Nestled in the Hissar mountain range in southern Uzbekistan, the village of Gelon, founded in 1305, is poised to become the next must-visit location for cultural and medical tourism. Perched at an elevation of 2,600 metres, near the Tajik border, it offers stunning views of pristine nature, dramatic peaks and a deep sense of history. With increasing investment in local infrastructure, Gelon and its surroundings might well become the next well-being hub of Central Asia.
Once restricted to the public due to its proximity to the sensitive Uzbekistan – Tajikistan border, Gelon has, since its opening in 2018, welcomed a growing number of visitors and travellers seeking, unique, off-the-beaten-path experiences. The village is distinctive for its narrow, steeply terraced fields – where potatoes and fruits, or medicinal herbs are grown at seemingly impossible angles – and for its distinctive two-storey houses, with livestock on the ground floor and families live above, reminiscent of architectural styles found in Tibet and Nepal.
Gelon is a village shaped by resilience and pride. Home to an ethnic Tajik population, Gelon has preserved its language, Islamic traditions, and traditional dress, offering visitors an authentic glimpse into a way of life that has endured with minimal outside influence for centuries.
The village holds a great significance as a site where warriors who defended Islam in central Asia are said to be buried. Locals recount stories of Sufi mystics who once retreated to these peaks for solitude and prayer, drawn by the purity of the air and the silence of the highlands. Some believe the land holds sacred energy, and that certain springs and caves have spiritual power.
High in the mountains, Gelon has long been known for its clean air, glacial stream, and abundance of healing herbs. It has traditionally been seen as a place of rest and recuperation. Building on this legacy, and inspired by wellness centres in South Korea, Turkey, and India, the Uzbek government is investing in the region with the aim of merging traditional healing, modern care, and nature into a thriving health tourism sector.
Health tourism is not new to Uzbekistan. It dates back to the Soviet era, when sanatoriums were established across the republic in areas rich in natural resources, catering to workers and high-ranking officials – though not always in the facility. One such example is the famed Zaniim sanatorium in Uzbekistan’s Jizzakh Region.
Mountainous regions near Gelon housed facilities specialising in respiratory and cardiovascular care. While some of these were abandoned after independence, many are now receiving a fresh coat of paint and rebranding themselves as spas or health resorts, as part of the country’s ‘medical hospitality’ programme.
Several of these in the Surkhandarya region are already fully operational and offer high-quality mineral-rich treatments, from hydrotherapy to psammotherapy – a unique sand-based method. Many of these centres focus on respiratory neurological and cardiovascular conditions. Resorts like Termez Marvaridi and Khojaipok combining scientific and natural approaches. The Khodjaikon Salt Cave, renowned for helping asthma and other chronic respiratory ailments, offers treatments deep within a salt monolith. The Sangardak Sanatorium meanwhile combines respiratory health with seasonal dietary programmes.
Many centres across the country focus on women’s wellness, offering programmes for gynaecological care, mineral water therapies, and fertility diagnostics. In and around Gelon, as in many Tajik and broader central Asia communities, women are known to pass down herbal treatments related to menstruation, fertility, childbirth recovery and hormone balance. This ancestral knowledge is integrated into modern practices.
With its natural setting and serene atmosphere, Gelon is ideally suited for the development of medical eco-tourism, evoking the mountain retreats of 20th-century Switzerland, but with the added charm of local herbal traditions, cultural richness and a sense of the exotic.
To harness this potential, the Uzbek government is investing in major upgrades to infrastructure, including the reconstruction of 33 kilometres of mountain roads. The vision is to transform Gelon into a year-round destination that blends wellness, heritage, and environmental sustainability.
For visitors, Gelon promises more than just medical treatment, and offers immersive experiences, such as hiking in the mountains, sampling local cuisine, and meeting farmers who still use oxen to plough steep fields. Every encounter invites a return to simplicity and connection with the land. Some renovated sanatoriums provide entertainment within their facilities.
And for those drawn to stories and mysteries, Gelon will not disappoint as its past still whispers through the mountains. Like many villages near the Silk Road, elders still share tales of hidden treasures buried during invasions, or of ancient manuscripts hidden by scholars fleeing persecution. Whether legend or truth, such tales give Gelon an aura no wellness resort could invent.
In Gelon, visitors heal not only their bodies but also nourish their imaginations. Gelon remains, quite simply, a place where nature, tradition, and the possibility of wonder still endure.
