Chimgan and Charvak in a day from Tashkent: how to plan it
Places in this article: Tashkent
Leave Tashkent at eight, and by half past nine you can be in a glass gondola climbing towards 2,290 m. By lunchtime you are by the water at Lake Charvak, and you are back in the city for dinner. Mountains of the Western Tian Shan about 80 km from Tashkent: hiking in summer, skiing in winter, the Charvak reservoir nearby. Read more → and Charvak are where Tashkent goes when it wants mountains for a day. This is how we plan that day, summer or winter.
For the background on each place, read our guide to the mountains near Tashkent. Here we stick to the plan.
How far is Chimgan from Tashkent?
Everything is in one district, Bostanliq, north-east of the capital. Amirsoy is 65 km from Tashkent, Lake Charvak about 80 km from the city centre, and Chimgan about 85 km. Beldersay is 5 km from Chimgan. All of them are on the same road out through Gazalkent.
From central Tashkent we plan about an hour and a half each way. On summer weekends and Friday evenings the road is busier, so we leave early and come back before the evening rush. That gives you six or seven hours in the mountains without a night away.
A day in summer: gondola, walk, lake
From May to October the slopes are green, and the air is the reason to go. In July Tashkent averages 35.9 °C in the afternoon; at Chimgan it is 26.2 °C. This is the day we plan most often:
| Time | What you do |
|---|---|
| 08:00 | Pick-up at your hotel in Tashkent |
| 09:30 | Amirsoy: the Amirsoy Express gondola from the road, then Prima to the 2,290 m summit |
| 11:00 | A walk on the mountain, or a short hike at Chimgan if you prefer trails to lifts |
| 13:00 | Lunch on the way down towards the reservoir |
| 14:30 | Lake Charvak: the shore, a viewpoint above the water, tea on a tapchan |
| 17:00 | Drive back, in Tashkent by about 18:30 |
We ride the gondolas in the morning. Both Amirsoy lifts run from 09:00 to 19:00, but the schedule follows the weather, and wind tends to pick up later in the day. Amirsoy also has a rope park and quad bikes in summer; the details are in our article on cable cars in Uzbekistan.
If you would rather walk than ride, swap Amirsoy for Chimgan. Two hours above the resort, which sits at about 1,600 m, is an easy start; longer routes such as the Gulkam gorge need a full day on their own. See hiking in Uzbekistan before you choose.
Charvak is a reservoir, not a natural lake, and the shore villages are where Tashkent spends its summer: Yusufkhona, Burchmulla, Chorvoq, Sijjak, Bogiston. Yusufkhona is also where the paragliders take off. Our Travel Moments include an easy version of this day: Amirsoy, then lunch and the cable car at Chinorkent near the lake.
A day in winter: skiing at Amirsoy or Beldersay
The ski season runs from December to March. In January Tashkent is still above zero in the afternoon, while at Chimgan the average high is 1.2 °C and the night drops to −5.6 °C. Dress for real winter, not for the city.
- Amirsoy is the better pick for one day. All 11 runs are easy or intermediate, it is the closest of the three, and the gondolas work until 19:00.
- Beldersay has a longer vertical, from 1,506 to 2,307 m, but its lifts close at 17:00. Leave Tashkent early or you lose half the day.
- Chimgan has its own skiing from December to mid-March, the old-school option a short drive from Beldersay.
Winter days are short. We start the drive at about 07:30 so that you are on the snow when the lifts open, and we head down before dark. If one day feels rushed, stay the night: our ski weekend in the Tashkent mountains adds a night at the resort and help with passes and rental. Since July 2026 Beldersay also has a full resort beside the lift, Beldersoy Resort and Spa.
Getting there: car with driver, taxi or minibus
A car with a driver is how we do it. The driver waits while you ride or ski, you can change the order of the day on the spot, and you never stand on the roadside at five in the afternoon looking for a ride back. We drive our guests with our own drivers; write to us with your date and we arrange the car for the day.
A taxi from a ride app works for the way up. The way back is the weak point: in the mountains there are fewer cars, so agree a return time with the same driver before you get out.
By minibus: from Buyuk Ipak Yuli Did you know? A metro designed to ride out a magnitude-9 earthquake The three original lines of the Tashkent Metro were built to withstand an earthquake of magnitude 9.0, and the tunnels lie unusually shallow, only 8–25 m below the street. Read more → station to Gazalkent, then a taxi on to Charvak or Chimgan. It is cheap and slow, and with two changes it leaves little time for the mountains in a single day.
Want more than one day? Our Jeep Expedition: High Tashkent spends four days off the asphalt between Chimgan, Charvak and the valleys beyond.
Permits, documents and what to bring
You need no special permit for Chimgan, Beldersay, Amirsoy or the resort shore of Charvak. Carry your passport anyway, as you would anywhere in Uzbekistan. Permits only come up for some valleys near the borders, much further in; that is a trip, not a day out.
- A warm layer and a rain jacket, even in July. The weather turns faster than in the city, and it is cooler at the top of the gondola.
- Sun protection. Hat, sunglasses and sunscreen: at altitude the sun is stronger, on snow even more so.
- Shoes with grip for paths; in winter, waterproof boots if you are not skiing.
- Water and some cash. Do not drink stream water untreated. Resorts take cards, but roadside stalls and tapchans often want cash (more in cards and cash).
Food on the way
The classic mountain lunch here is fish. Along the road towards Gazalkent and Charvak there are fish restaurants that keep their own ponds, and fried trout with salads and fresh bread is what we usually order. By the reservoir you eat on a tapchan, a raised wooden platform with cushions, with tea and a view of the water. Amirsoy has four restaurants of its own if you would rather not leave the mountain.
One more thing to watch for: the Charvak Gate complex is being built on the Chirchiq river in the same tourist zone, with hotels, cafés and an aqua park planned. The mountain day out is only getting easier.
In short
- Amirsoy is 65 km from Tashkent, Charvak about 80 km, Chimgan about 85 km: plan an hour and a half each way.
- Summer (May–October): gondola in the morning, a walk, then lunch and the afternoon by Lake Charvak.
- Winter (December–March): for one day choose Amirsoy; Beldersay lifts close at 17:00, so start early.
- A car with a driver is the easiest way; a taxi is fine if you fix the return trip in advance.
- No permit is needed; bring your passport, a warm layer and some cash.
