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Uzbekistan is the one of the most ancient regions of Central Asia and its rich historical past is the main heritage. Such world-famous cities as Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva have been existing here over 2000 years. Beside archaeological artifacts and ancient historical monuments Uzbekistan has rich and diverse natural world: valleys and plains buried in verdure, the Kyzyl Kum desert covered with sands and dunes, Tyan-Shan and Pamir-Alai Mountains in thick juniper forests. Almost two-thirds of the country’s territory is desert and steppes; the rest part of it is mountains, valleys and oases.
Chimgan- is one of the most beautiful places in Uzbekistan, situated in 80 km to the northeast from Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, in the mountains of the South-Western Tien Shan in the Ugam-Chatkal National Nature Park. Chimgan is under the administration of Bostanlik district of Tashkent region.
Chimgan is the most popular place of leisure among locals and guests of the capital city. It is not without reason that 150 years ago a summer cottage of the Tashkent Governor-General Kaufman was built. Chimgan is usually referred to as a vast territory from Beldersay to Charvak reservoir with its surroundings. Here at altitudes of 1500 – 1600 m. above sea level, there are ski resorts Chimgan and Beldersay. Above the area of the wall rises a huge rock massif with the dominating peak of Big Chimgan (3309 m). In the 12 km. away from Chimgan is Charvak reservoir, along the banks of which there are numerous hotels, boarding houses, cottages.
In summer Chimgan attracts numerous tourists with emerald greenery, clean mountain air, picturesque viewsc, tulips, waterfalls, huge snowfields in the Aksai gorge. There are great opportunities for hiking, mountaineering and climbing, cycling and horse tours. In winter – expanse for lovers of mountain skis, snowboarders, freeriders. In Chimgan and Beldersay you can climb cable railway tracks to the observation points, from which fantastic views of the surrounding mountains and valleys open for tens of kilometers.
The most interesting places to visit in Chimgan:
– Gorge of Aksai with RED and BLACK waterfalls, snowfields, birch grove, rock “tablets”;
– The top of the Big Chimgan (3309 m. above sea level ), on which mountaineering routes from 1 to 4 difficulty categories lead;
– Observation points of cable railway tracks in Chimgan and Beldersay;
– Mysterious highland plateau Pulatkhan;
– Marble river with a waterfall and shell fossils;
– Kyzyldzhar tract, Cretaceous remnants on the Akshuran Pass;
– The peak of the Small Chimgan (2100 m. above sea level) with Pesochy Pass (1832 m.);
– Gulkam Canyon;
– Charvak reservoir;
– Exotic villages Yangikurgan, Brichmulla, Yakkatut, Nanay;
– Picturesque valleys of rivers Chatkal, Pskem, Koksu, Ugam, Nurekata, Aksakata;
– The canyon of the Kalasai River with cascades of waterfalls;
– Valley of Paltau with the grotto of Neanderthals, 40 m. waterfall.
The Aydarkul Lake with its more than 3,000 km2 water surface is the largest fresh water lake in Uzbekistan.
The lake is manmade and is regarded as a “geographical wonder” for it has originally appeared as a result of filling up the enormous natural depression with excess water from Chardara reservoir during the disastrous high water in Syrdariya river in 1969.
Today there live and migrate variety of wildlife – birds, fish and mammals.
Samarkand is a cultural treasury of the peoples of the East, with medieval architectural monuments unique in beauty and architectural forms, extant up to date. Modern Samarkand differs much from its medieval image: the city has changed but the domes, towers, and magnificent building arches decorated with mosaic patterns are still sparkling in the sun and drawing the eyes. The Samarkand sights and monuments, rightly included into the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List, like pages of an old book, narrate the history of establishment and development of Samarkand – the city-crossroad of cultures.
The Samarkand symbol, the image of which can be met more often in post cards and booklets, is Registan Square with three madrasahs of Ulugbek, Sherdor and Tillya-Kori situated on it. This historical place embodies the highest achievement of the architects of the ХV-XVII centuries, which is inseparably connected with the names of outstanding figures of the East. Several centuries before the time, when Shah Jahan built famous Tadj Mahal in Agra in honor of his beloved, Samarkand had already the Bibi-Khanum mosque built – monumental building, devoted by Amir Timur to his beloved wife. The Bibi-Khanym mosque was built on a large scale, its sizes and specific architecture cannot but catch the imagination. Its dome was compared with the vault of heaven, while the portal arch – with the Milky Way. Not far from Bibi-Khanym mosque there is Shahi-Zinda complex, sprang up next to a densely populated residential quarter, in course of time it snowballed, squeezing up the adjoining community. Another important Samarkand sight is Gur-Emir Mausoleum, the luxurious Timurid shrine, where Amir Timur, the dynasty founder himself, rests too. Visit also the mysterious Prophet Daniel Mausoleum, the place being the subject of numerous hypotheses and legends over many years.