Uzbekistan's monuments
Make your own Rishtan ceramics
Where: Rustam Usmanov’s workshop, 230 Ar-Roshidoni Street, Rishtan, Fergana Region
Contact: +998 91 681 23 91
Rishtan has been associated with ceramics for centuries and is particularly recognisable for its cobalt-blue and turquoise pieces. Instead of simply buying a bowl from a souvenir shop, visitors can try making one themselves.
Ceramist Rustam Usmanov runs a workshop and private museum from his family home in Rishtan. His studio introduces visitors to the full process, from shaping local clay on the wheel to painting, glazing and firing. Usmanov also holds masterclasses for visitors, although it is worth arranging one before travelling to Rishtan.
See how Uzbek ikat is made from a silkworm cocoon
Where: Yodgorlik Silk Factory, Margilan, Fergana Region
Contact: +998 99 757 85 50, +998 90 372 59 84
Margilan is one of Uzbekistan’s great textile centres, and Yodgorlik offers the rare chance to follow silk production beyond the finished rolls of atlas sold in bazaars.
Inside the working factory, visitors can see cocoons processed into thread, yarn dyed and patterned and fabric woven on traditional looms.
The Carpet Room run by artisan Nargiza Sherhodjaeva offers embroidery and carpet-weaving classes, allowing visitors to make a small souvenir rather than simply watch production.
Spend a night in a yurt by Aydarkul
Where: Safari Yurt Camp area, near Dongelek village, Kyzylkum Desert, Navoi Region
A few hours between Samarkand and Bukhara can take travellers to an entirely different Uzbekistan.
Yurt camps near Lake Aydarkul offer an overnight stay on the edge of the Kyzylkum Desert, with simple accommodation, local meals and vast skies largely free of city light. Safari Yurt Camp is around 5 km from the western shore of Aydarkul, close to Dongelek settlement, and about 60 km from Nurata.
Several organised tours combine an overnight stay in Nurata with a visit to the lake. Current 2026 programmes typically include transport, meals and accommodation.
Bake Samarkand non in a traditional tandir
Where: Samarkand
Duration: Around 2 hours
Booking: Craft & Culture Uzbekistan
Samarkand’s thick, golden loaves are among the most recognisable regional foods in Uzbekistan. Rather than simply buying one at Siyob Bazaar, visitors can learn how the bread is made inside a working local bakery.
The experience is built specifically around Samarkand non, known for its dense texture, substantial weight and ability to stay fresh considerably longer than many other varieties of Uzbek bread.
Craft & Culture currently offers a two-hour workshop in Samarkand with a local baker, including hotel pick-up and drop-off. Visitors shape, stamp and bake their own bread before eating it fresh from the tandir.
Try a centuries-old Bukhara hammam
Where: Bozori Kord Hammam, 5 Degrezi Street, Bukhara Old City
Phone: +998 94 859 16 16
After hours walking through Bukhara’s old town, one of its oldest experiences takes place almost entirely underground.
Bozori Kord is a historic bathhouse close to the city’s trading domes. Its vaulted rooms preserve the traditional hammam format, with heated chambers followed by washing and, depending on the chosen service, massage and other treatments.
Recent visitor reviews are mixed, particularly regarding service quality, so it is sensible to confirm the exact package, duration and arrangements before paying.
Watch a silk carpet being made by hand in Samarkand
Where: Samarkand–Bukhara Silk Carpets Workshop
Contact: +998 90 743 75 38
Email: zsamarqand@gmail.com
Uzbek silk carpets make far more sense once you see one being produced.
At the Badghisi family‘s Samarkand workshop, visitors can watch artisans building carpets knot by knot and learn how silk threads and natural dyes become elaborate designs. The workshop says the family’s weaving tradition spans generations and uses locally derived botanical dyes alongside natural silk.
You do not have to buy a carpet to visit. The production process itself is the experience.
Shop for ikat at Kumtepa Bazaar
Where: Kumtepa Bazaar, around 5 km west of central Margilan
Best days: Thursday and Sunday mornings
For silk without the museum atmosphere, go where local buyers go.
Kumtepa is a working market outside Margilan where bolts of atlas, adras and other fabrics compete for space with clothing, produce, household goods and food. The key is timing: the main bazaar operates on Thursday and Sunday, with Sunday generally the livelier of the two.
Arrive early. Recent visitors report that the textile section is at its busiest in the morning, with many traders beginning to pack away towards midday.
Climb to the ancient Chilpyk Tower of Silence
Where: Chilpyk Dakhma, Karakalpakstan
Distance from Nukus: Around 40–43 km south
Best combined with: Nukus or a road trip between Nukus and Khiva
Rising alone above the desert outside Nukus, Chilpyk looks less like a conventional historic monument and more like a crown placed on top of a flat-topped hill.
The circular structure is an ancient Zoroastrian dakhma, or Tower of Silence, associated with funerary practices in pre-Islamic Khorezm. In Zoroastrian tradition, bodies were placed in elevated structures before the bones were later collected and kept in ossuaries.
Chilpyk stands on a hill overlooking the Amu Darya landscape. The surviving mud-brick walls are about 15 metres high, while the circular structure measures roughly 60–80 metres across. Its earliest construction is generally dated to around the turn of the first millennium, although the site was used and rebuilt during later periods.
Watch a performance at Tashkent’s Ilkhom Theatre
Where: Ilkhom Theatre, 5 Pakhtakor Street, Tashkent
Phone: +998 71 241 22 41
Website: ilkhom.com
Tickets: Perfend
For a different side of Tashkent’s cultural life, spend an evening at Ilkhom, one of Central Asia’s first independent professional theatres.
Founded in 1976 by director Mark Weil and a group of young actors, Ilkhom became known for experimental productions that challenged the conventions of Soviet theatre. Half a century later, it remains one of the city’s most distinctive cultural venues.
Its repertoire ranges from reinterpretations of classics to contemporary productions exploring social issues, identity and life in Central Asia. Performances often mix drama, music and unconventional staging.
Most productions are performed in Russian, although some feature Uzbek dialogue or English subtitles. Check the language before booking, particularly if you do not speak Russian.
Ski above Tashkent at Amirsoy
Where: Amirsoy, Bostanlik District, Tashkent Region
Phone: +998 95 177 55 99
General enquiries: info@amirsoy.com
For travellers who picture Uzbekistan as entirely desert, mosques and turquoise tiles, the mountains outside Tashkent provide a fairly dramatic correction.
Amirsoy sits in the western Tian Shan in Tashkent Region and operates as a mountain resort with ski infrastructure, accommodation and cable cars. It is around 70 km from Tashkent, making it possible to visit as a day trip or stay overnight in the mountains.
Winter brings skiing and snowboarding while the cable-car views alone make the area worth considering for travellers who want to add mountains to an otherwise city-heavy itinerary.
Beyond Uzbekistan’s monuments
The best way to build a trip around these experiences is not to treat them as 10 separate excursions. Several naturally fit together.
Rishtan, Yodgorlik and Kumtepa can form a two-day route through the Fergana Valley. Gijduvan sits conveniently between Bukhara and Samarkand, while Aydarkul can break up the same journey with a night in the desert.
Taken together, they show an Uzbekistan that is harder to see from the standard sightseeing circuit: one where the Silk Road is still visible not only in monuments but also in workshops, markets, food traditions and landscapes people continue to live with today.
