Sources de Chimgan

The Springs of Chimgan in the Chatkal range northeast of Tashkent, 80 kilometres from the Uzbek capital in the foothills of the Western Tian Shan, represent Central Asia's closest approximation to an Alpine thermal resort — bicarbonate springs in a mountain landscape of pine forests, alpine meadows and granite peaks that provides Tashkent's population with a vital green escape from the heat of the Fergana basin lowlands. The Chimgan area has been developed since the Soviet era as Uzbekistan's principal mountain resort, with ski facilities in winter and hiking, rock climbing and horse trekking in summer, complemented by the natural spring waters that flow from the Chatkal limestone formations. The broader Ugam-Chatkal National Park surrounding Chimgan is one of Central Asia's most biodiverse protected landscapes, with snow leopards, Tian Shan brown bears and populations of wild tulips. The route from Tashkent passes through the Yangiyul valley and the dramatic Charvak reservoir — Central Asia's finest alpine lake.