Holidays in Uzbekistan: mountains, lakes, Charvak and a break from sightseeing

Not in the usual sense. Uzbekistan is one of only two doubly landlocked countries in the world: to reach an ocean you have to cross at least two borders.

The Aral Sea, on the Karakalpak side, was once a fishing sea with sandy beaches. It has shrunk dramatically, and today people go there for the ship cemetery at Muynak and a night in a yurt camp, not for a swim. Our Aral Sea extension is built around exactly that.

So when people here talk about a beach holiday, they mean one of three kinds of water. Lake Charvak near Tashkent is a reservoir in the mountains with guesthouses, hotels and tapchans along the shore. Aydarkul is a desert lake with yurt camps. Tudakul, a salty reservoir in Kyzyltepa district on the road to Bukhara, is known for its birds; in September 2026 a presidential resolution set aside 6,500 hectares there for a tourism and recreation zone, so its shore is only starting to take shape. For a big swimming lake, the nearest is Issyk-Kul in Kyrgyzstan, at 1,607 m; we pair it with Uzbekistan in our Kyrgyzstan summer route.

Charvak was filled between 1964 and 1970 behind a 168 m stone dam on the Chirchiq river. It covers about 37 km² between three ranges, Ugam, Pskem and Chatkal, and lies about 80 km from central Tashkent. The water comes down from the Pskem and Chatkal rivers, and even in summer it feels cool.

The shore villages, Yusufkhona, Burchmulla, Chorvoq, Sijjak and Bogiston, are where Tashkent spends its summer. Along the water you find guesthouses, hotels with their own pools, dachas and tapchans, the raised wooden platforms where you eat and drink tea with a view of the lake.

What about water sports? Since August 2020 motor boats and jet skis have been banned on Charvak; boats without motors are allowed. The adrenaline here is in the air: Yusufkhona is the local paragliding spot. Fish restaurants along the road through Gazalkent keep their own ponds, and trout is what we order. In the same tourist zone the Charvak Gate complex is being built on the Chirchiq, with hotels, cafés and an aqua park planned.

Charvak works as a day trip; our Chimgan and Charvak day plan pairs it with a gondola ride. To stay longer and leave the asphalt behind, our Jeep Expedition: High Tashkent spends four days between Chimgan, Charvak and the valleys beyond.

Chimgan, Beldersay and Amirsoy are on the same road as Charvak, 65–85 km from Tashkent. In July Tashkent averages 35.9 °C in the afternoon; Chimgan averages 26.2 °C. From May to October the slopes are green and the trails are open, from a two-hour walk above the resort to a full day in the Gulkam gorge.

Amirsoy runs two gondolas in summer as well as in winter, up to 2,290 m. In the warm months the resort adds a rope park, quad bikes, guided hikes and a heated outdoor pool. Our Amirsoy guide has the details.

In winter the same mountains become Tashkent's ski area. The season runs from December to March: Amirsoy has easy and intermediate runs for families and beginners, Beldersay a longer vertical, and since July 2026 Beldersay also has the Beldersoy Resort and Spa. Our ski weekend in the Tashkent mountains takes care of the transfer, a night at the resort and help with passes and rental. The background on every place is in the mountains near Tashkent.

Before 1969 there was no lake here. That year a flood on the Syr Darya sent water into the Arnasay lowland, and it stayed. Today Aydarkul is nearly 250 km long: brackish water with sandy shores in the middle of the Kyzylkum. The yurt camps are about 60 km beyond the small town of Nurata.

A typical evening: a camel ride on the sand, dinner by the campfire, often with folk music, and a night in a felt yurt. In the morning you walk along the shore, swim in the warm months or fish. Pelicans, swans and herons are seen over the water.

Nurata is about 180 km from Samarkand and 175 km from Bukhara, so the lake makes a natural overnight between the two cities. Stop in Nurata for the holy spring; our Nurata guide explains what to see. For the mountain villages, our Nuratau Mountains extension gives you a night with a family in Uhum and a morning hike with a local guide. Everything about the camps is in Aydarkul and a night in a yurt camp.

Zaamin National Park lies on the northern slope of the Turkestan Range in Jizzakh region, between 1,000 and 4,033 m. Its forests are juniper, and in autumn the hazel and birch turn gold. Since August 2023 a cable car lifts you 530 m in a single ride, from 1,961 to 2,491 m.

Zaamin is a place to stay rather than to pass through. The Zaamin sanatorium stands inside the park, with hotels and guesthouses in and around it. From Jizzakh, the nearest large station on the Tashkent–Samarkand line, it is 110 km by road. Our four-day nature tour to Samarkand, Zaamin and Tashkent goes in by 4×4 from Samarkand. More walks are in hiking in Uzbekistan.

With children, the days in nature are often the ones they remember. What works for families:

• Amirsoy in summer. The lower gondola has no step at the door, so a pram rolls straight in. The Yeti rope park and the quad bikes are for adults and children, and the heated pool ends the day.
• Charvak. A tapchan by the water, the hotel pool and trout for lunch: an easy day an hour and a half from Tashkent.
• A yurt camp. A camel ride, a campfire and a night in a felt yurt feel like an adventure at any age. Ask what facilities your camp has before you book.
• Snow in winter. Amirsoy's gentle runs and the beginners' slope by its ski academy suit a first day on skis.

In July plan the middle of the day in the mountains, not in the city. Food, trains, car seats and ideas for the cities are in Uzbekistan with kids.