BALA TUGAI RESERVE

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.