5 gems of Uzbekistan
The more you travel around Uzbekistan, the more you realise how rich the country is in culture, history, art and extraordinary natural wonders. Uzbekistan is a country where you can travel alone, spend holidays with family or explore along with a group. It is a corner of the world where you instantly feel at home. After all, Uzbekistan has history, meaning and natural power. Here we've made a selection of five places lesser-known places you should visit as soon as you get the chance.
Text by Sabina Odinaeva
Photos by Feruz Rustamov, Oyjon Khayrullaeva, Marat Nadjibaev, Timur Bailepesov
Summit to the stars
📍 Kashkadarya region
Maidanak Astronomical Observatory is part of the Kitab High Altitude Observatory complex, located in the mountains of the same name near the town of Kitab. The observatory covers about 32 hectares and is home to several modern astronomical observing instruments, including a 1.5m AZT-22 reflecting telescope and the 1m Carl Zeiss-Jena telescope, which take images of deep space. The plateau has become popular with tourists looking for beautiful scenery and a clear night sky. The observatory is only open on a special basis, but it is worth trying to set up an appointment or visiting close to the mountain’s summit to see the kind of night sky that will win your heart.
Louvre of Central Asia
📍 Karakalpakstan
Considered the real treasury of Uzbek fine art, the Savitsky State Museum’s collections number around 100,000 unique objects, relics and Turkestan and Russian modernist paintings from the last century. The founder of the museum, Igor Vitalievich Savitsky, first went to Karakalpakstan in 1950 and from the first day, he fell madly in love with this fantastic land. He expressed his love for the nature of Karakalpakstan, its history, culture and people in the collection he assembled for the State Museum. Why is the museum nicknamed the “second Louvre”? Because its collection is the best in Central Asia and contains the second largest collection of Russian avant-garde art. The museum also features magnificent paintings by Ural Tansykbaev, Nikolai Karakhan, Hovhannes Tevtevosyan, Alexander Volkov and others. Each work by these artists has its own magic that is captivating from the moment you see it.
Sea in the sands
📍 Navoi and Jizzakh regions
Fans of water recreation should head to Lake Aidarkul, a large artificial lake in the northeastern part of Uzbekistan. The 4000 sq km Aidar-Arnasay lake system includes three saline lakes, including Aidarkul, as well as Arnasai and Tuzkan. Aidarkul is sometimes called the “sea in the sands” for its sandy beaches and salty water located deep in the Kyzylkum Desert, far away from settlements and highways. There are rest houses, campgrounds and yurtstays along the shore, making for atmospheric swimming and overnight stays. Aidarkul is also a favourite spot for fishing.
Ancient stone forest
📍 Navoi region
Millions of years B.C. – this epic, ancient time scale measures the age of a small place called the Mingbulak Depression near the village of Jarakuduk in the centre of the Kyzylkum Desert. The site is so named because it sits at the desert’s lowest point: 12 m below sea level. Here, a natural “stone forest” formed of hundreds of ancient tree-trunk fragments, some up to four m high. The rocks, which cover an area of 30 sq km, are the fossilised remains of an ancient forest from the Cretaceous period. After numerous studies by geology and palaeontology experts, the site has taken its rightful place on the list of Uzbekistan’s most important ancient sites. Fragments from the forest can be seen in the State Geological Museum, the Navoi Regional Museum of History and Regional Ethnography, and the historical museums of Zarafshan and Kyzylkum.
Derbent Iron Gate
📍 Surkhandarya region
Near Baysun in southeast Uzbekistan is the Derbent Gorge and its many attractions. At the entrance of the gorge, there is the Zindonak Grotto where prisoners were kept. Further along, a narrow road leads to the sanctuary of Huzhamoi-ota. According to legend, a boiling spring filled with fish appeared from the place where the eponymous saint's staff struck. Near a cave in the mountains is his tomb, now a place of worship. Nearby, there is a picturesque “pigeon” canyon where thousands of wild pigeons nest. Historians believe that this is where the locals held Alexander the Great's troops captive for a long time. Finally, there is the famous Iron Gate where, in the Middle Ages, customs duties were collected from caravans travelling along the Silk Road. Even today, Derbent is considered the gateway to the Surkhandarya region.
