Journey down the Silk Road and uncover the mysteries of Uzbekistan
Journey down the historical Silk Road and uncover the mysteries of Uzbekistan, a land of hidden wonders and adventures
From the blue-tiled mosques of Bukhara to the remote semiautonomous region of Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan offers ancient culture and ample opportunity for adventure. Highlights include riding Tashkent’s glitzy metro, admiring Silk Road-era architecture and strolling Samarkand’s backstreets. Add to this Uzbek hospitality, as warm as it is heartfelt, colourful festivals and the fact you’re following in the footsteps of the greatest travellers and conquerors in history and there are all the ingredients of a riveting trip.
WHERE TO BEGIN
Overlanders may cross one of many borders from a neighbouring ‘stan but the capital, Tashkent, is the most common entry point. Begin centrally, at the Amir Timur statue, marvel at the hulking Hotel Uzbekistan, then buy a token for the Tashkent Metro. Modelled on the Moscow Metro, it’s all marble, chandeliers and carved alabaster.
Alight at Kosmonavtlar station, dedicated to Soviet space travel (look out for Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space) and visit the Museum of Applied Arts for a primer on silk weaving, Uzbek hats (tubeteika) and local ceramics. Take the metro to the Old Town’s sprawling Chorsu Bazaar and wander lanes full of dairy goods, dried fruit and pyramids of vegetables. Buy a takeaway bag of salad and a roundel of Non bread. Tashkent deserves a few days, so don’t rush off.
SILK HERITAGE
Next, head to the Fergana Valley for 3-4 days. Take the morning train to Margilan (five hours), the hub of Uzbekistan’s silk industry. Arrive at lunchtime and go to the Yodgorlik Silk Factory to see master weavers working under mulberry trees and, if the fruit-filled Kumtepa Bazaar is on, (Thursdays and Sundays), visit that, too. Next, take a shared taxi (two hours) to historic Kokand. Visit its impressive mosques, try some local halva (sweets) and see some of the 100 or so rooms at the Khan’s Palace. Stay at Hotel Kokand, then, for a slice of village life, daytrip to little Rishton (45 minutes, shared taxi) for the famous pottery workshops and the Rishton Ceramic Museum.
Continue to Andijan (also Andijon), a laid-back city with a decent bazaar (Jahon) and museums but infamous for the horrors of its 2005 massacre. One taste of Fergana’s celebrated melons and you’ll see why Babur, founder of the Mughal Empire and the city’s son, missed them so in India. Train back to Tashkent is around five hours.
From the capital, bag a seat in a shared taxi and travel an hour north to Chimgan national park. If it’s summer, spend a few days hiking there taking in rock paintings, waterfalls and wild tulips. In winter, skiing is an option.
Zip back to the capital and take the speedy Afrosiyob train to Samarkand and get your fill of towering and resplendent turquoise-tiled madrasas and mosques. Emir B&B is keenly priced with views of Gur-E-Amir, Tamerlane’s mausoleum. At night, have a drink at the atmospheric Blues Cafe.
Next, escape the tour
groups by heading north to the Nurata Mountains, taking shared taxis via Navoi, and spend a few days hiking and overnighting at yurt camps such as Sputnik. Try a camel ride and relax at the Chashma Spring, home to holy fish.
BOWLED BY BUKHARA
Bukhara is the most romantic of Uzbekistan’s cities with former merchant house B&Bs, boutiques galore and decent cafes (Cafe Wishbone is good for European coffee). It is easy to spend a few comfortable days here exploring the fortress known as the Ark of Bukhara and craning your neck at the Kalon Minaret (47 metres tall). Don’t miss Shavkat Boltaev’s longestablished Bukhara Photo Gallery or Silk Road Spices for tea and sesame brittle.
From Bukhara, make the long journey in a shared taxi to Nukus, the capital of Karakalpakstan, via a necessary connection in Urgench. Now’s the time to add in ancient Khiva for more mosques and museums, if you don’t have Silk Road fatigue by now. In Nukus, allow half a day for the incredible Savitsky Museum, which is home to the second-largest collection of Russian avant garde art after St Petersburg’s State Russian Museum. Splurge by staying at the charming Jipek Joli hotel, complete with on-site museum, then side-trip to the former fishing port of Moynaq, to witness the Aral Sea Crisis and the resultant desolate ship graveyard. Accommodation-wise, an open mind helps in Uzbekistan as the country’s tourism scene is in its infancy and options are limited — especially in Fergana Valley and Karakalpakstan. One night you could be in a Soviet-built monster, the next a basic motel-like inn. Tashkent has some fivestar properties but there are few low-cost hotels.
Overrated: Over-zealous restoration work has blighted much of Uzbekistan’s Timurid-era architecture and, unfortunately, Shahrisabz, south of Samarkand, is a key example. Hasty renovation — and a bid to offer a sanitised version of Uzbek tourism — has destroyed the very thing that made the city special: its medieval townscape. Several residential mahallas (neighbourhoods) have been flattened, along with the historic bazaar.
Underrated: Everyone visits Bukhara’s Jewish quarter but hidden behind Samarkand’s enormous Registan ensemble is a warren of alleys with bread-makers, schools and children running amok, offering a slice of traditional mahalla life.
Moving on: From Samarkand, the nearby Penjikent border crossing, into Tajikistan, reopened last year. This border is the gateway to Tajikistan’s Fann Mountains, fantastic for trekking.