Uzbekistan Monument Entry Fees: A Price Tracker
What Uzbekistan's monuments actually cost in 2026, how fast the fees have risen since 2021, and a realistic ticket budget for a two-week Silk Road trip.
In 2021 the Registan cost 40,000 som. It now costs 100,000. Along the way it passed through 65,000 and 80,000, and at one point in 2025 it jumped by roughly 40% in the space of two months. That is a 150% increase in five years for the single most visited monument in Central Asia, and nobody publishes it as a series — the numbers sit scattered across old blog posts, forum threads and tour-operator pages, each one a snapshot that quietly goes stale.
So we have compiled it. This page is a tracker rather than an article: what the major sites charge now, what they charged before, and what that means for your budget. We update it as the figures move, and we date every one.
What things cost now
All figures are foreigner rates in Uzbek som, last checked September 2026. At the current rate of roughly 11,800–12,100 som to the dollar, 100,000 som is about US$8.30.
| Site | City | Fee (Sep 2026) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registan ensemble | Samarkand | 100,000 som | Was 40,000 in 2021 |
| Shah-i-Zinda | Samarkand | 50,000–80,000 som | Sources disagree |
| Gur-e-Amir | Samarkand | 50,000–75,000 som | Sources disagree |
| Bibi-Khanym Mosque | Samarkand | 40,000–65,000 som | Three figures in circulation |
| Ulugh Beg Observatory | Samarkand | 25,000–75,000 som | Widest disagreement of any site |
| Ark fortress | Bukhara | 40,000–60,000 som | Varies by ticket type; audio guide ~20,000 |
| Sitorai Mokhi Khosa | Bukhara | ~50,000 som | Summer palace, 4 km north |
| Chor Minor | Bukhara | ~20,000 som | Roof access included |
| Chor Bakr necropolis | Bukhara | ~15,000 som | 6 km west |
| Zindan (jail museum) | Bukhara | 25,000–40,000 som | Sometimes quoted in dollars |
| Ichan Qala combined | Khiva | 50,000–250,000 som | Tier structure disputed — see below |
| Islam Khoja minaret climb | Khiva | ~100,000 som | Not in the base ticket |
| Nurullaboy Palace | Khiva | ~120,000 som | Outside the walls, separate |
Where we show a range, that is not laziness. It is because reputable sources genuinely disagree, and we would rather show you the spread than invent a single confident number.
The Registan series, which is the clearest picture we have
Most sites have one or two recorded data points. The Registan has enough to draw a line.
| Year | Registan adult foreigner fee | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 40,000 som | — |
| 2024 | 80,000 som | +100% over three years |
| Early 2025 | 65,000 som | A reduction, then reversed |
| Mid 2025 | 100,000 som | +54% in months |
| Sep 2026 | 100,000 som | Held |
The dip in early 2025 is the odd one, and we have not found an explanation for it. It may be a ticket-category change rather than a genuine cut — a cheaper grounds-only ticket sitting alongside a fuller one, reported as though it were the headline price. That would fit the pattern in Khiva, where tiering has produced the same confusion.
Worth saying plainly: the som has weakened modestly against the dollar over this period, so the rise in dollar terms is somewhat gentler than the som figures suggest. Somewhat. It is still roughly a doubling in hard currency, and travellers who visited in 2019 and return now are not imagining it.
Why the increases are happening
Three things at once, and none of them is a conspiracy against tourists.
Uzbekistan has had persistent domestic inflation since the currency was liberalised in 2017, so nominal prices rise across the whole economy. Visitor numbers recovered hard after 2021, which gave heritage directorates both the cost pressure of crowds and the pricing power to respond. And restoration is expensive: a directorate whose budget is tied to ticket income has exactly one lever when it needs more money, and it pulls it.
The structural reason fees vary so much between cities is separate, and explained in our piece on the museum-reserve system — the short version is that Khiva is one administrative object with one ticket, Bukhara is a scatter of individually charged buildings, and Samarkand sits between them.
A realistic ticket budget
For a standard two-week Tashkent–Samarkand–Bukhara–Khiva trip, seeing the headline sites and paying for one or two climbs, budget roughly 900,000–1,300,000 som per person in entry fees. Call it US$75–110.
That breaks down approximately as: 300,000–400,000 in Samarkand, 180,000–250,000 in Bukhara, 250,000–400,000 in Khiva depending on which ticket you land, and the rest in Tashkent and on day trips.
It is not a large number next to flights, and it is a large number next to a plov lunch. The way to bring it down is not to skip monuments but to be honest about which interiors you actually want — a great deal of Uzbekistan, particularly Bukhara, is free from the outside. Our costs guide puts entry fees next to everything else you will spend on.
What is still free
Worth its own section, because the free list in Uzbekistan is unusually good and it barely gets mentioned.
