Zaamin National Park

Uzbekistan's first national park

Zaamin is Uzbekistan's oldest national park, opened in 1976. Here, at 2,000 metres, thousand-year-old juniper forests grow, and the air is so clean that a children's sanatorium was built. Asian bears, lynx and wild boar live in Zaamin. At night the sky is so clear you can see the Milky Way!

Zaamin National Park (1976) lies on the northern slope of the Turkestan Range at 1,760–3,500 m, covering 24,000 ha; it adjoins the Zaamin Reserve (1926). Its main treasure is one of Central Asia's largest juniper forests (Juniperus seravschanica, semiglobosa), with some trees 1,500 years old. It has more than 700 plant species, 40 mammals (Tian Shan bear, Turkestan lynx, ibex) and 150 birds (golden eagle, chukar). It is famous for its 'children's sanatorium' climate: oxygen-rich, phytoncide-laden air. Since 2020 Zaamin has been developed as an ecotourism centre; the Suffa plateau hosts an astronomical observatory.

Fun facts

• The Zaamin Reserve was founded in 1926 — one of the oldest in Central Asia.
• Zaamin's air is rich in oxygen — that's why there's a children's sanatorium here.
• A radio telescope is being built on the Suffa plateau to observe space.