Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Chorvok¨Oromgohi¨
hoTeL $$
(
%
90 188 05 53; Posyolok Bokachul; s/d from
US$35/45)
This huge pyramid on the shore
of the Chorvok Reservoir will certainly catch
your eye, for better or for worse. Standard
rooms are pretty basic fare; you're paying for
the balconies with mountain or lake views.
Beldersoy¨Hotel¨
hoTeL $$$
(
%
90 176 38 26; r from US$100;
as
)
This
swanky four-season mountain lodge be-
longing to Beldersoy ski area is just outside
Chimgan and is the best bet for well-heeled
skiers and hikers.
(Tian Shan to the north and the Pamir Alay
to the south) seem to stand back at enor-
mous distances - when you can see them,
that is. More often these spectacular peaks
are shrouded in a layer of smog, produced
by what is both Uzbekistan's most populous
and its most industrial region. The drive
here from Tashkent is fairly spectacular,
however, passing a huge reservoir and cross-
ing a high mountain pass before descending
towards Kokand.
Fergana is also the country's fruit and
cotton basket. Drained by the upper Syr-
Darya, the Fergana Valley is one big oasis,
with some of the finest soil and climate in
Central Asia. Already by the 2nd century BC
the Greeks, Persians and Chinese found a
prosperous kingdom based on farming, with
some 70 towns and villages. The Russians
were quick to realise the valley's fecundity,
and Soviet rulers enslaved it to an obsessive
raw-cotton monoculture that still exists to-
day. It is also the centre of Central Asian silk
production.
The valley's eight million people are thor-
oughly Uzbek - 90% overall and higher in
the smaller towns. The province has always
wielded a large share of Uzbekistan's politi-
cal, economic and religious influence. Fer-
gana was at the centre of numerous revolts
against the tsar and later the Bolsheviks. In
8
Getting¨There¨&¨Away
To get to Chimgan from Tashkent, take a
marshrutka (3000S) or shared taxi (6000S)
from Buyuk ipak Yoli metro to gazalkent (50
minutes) and transfer to a shared taxi to Chim-
gan (10,000S, 40 minutes). A private taxi direct
to Chimgan from Tashkent from the metro costs
about 80,000S.
FERGANA VALLEY
The first thought many visitors have on ar-
rival in the Fergana Valley is, 'Where's the
valley?' From this broad (22,000 sq km),
flat bowl, the surrounding mountain ranges
Fergana Valley
0
50 km
0
30 miles
Zarkent
Toktogul Reservoir
K Y R G Y Z S T A N
(60km)
Tashkömür
Angren (35km);
Kosonsoy
Tashkent (130km)
Shamaldy-Say
Uchkurgon
Bypass Tunnel
M41
Kamchik
Kochkor-Ata
N A M A N G A N P R O V I N C E
Pass
Torakorgon
Jalal-Abad
(2267m)
Chust
Namangan
Pop
A373
TAJIKISTAN
Khanabad
A N D I J O N
P R O V I N C E
Andijon
Shahrihon
Kara-Suu
Asaka
A373
Özgön
A373
Hojaobod
M41
(24km)
Kokand
Dostyk/
F E R G A N A
Kuva
Margilon
Dustlyk
Besharik
P R O V I N C E
Osh
A376
R112
Khamza
Karkidan
Rishton
Reservoir
Dostlik
Fergana
Konibodom
Kyzyl-Kiya
(3375m)
Kairakum
Isfara
Reservoir
& Khojand
Kadamjoy
Limbur
Batken
(5051m)
Shakhimardon
Vorukh
Sokh (Fergana
(Fergana Province)
(TAJIKISTAN)
Province)
