Tashkent, Chimgan and Lake Charvak: 6-day sightseeing tour

Day-by-day itinerary

1. Day 1

   The first day is given to getting there and looking around: there is no transport or excursion service, so you can use the time as you wish. Tashkent is a city where antiquity and very new buildings stand on the same street, and it is easiest to feel this on a walking stroll. The program recommends walking through the modern part of the capital; overnight at the hotel.

2. Day 2

   The day begins with a transfer to the Chimgan area — these are the spurs of the Western Tian Shan, a resort zone about 85 kilometers from Tashkent, at altitudes from 1600 to 3309 meters. The main impression is the ascent to the observation deck: the cable car cabins lift you to 2290 meters, and from there a view opens up of the ridge and of the village of Brichmulla. Then — a walking stroll in the mountains and accommodation at the resort in a pine forest, where the air smells of needles. The day sets the rhythm for the whole trip: lots of air and a view from above.

3. Day 3

   This is a day of water and color: a transfer to Lake Charvak, where the water is a rich turquoise shade and the shore is sandy. On the way to Tashkent — a stop for lunch at the place “Bochki” near the reservoir, where Uzbek shashliks are cooked. After returning to the city, you can visit the pottery workshop Said’s Ceramics: under the guidance of a hereditary master, make clay dishes with your own hands. The pace of the day is gentler than in the mountains, and more connected with the road and with your hands.

4. Day 4

   The most unexpected day of the tour: a transfer to the Parkent district to the institute “Physics-Sun”, where they will show the solar laboratory and heliostats directing rays at the concentrator. At the focus of these rays the temperature reaches 3000 degrees, and from the upper floor of the concentrator a panorama opens up of the ridge and the surrounding kishlaks. Lunch in a local chaikhana with Parkent shashliks, and afterwards — to the farm “Uzumfermer”: a family winery, a tour and wine tasting, a garden with exotic plants, a pond with a waterfall, a tea house and a rock garden. Return to Tashkent and free time.

5. Day 5

   The day is entirely about Tashkent and its old part: Khast-Imam Square, the Barak-Khan Madrasah, the Kafal-al-Shashi Mazar Mausoleum, the Chorsu Bazaar under a large dome. A separate pleasure is to see the makhallas with adobe houses and narrow streets, where the city looks completely different than in the center. Lunch at the pilaf center “Besh Qozon”, and then — free time and a stroll through the center: Amir Temur Square, the theater square, Tashkent City Park with singing fountains or Ankhor Park with an ethnographic part. The pace is calm, the day is more about the city than about the road.

6. Day 6

   After breakfast the group transfers to the airport, the tour program ends. This is a day without excursions — only packing and the flight home.