Uzbekistan Entrance Fees 2026: Registan, Ichan-Kala and Every Ticket

Uzbekistan entrance fees are modest by European standards, but they have risen every year since 2023, prices differ for foreigners and citizens, and no single official website lists them all. Travellers planning independently keep asking the same question: how much are the tickets, and how much should I budget for a day of sightseeing?

This page, compiled by our team in Tashkent and Bukhara and updated in November 2026, puts every main ticket in one place: the Registan, Shah-i-Zinda, Gur-e-Amir and Bibi-Khanym in Samarkand; the Ark and the madrasahs of Bukhara; the Ichan-Kala combined ticket in Khiva; the Savitsky museum in Nukus and the Buddhist sites of Termez. We add camera fees, guide fees at the gates, the hotel tourist tax and a realistic daily budget. Prices are in Uzbek som with an approximate dollar figure at about 12,000 som to the US dollar. They change without notice, so treat this as a guide and confirm at the ticket office.

Samarkand entrance fees in 2026

Samarkand has the most expensive tickets in the country, and the Registan is the one everybody asks about. Foreign adult prices reported in 2026:

• Registan Square (all three madrasahs): 100,000 som (about US$8.50); some older guides still quote 70,000
• Shah-i-Zinda necropolis: 50,000 to 80,000 som, with 80,000 the figure most often reported in 2026
• Gur-e-Amir, Amir Timur's mausoleum: 75,000 som
• Bibi-Khanym Mosque: 65,000 som
• Ulugbek Observatory and museum: around 50,000 som
• Afrasiab Museum (Sogdian murals): around 50,000 som
• Hazrat Khizr Mosque, Khoja Doniyor and the smaller mausoleums: free or a nominal 10,000 to 30,000 som

A full day covering the four big sites comes to roughly 320,000 som, about US$27. A combined Samarkand ticket has been reported by some travellers but we could not confirm it officially; buy at each gate. Registan tickets are sold at the kiosk on the square side, and card terminals work on most days. The evening light and sound show at the Registan is ticketed separately. See our Registan guide and Shah-i-Zinda guide for opening hours and the best times to visit.

Bukhara ticket prices: the Ark, madrasahs and museums

Bukhara is cheaper than Samarkand, and much of the old town is free to walk: the Po-i-Kalyan square, the trading domes, Lyabi-Hauz and the lanes of the Jewish quarter cost nothing. You pay for interiors:

• Ark Fortress and its museums: 50,000 to 60,000 som (about US$4 to 5)
• Samanid Mausoleum: a small fee, typically 10,000 to 20,000 som, in a free public park
• Chashma-Ayub, Magoki-Attori, Ulugbek and Abdulaziz Khan madrasahs, the Zindan: usually 15,000 to 40,000 som each
• Sitorai Mohi-Hosa, the Emir's summer palace outside town: around 50,000 som
• Chor-Bakr necropolis and Bahauddin Naqshband complex: free, donations welcome

A combined Bukhara ticket covering around fifteen monuments including the Ark has been reported at 140,000 som; it exists in some seasons and not others, so ask at the Ark ticket office. Climbing the Kalyan Minaret is not usually possible for visitors; the Ark walls and some madrasah rooftops are the viewpoints instead.

Ichan-Kala ticket price in Khiva: the combined ticket explained

Khiva works differently. The walled inner city, Ichan-Kala, is a UNESCO site with one combined ticket sold at the North, South, East and West gates. As of 2026 the foreigner price is 250,000 som (about US$21). Older guides quote 150,000, which was the 2024 price.

What you need to know:

• The ticket is valid for 48 hours and covers 16 to 18 museums and monuments inside the walls, including the Kunya-Ark, the Tash-Hauli palace, the Juma Mosque and the Kalta Minor base
• Climbing the Islam Khoja Minaret costs extra, around 100,000 som, and the Pahlavan Mahmud Mausoleum around 25,000 som
• Walking the lanes and the main street is free at any hour; you only need the ticket to enter buildings
• Guests staying in a hotel inside Ichan-Kala are not asked for the ticket to go to their hotel, but still need one for the museums
• Pay in cash if possible; card terminals at the gates are not always working

Our Ichan-Kala guide and the Khiva one-day itinerary explain how to pace the sites over two days to get the most from the 48-hour ticket.

