Blog
Useful articles about trips, tips and service updates
Chirchik: A Town at the Foot of the Mountains
Many people drive through Chirchik on the way to the mountains, but the town has its own history, river and bazaar. It is also a handy starting point for Chimgan, Charvak and Ugam.
Yangiyer: The Pioneers' Town at the Edge of the Steppe
Yangiyer was built in the 1950s as the headquarters for taming the Hungry Steppe. Here is its history, the foothills nearby and how the town connects to Tashkent and Gulistan.
Gulistan: Heart of the Hungry Steppe
The small, calm capital of Syrdarya Province: the story of taming the steppe, where to eat and sleep, and where to go next, whether Jizzakh, Khovos or Yangiyer.
Jizzakh: More Than a Highway Stop
Most people pass through Jizzakh on the way to Samarkand, stopping only for samsa. That is a shame: there is a lively bazaar, Tamerlane's Gate and trips to the Zaamin mountains and Lake Aydarkul.
Uchkuduk: A Town in the Middle of the Desert
A name familiar from the song about three wells is a real town in the Kyzylkum. Its history, its present, the desert around it and what a traveler who makes the trip will see.
Zarafshan: The Gold Miners' Town in the Kyzylkum
How a modern town in the middle of the desert, built for the Muruntau gold deposit, lives today, what a visitor will see and how to get there without a company bus.
Navoi: A Young Industrial City with Deep History
Navoi grew up beside an industrial complex, yet around it lie the Sarmishsay petroglyphs, Nurata's holy spring and the Rabati Malik caravanserai. How to see it all in two days.
Kitab: mountains, a latitude station and a quiet district town
An unhurried guide to Kitab: what lies behind the latitude station's famous name, how the foothills, orchards and trails look, and why people tired of noisy routes come here.
Shahrisabz: Timur's city beyond Ak-Saray
How to spend a day in Shahrisabz with the bazaar, embroidery workshops, old quarters and nearby mountains in mind, rather than just a photo at the palace's giant gateway.
Qarshi: what to see in the capital of Kashkadarya
Qarshi rarely makes it onto tourist itineraries, although it has an old mosque, a madrasa and a large bazaar. Here is what is worth a stop on the road between Samarkand and the south.
Termez: a guide to Uzbekistan's southernmost city
A city on the Amu Darya with a Buddhist past, mausoleums and a scorching summer. Districts, heat, local food and a two-day plan to see the essentials without exhausting yourself.
Muynak: the former Aral Sea port today
How Muynak lives after the sea left: where to stay, what to eat, which projects try to change the situation and how to approach a place that became a symbol of an ecological disaster.