Ak-Saray Palace
The ruins of Timur's grand palace, where two enormous gate towers still stand with traces of blue tile. They give a sense of the size of what was once an extraordinary building.
Shakhrisabz
Ak-Saray Palace has a giant ruined gateway, and the town is both the birthplace of Amir Timur and a simple excursion from Samarkand.
Attractive locations
Dorut Tilavat Complex
A group of Timurid-era buildings next to the Kok Gumbaz Mosque, including a mausoleum and shrines, set around a quiet area that was once used for reading and prayer.
Kok Gumbaz Mosque
A large blue-domed mosque built in the fifteenth century by Ulugh Beg, with a tall entrance and a spacious courtyard. Its name means the blue dome, and it remains a main landmark.
Dorus Saodat Complex
A burial complex of Timur's family, with the tomb of his eldest son and an underground crypt that was prepared for Timur himself but was never used.
Shamseddin Kulal Mausoleum
The mausoleum of a revered Sufi teacher, within the Dorut Tilavat complex. Timur's father is also buried nearby, and the site is quiet and still visited by pilgrims.
Airports
Samarkand International Airport SKD
It is about 74 km in a straight line from Shakhrisabz.
Karshi Airport KSQ
It is about 96 km in a straight line from Shakhrisabz.
Scams and safe taxis
Taxi and scam advice for this country is on the Uzbekistan page
Weather by month
Each month shows its average temperature in °C and its mm of rain per month.
- Jan0.7 °C34 mm
- Feb2.2 °C44 mm
- Mar8.0 °C52 mm
- Apr13.3 °C52 mm
- May19.3 °C26 mm
- Jun24.7 °C6 mm
- Jul27.1 °C1 mm
- Aug25.5 °C1 mm
- Sep20.4 °C2 mm
- Oct13.4 °C11 mm
- Nov6.6 °C32 mm
- Dec2.0 °C28 mm
Driest months: Jul, Aug, Sep. Wettest months: Feb, Mar, Apr.
Costs
Prices here are about 29% of US prices (World Bank, 2025). This compares a country's overall prices, not the cost of a trip.
Who can help
Emergency
Police 102. Fire 101. Ambulance 103.
local government
Tourist Police (Department of Tourism Safety)
Helps with: Police units set up to keep foreign tourists safe, based in tourist information centres in Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara and other cities, and patrolling large tourist sites, stations and airports. No phone is given for them.
Who qualifies: Foreign tourists in Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara and other cities with such units.
local government
Unified Safe Tourism Call Center 1173
Helps with: Tourist helpline named on the national tourism information site. The site does not describe the service further; its contact details come from the National PR-centre, a state enterprise running the site.
Who qualifies: Tourists in Uzbekistan seeking help or information.
Phone: 1173
Address: 18 Oybek St., Tashkent 100015
local government
Tourism Committee of Uzbekistan
Helps with: The state tourism body. Its contact page lists a main office phone, a hotline and an email, with office hours Monday to Friday, 09:00 to 18:00 and a lunch break from 13:00 to 14:00.
Who qualifies: Anyone with a tourism question or complaint in Uzbekistan.
Phone: +998 71 205 06 00
Email: info@uzbektourism.uz
Address: Amir Temur Avenue 17, Tashkent 100084
local government
Police emergency number 102
Helps with: Emergency numbers listed on the national tourism site: 102 for police, 103 for an ambulance and 101 for the fire service. The site advises calling 102 to contact the police.
Who qualifies: Anyone in Uzbekistan who needs the police urgently.
Phone: 102
local government
Ministry of Emergency Situations
Helps with: Uzbekistan's emergency situations ministry. Its contact page lists phone lines 1050 and 101, a hotline 1101 and an email, without saying what each line is for.
Who qualifies: Anyone in Uzbekistan affected by an emergency or disaster.
Phone: 1101
Email: info@fvv.uz
Address: 4 Kichik khalka yoli, Tashkent 100084
ngo
Red Crescent Society of Uzbekistan
Helps with: National Red Crescent society. It trains disaster response teams, teaches first aid, runs blood donation and caring services, and helps reunite families separated by emergencies.
Who qualifies: People in Uzbekistan needing its emergency, first aid, health or family tracing services.
Phone: +998 78 150 81 11
Email: secretariat@redcrescent.uz
Address: Yusuf Khos Khodjib Street 30, Tashkent 700031
un agency
International Organization for Migration (IOM) Uzbekistan
Helps with: The UN migration agency, present in Uzbekistan since 2015. It works on migration management, crisis response and counter-trafficking, and community projects that reduce the risks of irregular migration.
Who qualifies: Migrants and migration-affected people in Uzbekistan, including trafficking victims. It is not a help service for ordinary tourists.
Phone: +998 78 120 31 40
Email: iomtashkent@iom.int
Address: 4 Lomonosov Street, Mirzo Ulughbek District, Tashkent 100077
embassy
Foreign embassies and consulates in Uzbekistan (official list)
Helps with: For a lost passport or serious trouble, contact your own country's embassy. The foreign ministry's Diplomatic Corps page lists embassies, consulates general and others with addresses, phones and emails, and was updated 3 November 2026.
Who qualifies: Citizens of each country, through their own embassy or consulate.