Tashkent to Parkent: Getting to the Solar Furnace and the Foothills
Parkent is the gateway to the Chatkal foothills and the nearest town to the famous Solar Furnace. Here is how to get there from Tashkent and what to fit into a day trip.
Parkent is a quiet district town east of Tashkent, surrounded by orchards and vineyards. On its own it is not much of a tourist destination, but it lies on the road to one of the most unusual scientific structures in the country, the Solar Furnace, as well as to the mountain villages and streams of the Chatkal range. It makes a good weekend trip, especially in spring and autumn.
Distance and travel time
From Tashkent to Parkent is about 50 km. By car the trip takes around an hour, a little longer on weekend mornings when many people leave the city. The Solar Furnace sits in the foothills beyond Parkent, roughly 10–15 km from town along a road that gradually climbs.
| Section | Distance | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Tashkent to Parkent | about 50 km | about 1 hour |
| Parkent to the Solar Furnace | about 10–15 km | 20–30 minutes |
| Tashkent to the Solar Furnace | about 60–65 km | 1.5 hours |
How to get to Parkent
Buses and minibuses. Suburban buses and marshrutka minibuses run from the eastern edge of Tashkent to Parkent. This is the cheapest option. The downsides are stops along the way and waiting for the minibus to fill up. On weekend mornings many people head for the hills, so leave early.
Shared ride. On Yo'ldosh you can find drivers going to Parkent or living there and returning from Tashkent. You book a seat in the app, see the departure time and the verified driver, and pay for one seat, which is roughly cheaper than a taxi, especially if you are travelling alone or as a couple.
Taxi. Convenient if you are travelling as a group and want to go straight to the Solar Furnace without changing. Agree on the price in advance and check whether the driver will wait for you or whether you need to find your own way back.
Your own car. The road to Parkent is simple and paved. Beyond it, the road to the furnace and the villages is narrower, with bends and climbs, but passable for an ordinary car in dry weather.
The Solar Furnace: what it is and how to visit
The Solar Furnace is a research complex built in the 1980s to study materials at extremely high temperatures. A huge concave mirror made of many segments and a field of heliostats on the slope opposite concentrate sunlight onto a single point. Very few structures of this scale exist anywhere in the world, and it is genuinely impressive, especially on a sunny day.
What to know before you go:
- this is a working scientific facility, not a theme park, so visiting arrangements and tours can change; check in advance;
- tours are usually held during the day, and the installation cannot be demonstrated in cloudy weather;
- plan your visit for the morning so you have time for both the furnace and a walk in the hills;
- tour prices change, so rely on up-to-date information on site.
Public transport to the furnace itself is irregular. The most practical approach is to reach Parkent by bus or shared ride and take a local taxi from there to the complex and back.
What else to see nearby
The foothills around Parkent are full of orchards, springs and mountain streams. It is a lovely area to:
- walk in spring, when apricot, apple and almond trees blossom and tulips and poppies appear on the slopes;
- buy fruit from growers by the roadside in summer and autumn;
- picnic by a stream in hot weather, as it is noticeably cooler than Tashkent;
- try the local honey sold in the villages.
If you plan to hike higher into the mountains, bring water, a hat and good footwear, and tell someone your plans. Mobile coverage is patchy in the gorges.
What to bring
Even for a day trip to the foothills it is worth packing a little more carefully than for a walk around the city:
- sunscreen and sunglasses: the sun is especially bright at the Solar Furnace and on open slopes;
- a light jacket, as evenings in the foothills are noticeably cooler than in Tashkent;
- cash, since cards are not accepted everywhere in villages or by roadside sellers;
- a rubbish bag to leave your picnic spot clean;
- a charged phone and an offline map in case of weak coverage.
The best time to go
- April to May: blossoming orchards, green slopes and mild weather.
- June to August: hot in the lowlands but pleasanter in the foothills than in the city; leave early.
- September to October: fruit harvest, clear skies and good conditions for the furnace.
- Winter: the foothill roads can be slippery and the days are short, so plan carefully.
A one-day itinerary
- Leave Tashkent at 8:00–8:30 a.m.
- Around 9:30 a.m. arrive in Parkent and take a taxi to the Solar Furnace.
- 10:00–11:30 a.m. visit the complex.
- Lunch in Parkent or a picnic in the foothills.
- A walk to a stream or an orchard, and a stop to buy fruit and honey.
- Head back at 4:00–5:00 p.m. to return in daylight and before the evening traffic.
The way back
On Sunday evenings many cars return to Tashkent, so it is better to leave early. If you do not want to depend on minibuses, find a return trip in advance on the Parkent to Tashkent page: local drivers often travel to the capital in the evening or on Monday morning.
You can pick a weekend ride to Parkent on the Tashkent to Parkent route page. If you are planning several trips out of the city, browse other destinations in the routes section.
Cover photo: Jamshid Nurkulov, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.