In Bukhara: the three trading domes, Lyab-i-Hauz, the Bolo Hauz Mosque with its twenty carved pillars, the Bahauddin Naqshband complex, and the whole lane network of the old town. That is a genuinely full day at zero cost, and the domes are the best shopping in the country besides.
In Khiva: walking inside the walls. You need a ticket for interiors, not for the streets, the exteriors or the Kalta Minor, and the walled city after dark is free and empty.
In Samarkand: the exterior of everything, Siab bazaar, the Hazrat Khizr terrace and the walk out to the Tomb of Saint Daniel, where entry has been free or a token fee collected inconsistently — more in our write-up.
In Tashkent: most of it. Chorsu bazaar, the old city lanes, Khast Imam’s courtyard, the Soviet mosaics, and the metro, which costs 1,700 som a ride and is a sightseeing route in its own right.
How to not overpay
- Ask what the ticket categories are, not just the price. Where tiers exist, the booth will often quote the top one first. There may be a grounds-only ticket that does what you want.
- Carry small notes. A 200,000 som note at a rural ticket window at nine in the morning is a problem you have created for yourself.
- Don’t buy from anyone who isn’t at the booth. At the Ark in Bukhara in particular, people near the ramp quote inflated prices. The official window is inside the gate.
- Check whether a climb is included before you get to the bottom of the stairs, not after.
- Ignore “photo permit” demands that don’t appear on a printed tariff. A genuine camera fee, where it exists, is small and goes on your receipt.
Tashkent, which is the cheap city
The capital barely registers in a ticket budget and that surprises people who arrive expecting Samarkand pricing.
Museum entry in Tashkent generally runs 20,000–50,000 som, with the State Museum of History and the Museum of Applied Arts at the lower end of that and the Center of Islamic Civilization, which opened in March 2026, at the higher end. The Khast Imam complex is free to walk through, with a charge only to see the Uthman Quran. Chorsu bazaar, the old city, the mosaic walks and the parks cost nothing.
If you are compressing a trip for budget reasons, the honest advice is to give Tashkent more time and Samarkand fewer interiors, not the other way round. Our guide to free Tashkent builds a full day out of it.
Where this page is weakest
Two honest limitations.
First, we do not have a continuous series for anything except the Registan. For most sites we have a 2026 figure and a scattering of older reports, which is enough to show direction and not enough to draw a trend. If you have a dated ticket stub from a previous trip, that is genuinely useful data and we would rather have it than another estimate.
Second, ranges where sources disagree are ranges for a reason. Ulugh Beg Observatory at somewhere between 25,000 and 75,000 som is an embarrassing spread, and we have left it as one rather than pretending to resolve it. Uzbek directorates change tariffs without announcement and older pages do not update, so the internet accumulates ghosts of old prices.
Treat every figure here as a planning estimate with a date on it, not a quote.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much are entrance fees in Uzbekistan in 2026?
Major monuments run roughly 40,000–100,000 som each for foreign visitors, about US$3.50–8.50. The Registan is 100,000 som, Bukhara's Ark 40,000–60,000, and Khiva's combined ticket anywhere from 50,000 to 250,000 depending on tier. Budget US$75–110 in entry fees for a two-week four-city trip.
Is there a single pass for all of Uzbekistan?
No. There is no national monument pass and no city pass outside Khiva's combined ticket, which covers only the walled Ichan Qala. Samarkand and Bukhara charge site by site. Anyone selling you a countrywide pass is selling a tour package, not an official ticket.
Do foreigners pay more than locals at Uzbek monuments?
Yes, and openly. Dual pricing is standard across the region and the foreigner rate is typically several times the resident rate, printed on the same tariff board. It is not negotiable and not worth arguing about. Children's tickets are usually around half the adult rate.
Can you pay entrance fees by card in Uzbekistan?
Sometimes, unreliably. Larger sites in Samarkand and Tashkent often have a terminal; smaller and rural sites do not, and terminals fail routinely. Carry som in notes of 50,000 and below. ATMs are plentiful in Tashkent, Samarkand and Urgench, thinner in Khiva.
Are minaret climbs included in the ticket?
Usually not. Vertical access is charged separately almost everywhere because it carries its own staffing and safety cost. Khiva's Islam Khoja minaret is about 100,000 som on top of your combined ticket, and Bukhara's Chor Minor includes roof access in its ~20,000 som entry. Ask at the booth first.
Sources: current and historical Samarkand figures cross-checked across Stantours' entrance-fee listing and dated visitor reports; exchange rates from Wise's UZS/USD history. Last full review: September 2026. Spotted a price that has changed? Tell us and we will date and add it.
Featured image: Benjamin Goetzinger (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Wikimedia Commons.