Nukus, Termez and the smaller museums

Outside the big three cities the fees are lower and the queues non-existent.

• Savitsky Museum, Nukus: about 50,000 som for foreign visitors; in 2026 one of the two blocks was under renovation, so check what is open. A guided tour and photography are charged separately.
• Khorezm desert fortresses (Ayaz-Kala, Toprak-Kala, Kyzyl-Kala): free, with a small parking or site fee at some of them
• Muynak ship graveyard and museum: a nominal fee of around 20,000 to 30,000 som
• Fayaz Tepa and Kara Tepa near Termez: about 60,000 som on a combined ticket, with a border-zone pass arranged in advance by your operator
• Termez Archaeological Museum: around 30,000 som
• Tashkent museums (State Museum of History, Applied Arts, Amir Timur Museum): typically 25,000 to 50,000 som; the Hazrati Imam complex is free apart from the Quran museum
• Fergana Valley (Khudayar Khan Palace in Kokand, Rishtan workshops): 20,000 to 40,000 som; workshops are free with a purchase expected

Camera fees, guide fees and other extras at the gate

A few things add to the ticket price and surprise first-time visitors:

• Camera and video fees: most sites now include photography in the ticket, but some museums still charge 10,000 to 30,000 som for a camera and more for video or tripods. Phone photography is almost never charged. Ask at the kiosk before shooting inside.
• Guide fees: licensed guides wait at the gates of the Registan, the Ark and Ichan-Kala and typically ask 100,000 to 200,000 som (US$8 to 17) for a one-hour walk, or quote in dollars. Agree the price and language first.
• Toilets: 2,000 to 3,000 som at most sites.
• Student and child discounts: children under seven are generally free and school pupils pay a reduced price; international student cards are accepted at some sites but not consistently.
• Citizens' prices: the lower price on the board is for Uzbek citizens, which is why you may see two figures. Foreign residents with a residence permit can sometimes pay the local rate.

Tip: carry small notes. A 200,000-som note for a 25,000-som ticket is not always welcome at a quiet kiosk.

Uzbekistan tourist tax per night: how the hotel levy works

The other fee travellers search for is the hotel tourist tax, charged per person per night in every licensed hotel and guesthouse and paid at the hotel, usually on check-out. It is calculated as a percentage of the base calculation value (BCV), a figure the government updates each year:

• Hotels with up to 10 rooms: 5 per cent of the BCV per foreign guest per night
• Hotels with 11 to 40 rooms: 10 per cent
• Hotels with more than 40 rooms: 15 per cent
• Citizens of Uzbekistan: 0.4 per cent

With the BCV at 440,000 som from 1 September 2026, that works out at about 22,000, 44,000 or 66,000 som per night, roughly US$2 to 5.50. Children under 16 are exempt. A part night counts as a full night. The amount should be shown on your hotel invoice; it is usually not included in the room rate on booking sites. On our tours the tourist tax is included in the price, so there is nothing to pay at reception.

A realistic daily sightseeing budget

Putting it together for a foreign adult in 2026:

• Samarkand, full day with the four main sites: 300,000 to 350,000 som (US$25 to 30)
• Bukhara, full day with the Ark, three or four interiors and the summer palace: 150,000 to 200,000 som (US$12 to 17)
• Khiva, two days on the 48-hour ticket plus the minaret: 350,000 som (US$29)
• Tashkent, two or three museums and the Hazrati Imam complex: 80,000 to 120,000 som (US$7 to 10)
• Nukus and the fortresses: 60,000 to 80,000 som (US$5 to 7)

For a classic ten-day loop through the four cities, budget around US$100 per person for tickets, plus guide fees if you hire guides at the gates and plus the tourist tax of US$25 to 55 for the trip. Our Uzbekistan travel cost article puts these numbers alongside hotels, trains and food.

What our tours include

All entrance fees listed on the itinerary, the Ichan-Kala combined ticket, the tourist tax and licensed guides are included in the price of our group and private tours, so the only tickets you buy yourself are optional extras such as the Islam Khoja minaret climb or the Registan evening show. If you prefer to travel independently, we can still arrange a guide for a single city at a fixed price, and this page should save you the arithmetic at the gates.