Chimgan and the Chatkal Mountains

Tashkent's 'Switzerland'

Drive 80 km from Tashkent and you reach snowy mountains! Great Chimgan is 3,309 metres — you can see it from Tashkent. In winter people ski here; in summer they hike and swim in the Charvak reservoir. The mountains have juniper forests, waterfalls, snow leopards and golden eagles. There are ancient rock paintings here too.

The Chatkal Range is part of the Western Tian Shan on the Uzbekistan–Kyrgyzstan border; its highest point is 4,503 m. Great Chimgan (3,309 m) is the symbol of Tashkent region. In 2016 the Western Tian Shan was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list; Ugam-Chatkal National Park and the Chatkal Reserve (1947) protect 44 mammal species (snow leopard, bear, lynx) and 230 bird species. Khodjikent and Beldersay have Bronze Age rock carvings (petroglyphs). The Charvak reservoir (1970) supplies Tashkent with water. Amirsoy and Chimgan are ski resorts. The mountains soften Tashkent's climate and feed its rivers.

Fun facts

• Chimgan's peak can be seen from Tashkent on a clear day.
• The Charvak reservoir is Tashkent's 'drinking-water jug'.
• The rock paintings in the mountains are more than 3,000 years old.