Uzbekistan is a country renowned for its ancient Silk Road routes and impressive Islamic culture. Recently, it has been getting more and more popular among travel lovers, attractive culture seekers, and adventure seekers alike. However, beyond the cultural buzz, there is something more to this country.
Some of Uzbekistan’s sites are so unique that they have earned UNESCO recognition. These natural landmarks serve as proof that Uzbekistan has something to offer to any traveller, regardless of their tastes or interests.
1. Western Tien-Shan mountains
The Western mountains of the Tien-Shan range were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage location in 2016. Stretching not only through Uzbekistan but also through Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan, spanning a remarkable length of 300 km, Western Tien-Shan features diverse landscapes and are home to a wide variety of plant and animal species.
The highest peak of the range in Uzbekistan is Chatkal, with a height of 4,503 metres. Also located in the Ugam-Chatkal National Park, is the Ugam Range, whose highest peak, Sairam, reaches 4,299 metres. The ridge spans 100 km and features narrow slopes covered in snow and thick ice. Another prominent feature of the Tien Shan system is the Pskem Range. One distinctive feature of this range is that on its slopes, people can observe broad-leave forests and coniferous valleys, typical alpine meadows, and rare thickets.
UNESCO recognized the Western Tien Shan under criterion (x), as it contains some of the most significant natural habitats for in-situ conservation of biodiversity. These habitats include threatened species of outstanding universal value from both scientific and conservation perspectives.
2. Cold Winter Deserts of Turan
Since 2023, the cold winter deserts of Turan have been enscribed on UNESCO’s Natural World Heritage list. They consist of 14 distinct areas scattered across Central Asia in Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
This area is subject to extreme climatic conditions with scorching summers and extreme winters, it supports a remarkably diverse array of flora and fauna, which has adapted to the environment. Covering more than 1,500 kilometres, this site showcases a wide variety of desert ecosystems, contributing to the region’s biodiversity, ecological processes, and desert landscapes.
Listed under criteria (ix) and (x), similarly to Tien-Shan, the cold winter deserts of Turan include natural habitats essential for biodiversity conservation. The habitats part of the deserts safeguard threatened species valuable for science and conservation. Moreover, under criterion (ix), this site is also an outstanding example representing significant ongoing ecological and biological processes in the evolution and development of terrestrials, fresh water, coastal and marine ecosystems, and communities of plants and animals.
