Destinations
Boysun: A UNESCO Culture Space in the Mountains
A mountain district in southern Uzbekistan where pre-Islamic custom survives, recognised by UNESCO in 2001. The spring festival, the villages, and how to get there.
Author · 223 guides · page 11
Toofan Singh
Culture & History
Sarmishsay Petroglyphs
Thousands of rock carvings in a gorge near Navoi, some of them 10,000 years old: what you see, how to find them, and whether the detour is worth it.
Things to Do
Ulugbek and Abdulaziz Khan Madrasahs, Bukhara
Two madrasahs facing each other across a Bukhara street, built 235 years apart: restraint on one side, everything the craftsmen knew on the other.
Culture & History
Termez's Buddhist Sites: Fayaz Tepe and Kara Tepe
Uzbekistan had Buddhist monasteries for centuries before it had mosques. What survives at Fayaz Tepe, Kara Tepe and the Zurmala stupa, and how to see it.
Destinations
Mizdakhan Necropolis near Nukus
Hills of graves outside Khodjeyli, a half-buried 14th-century mausoleum, the world clock legend, and the ruined city across the road. How to visit from Nukus.
Things to Do
Bolo Hauz Mosque: Bukhara's Pillared Courtyard
Twenty painted columns, a pool that doubles them, and the emir's Friday mosque facing the Ark across the old Registan square in Bukhara.
Destinations
The Ustyurt Plateau: Uzbekistan's Last Wilderness
Cliffs above a vanished sea, salt flats, flamingos and a night in a yurt: what an Ustyurt expedition from Nukus actually involves, and who should book one.
Culture & History
Imam al-Bukhari Memorial Complex
The burial place of the scholar who compiled the Sahih al-Bukhari, 25 km from Samarkand: what the complex is, how to get there, and what to wear.
Things to Do
Lyabi-Hauz: Bukhara's Pool Square
The 1620 pool at the centre of Bukhara, the buildings around it, the Nasreddin statue, and an honest verdict on eating and drinking under the mulberry trees.
Culture & History
The Savitsky Museum: Nukus's Hidden Avant-Garde
How a collection of banned Soviet art ended up in a desert town in Karakalpakstan, what is actually on the walls, and how to plan a visit to Nukus around it.