For nature lovers looking for stunning landscapes, protected areas and rare fauna and birds, the national parks and reserves of Uzbekistan offer intriguing possibilities and destinations brand new on the eco-tourism scene.
And now some of the best nature experiences in the country have been curated by the National PR team, who point out that “Uzbekistan is not only famous for the architectural monuments included in the UNESCO Cultural Heritage List, not only for the ancient cities, but also for the amazing flora and fauna, picturesque mountains, caves, deserts and crystal-clear lakes, rivers and waterfalls.”
Ugam-Chatkal National Park
Ugam-Chatkal National Park in northeastern Uzbekistan, is a one-off in UNESCO’s World Heritage List. Described by the national tourist agency as “a real miracle of our planet”, it spans 574,000 hectares in the Bostanlyk, Parkent and Akhangaran regions, in Tashkent.
As well as mountains, gorges and canyons that will challenge even the most intrepid of climbers, the park is a biospheric ecosystem where snow leopards, Menzbir’s marmots, Tien Shan brown bears, black storks and many other rare creatures abide among juniper forests and a rich combination of nut and fruit trees. As if that weren’t enough, the park also features archaeological sites boasting ancient rock paintings, tools and monuments going back 40,000 years.
Kitab State Geological Reserve
Almost a pilgrimage site for geology buffs, the rocks of Kitab have become “a sort of geological holy grail”, according to the Uzbek Institute for Strategic and Regional Studies. And they have only recently opened up to tourists.
On the spurs of the Zarafshan range in the country’s southeast, the reserve is home to a vertical rock wall containing the embedded fossils of corals and marine life. It presents a unique natural monument where you can touch the traces of the formation of life on the planet, and see the Pragian and Emsian stages that occurred 407 million years ago. Museums, hiking trails and viewing platforms all help to bring the traveller closer to nature and history.
Zaamin State Reserve and National Park
Renowned for its “healing air”, the Zaamin National Park is Uzbekistan’s oldest and main health resort, recently nicknamed “Uzbek Switzerland”. Encompassing a total of over 50,000 hectares to the north of the Turkestan Range in the Jizzakh region, Zaamin’s two gems are popular with Uzbeks and its sanatoriums and children’s holiday camps attract year-round visitors. The zone’s dense forests of protected mountain pines have been on UNESCO’s World Heritage “Tentative” List for over a decade.
