The most beautiful natural sites to discover Uzbekistan

A hundred kilometres south of Shahrisabz, near the village of Tashkurgan, treks were organized a few years ago to visit the Tamerlane caves and search for traces of dinosaurs lost in the mountains. The area is now inaccessible.

On a little more than 6,000 hectares, hares, deer, wolves, wild pigs, desert cats, foxes and a flock of colourful birds rub shoulders. Created in the 1970s, the reserve is all that remains of a forest originally five times its size, which disappeared when the Soviets made room for the cotton fields. It is possible to spend the day there with a guide or to go for a horse ride. To be sure to see active animals, sunrise and sunset are the best times of course.

Starting from Independence Square and following the Ankhor Canal southwards, you will come to Navoi Park, Tashkent's great summer meeting place. Between Independence Square and Navoi Park, the Ankhor Canal was once the boundary between the modern Russian and Uzbek cities. It is bordered by a few sports fields where many inhabitants come to do their gymnastics. Inside the park, a few chaikhanas surround the canal and the large pool where kids come to bathe and take small boat rides.

The former Governor's Gardens have been redeveloped into a municipal park and Mustakillik Avenue, which borders it, into a pedestrian street. This is where the department stores, banks and post office are located. The park is a walking area where you can breathe surprisingly well, almost forgetting that you are in the country's second largest industrial city. It is common to see wedding convoys passing by, taking photographs in front of the gigantic statue of Al-Ferghani, a local scientist known for his work in astronomy.

To the east of the city lies a new lake, a vain attempt to recreate a local climate. The covered area reaches 30 km². Futile in view of the disaster, but the large quantity of fish was enough to restore a little heart to the inhabitants. The fishermen are numerous, summer and winter, and use the most varied methods. Traders are criss-crossing the area looking for bargains, and others come straight from Kazakhstan. A short walk around the lake will allow you to meet this new generation of fishermen.

Starting point for the walk in Namangan, Babur Park has replaced the former governor's gardens, created in 1884. Later named Pushkin Park, it housed a statue of Lenin, which disappeared after independence. Since then, the Uzbeks have reinvested the place to install their chaikhanas and give it the name of the last Timurid emperor, Babur. Its shady alleys cut by canals and basins also house the Independence Square, where official celebrations take place and where families, couples of lovers and friends go out at weekends.

The Navoi Park is a heap of rides and small fountains with brackish water that hardly manage to distil a sensation of freshness. At the end of the park, a gigantic amphitheatre, built in 1999, with a stage mounted on a basin, hosts major events, in particular the celebration of Navrouz, the spring festival, on 21 March. You can have a drink in the shade of the wings of a gigantic hawk, symbol of the kitsch of the Soviet era. The park comes alive a little more in the evening, family atmosphere good child.

Five kilometres beyond the village, at an altitude of 1,800 metres, Kul Kurban, the lake of the victims, is a destination for a walk, to be reached on foot or by cable car when the cable car is running. The lake appeared in 1766, following an earthquake. Two mountains collapsed on a village, killing its entire population and creating a vast depression where water accumulated. The lake only fills up when the snow melts and the rest of the time it looks like a mini desert at altitude, where a few derisory pedal boats are lying around.