Public Holidays in Uzbekistan and What Closes
Uzbekistan's public holidays, which dates move each year, what actually shuts, and the two weeks travellers should either target or avoid.
Two of Uzbekistan's public holidays move roughly eleven days earlier every year, which means a trip planned around a calendar from two years ago will be wrong. That's the single most useful thing to know here, and it catches out more visitors than the holidays themselves do.
The fixed dates
These are the fixed national holidays, and the dates don't move. All are non-working days except 14 January, which is a commemorative date: it's marked with ceremonies, but offices stay open and the 2026 days-off decree gives no break for it.
| Date | Holiday | What it means for a visitor |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January | New Year | Offices, banks and schools shut for a multi-day break (31 December to 4 January in 2026); monuments, restaurants and hotels open |
| 14 January | Defender of the Fatherland Day (commemorative, not a day off) | Low impact |
| 8 March | International Women's Day | Busy, flowers everywhere, restaurants full |
| 21 March | Navruz | The big one; several days of celebration |
| 9 May | Day of Memory and Honour | Ceremonies, some closures; Tashkent's WWII memorial park is built around this date |
| 1 September | Independence Day | Parades and concerts; domestic travel busy |
| 1 October | Teacher and Mentor Day | Low impact for travellers |
| 8 December | Constitution Day | Offices and schools closed |
Sources: the government's own holidays page and the approved 2026 days off reported by Gazeta.uz (last checked: September 2026).
The two that move
The Muslim holidays are set by the lunar calendar and shift earlier each year against the Gregorian one.
Ro'za Hayit (Eid al-Fitr) marks the end of Ramadan. Qurbon Hayit (Eid al-Adha) falls roughly two months later. Both are public holidays and both come with extended breaks in practice. In 2026, for example, a presidential decision published on 21 May fixed Qurbon Hayit on Wednesday 27 May; with extra days off on 28 and 29 May and the weekend after them, most workers had five days in a row off, 27 to 31 May (Kun.uz).
Check the year you're travelling rather than assuming. Gazeta.uz publishes the approved days off each December for the following year, and its 2026 announcement is the model for how this works.
Ramadan itself is not a holiday, but it changes the rhythm of a month, and what to expect is covered in travelling in Uzbekistan during Ramadan.
What actually shuts
Less than you'd fear, and more than is convenient.
Closed: government offices, banks, most business services, some museums, and the e-mehmon and registration offices you might need. Open: hotels, restaurants, bazaars, taxis, trains, and the major monuments in the tourist cities, which have every reason to stay open when the country is on holiday.
The real disruption is not closure. It's demand. When the whole country has four days off, everybody travels to see relatives, and that means trains sell out, shared taxis fill, hotel rates rise and the popular sites get busy with domestic visitors rather than foreign ones.
Which ones to target or avoid
Navruz, around 21 March, is worth planning a trip around. Sumalak cooking overnight in every neighbourhood, wrestling, music, the kupkari season at its peak. It is the most alive the country gets. Book transport and rooms as early as the window allows. For the animal-year tradition linked to Navruz, there's an explainer on the muchal calendar.
Independence Day, 1 September
Good to be in Tashkent for, awkward to travel on. Independence was proclaimed on 31 August 1991 and the first celebration was held in Tashkent the next day, which is why the holiday sits on the 1st. It is the main state holiday of the year, and in practice it is a long weekend rather than one day: the approved 2026 calendar gave four days off, from Saturday 29 August to Tuesday 1 September, according to Gazeta.uz.
What closes is the usual list: government offices, banks and most business services for the whole break. What happens is concerts, folk festivities in city parks and outdoor feast tables, with the main state event in the capital in the evening (Orexca has a fuller description). In 2025 that event was held at New Uzbekistan Park, and Qalampir reported road closures on the approaches from 17:00 to 23:00 on 1 September, with drivers told to use bypass routes. If you have an evening flight or a taxi across that side of the city that night, leave more time than usual.
