- Registan
- UZS 100,000, 07:00-24:00
- Music show
- Daily at 21:00 on the square
- Gur-e-Amir
- UZS 75,000, open till 23:00
- Shah-i-Zinda
- Stairway climb - optional
- Base
- Stay near the Registan
Samarkand's old city is compact - the Registan, Gur-e-Amir, Bibi-Khanym, the Siyob Bazaar and Shah-i-Zinda all sit within about 2km of each other - which makes it one of Central Asia's easiest cities for senior parents, as long as you resist the urge to do it in one day. This plan gives each sight its own slot, keeps afternoons free, and uses the evening hours most visitors miss.
Day 1: The Registan, twice
Book a hotel within walking distance of the Registan and treat the square as two visits, not one. Go at opening (07:00 in high season, 08:00 in winter; entry UZS 100,000 per foreign adult, children 50,000, under-3s free, e-tickets at tickets.registon.uz) when the light is soft and the plaza is nearly empty. The three madrasahs - Ulugh Beg, Sher-Dor and Tilla-Kori - involve courtyards and some steps but no long climbs; allow 2-3 slow hours with bench breaks. Lunch and a hotel rest, then return for the free view from outside the gates at sunset and the music show the directorate runs daily at 21:00 on the square (confirmed by its September 2026 notice; the old 3D laser show is discontinued).
Day 2: Gur-e-Amir and the bazaar loop
Morning: Gur-e-Amir, Timur's mausoleum, 1.2km south-west of the Registan (UZS 75,000; a short Yandex Go ride if 15 minutes on foot is too much). It is a single chamber - magnificent and mercifully quick. Afternoon rest, then early evening at the Siyob Bazaar next to Bibi-Khanym Mosque (free to wander): dried fruit, non bread and nuts, with the mosque's huge portal as the backdrop. The Bibi-Khanym mausoleum across the road is UZS 50,000 if energy allows.
Day 3: Shah-i-Zinda, with a senior caveat
Shah-i-Zinda, the avenue of tiled mausoleums, is Samarkand's most beautiful sight and its least senior-friendly: the complex climbs a stairway, and there is no step-free route through the main lane. No entry price is currently published (check at the gate). With parents who manage stairs slowly, go at 08:00 opening, take the lower section, and treat the upper mausoleums as optional. With parents who do not, swap in the Afrosiyab Museum (UZS 80,000, mostly flat) or a second slow morning at the Registan. Finish with plov for lunch and the evening Afrosiyob back to Tashkent - our Tashkent-Samarkand transport guide covers the trains, and the station arrival guide covers the taxi on landing.
A Miranda House graduate and lawyer who traded courtrooms for slow travel. Cheshta travels with the batches we host ourselves, with a soft spot for travelling alongside elders.
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