Uzbekistan is at the very heart of the Silk Road. With its glittering mosques and madrasss, Bactrian camels and ruined caravanserais in the Karakum and Kyzylkum Deserts, it encapsulates every fairytale stereotype. After 20 years of relative isolation, Uzbekistan has finally embraced tourism and is opening up to the outside world. There’s a boom in new hotels and international flight connections, and the country has become visa free for most nationalities. It is therefore easier to visit than ever before.
First time visitors to Uzbekistan must see at least one of the three great Silk Road cities, Samarkand, Bukhara, and Khiva. Each of these UNESCO World Heritage Sites is a remarkable complex of medieval architecture, including richly tiled, carved, and painted mosques, madrassas, mausoleums, and palaces. There are markets, artisans’ workshops, and plenty of chaikhanas (tea shops), too.
Uzbekistan’s history goes far further back in time, however, and the archaeological sites of Termez and Khorezm are extraordinary: Buddhist monasteries from the Graeco-Bactrian period, temples, and desert fortresses. These sites are little visited, and having them almost to yourself is part of the magic.
Last but not least amongst Uzbekistan’s highlights are aspects of its Soviet era heritage. Tashkent Metro is arguably the most ornate in the world, and every station is decorated in a different style. Nukus Museum houses the second largest and most important collection of Russian avant garde art after St Petersburg. You can also visit the ship’s graveyard to Moynaq, formerly a port on the shore of the now shrunken Aral Sea.
Uzbekistan borders all of the other Central Asian republics, and this central location makes it an obvious choice to include on any multi country tour in the region. At Paramount Journey, we typically recommend combining Uzbekistan with Tajikistan and/or Kyrgyzstan, as you can then experience both the high culture of the Silk Road cities and the wild, rugged beauty of the mountains.
Tashkent is the starting point of our Ancient Central Asia tour, which emphasises the cultural, political, and economic importance of this region prior to the arrival of Islam. You will learn how Buddhism and Zoroastrianism travelled along the Silk Road, and see the remarkable archeological remains of cities, monasteries, and fortresses, many of which are off the beaten track and little visited by tourists. Paramount Journey’s cultural guides in Uzbekistan are passionate historians, and they bring the past alive as they explain the significance of these sites.
The Central Asian Circuit is our “best of” Central Asia tour. In Uzbekistan you will visit both Tashkent and Samarkand, and thus be able to compare and contrast the modern country with its past. If your interest is primarily in Uzbekistan’s intangible cultural heritage rather than its buildings, we recommend Ferghana: A Central Asian Patchwork as it is on this tour you can learn most about the region’s arts and crafts. Artisans will welcome you into their homes and workshops to showcase their skills, you might try your hand at wood carving, silk weaving, or embroidery, and there will be plenty of opportunities for souvenir shopping, too!