Should you avoid it? No, but don't change cities during the break. The four-day weekend sends families home to the regions, so trains and shared taxis fill up. Book the 60-day rail window early, or stay put in one city and enjoy the evenings.
New Year, 31 December to early January
New Year needs planning rather than avoiding. Offices, banks and schools shut from 31 December to 4 January in 2026 (and 31 December to 3 January for New Year 2027), and it's cold. But monuments, restaurants and hotels stay open, Tashkent puts on lights and midnight fireworks, and our winter guide makes the case for the season. Sort any bank or registration business before the break and book trains early.
The 31 December celebration has been kept since Soviet times, and it looks like it. The symbols are a decorated fir tree, Qorbobo (“Snow Grandfather”, the local Grandfather Frost) and his granddaughter Qorqiz, who turn up at children's parties. The night itself is a family occasion: dinner starts late, the table is loaded with salads, fruit and sweets, and people watch the President's address on television before midnight, as local guides and Orexca both describe. Because it is mostly a night at home, eating out on the 31st is less predictable than usual: book ahead if you want a restaurant table, and ask whether a set menu applies.
Getting around Tashkent changes too. For New Year 2026 the metro ran without a break from 05:00 on 31 December to 01:00 on 1 January, then on Saturday and Sunday timetables over the holiday, according to UzDaily. Streets around the National Library, Istiqlol Street and the Taras Shevchenko food street were closed to cars for the festivities from mid-December into January, the same outlet reported. Exact hours and streets change each year (last checked: October 2026). How the metro works day to day is in our Tashkent metro guide.
Don't confuse this with the older new year. Navruz, the spring-equinox festival on 21 March, is the one with deep local roots, family cooking and neighbourhood gatherings. If you want to see a celebration that is specifically Uzbek, that is the one to aim for; 31 December is closer to what you would find anywhere in the former Soviet world.
The bridging-day habit
One feature of the Uzbek calendar that surprises visitors: the government formally moves working days around to create long weekends.
If a holiday falls on a Tuesday, the intervening Monday is often declared a day off and made up by working the preceding Saturday. The result is that a single holiday can produce a four or five-day national break, and the pattern is announced in advance each December for the following year rather than following a rule you can predict.
Two consequences for a traveller. A Saturday during your trip may unexpectedly be a working day, with banks and offices open. And the break around a holiday is likely to be longer than the calendar entry suggests, which is the thing that matters for booking trains.
Neither is a problem if you check. Both are a problem if you assume the dates behave like they do at home.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many public holidays does Uzbekistan have?
Seven fixed non-working holidays plus two Muslim holidays whose dates move each year; 14 January is marked but isn't a day off. In practice the government approves extended weekends around several of them, so the number of actual days off is higher than the number of holidays.
Are museums open on public holidays in Uzbekistan?
Usually yes in the tourist cities, sometimes with shortened hours, and less reliably in provincial towns. State museums are more likely to close than the major monuments. If a specific museum matters to you, have your hotel call ahead rather than turning up.
Do trains run on public holidays?
Yes, and they run full. Uzbek Railways keeps normal or enhanced schedules around holidays because domestic demand rises, but seats disappear well in advance. Book the moment the 60-day window opens for anything around Navruz or Independence Day.
When is Navruz in Uzbekistan?
21 March, with celebrations running for several days either side. It is the spring equinox festival, the largest event in the Uzbek year, and a public holiday. Our Navruz guide covers what happens and where.
Should I avoid travelling to Uzbekistan during a holiday?
Not really. New Year is the most disruptive for banks and offices, but the sights stay open. Navruz and Independence Day are both worth being present for as long as you book ahead and don't plan to change cities on the day itself. Everything else has minimal impact on a tourist itinerary.
The practical rule
Look up the current year's approved days off before booking anything, and treat the extended weekends rather than the holidays themselves as the thing to plan around. A four-day national break does more to your travel arrangements than a single day off ever will.
For seasonal planning generally, see the best time to visit Uzbekistan, and our guides to spring and autumn cover the two windows most people choose between.