About Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan listed in the best destinations recommended for visiting in 2024 by CNN Travel
03 January 2024
Uzbekistan listed in the best destinations recommended for visiting in 2024 by CNN Travel

CNN Travel named Uzbekistan in the list of the best tourist destinations to visit in 2024.

“Where to go in 2024: The best places to visit” is the article by CNN Travel, where the edition inspires its readers to visit Uzbekistan among the other 23 countries, that were announced as the best places to visit in the new year.

The publication recommends its readers to consider the places that are yet undiscovered, suggesting 24 destinations to travel to in 2024. Uzbekistan comes in the list of countries, which makes visiting the country easier for tourists, mentioning that the citizens of 96 countries can now travel to Uzbekistan visa-free.

Other ambitious reforms implemented by the government to transform the country into a world-class destination, thus attracting more tourists from all over the world to visit Uzbekistan are also noted in the article by CNN Travel.

“Uzbekistan’s untouched landscapes and well-preserved architecture are ready and waiting to awe visitors” – as quoted from the publication.

The authors of the article also highlight that Uzbekistan is located right at the heart of the ancient Great Silk Road, a historic trade route that ran from China and India to the Mediterranean, where the cities of Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva are located. 

The mountainous Uzbek village of Sentob is also described in the publication, which is about 3.5 hours from the city of Samarkand, and was added to UNESCO’s list of “Best Tourism Villages” in 2023.

Traveling around Uzbekistan by using the high-speed Afrosiob Train, which today connects the capital of Uzbekistan – Tashkent city, and the ancient cities of Samarkand and Bukhara is also remarked by the authors as a means that makes it easy and convenient to get around different cities of Uzbekistan.

The American site writes that in 2023, the level of international tourism has reached about 90% of pre-pandemic levels, and the United States has issued a record number of passports.

With this in mind, CNN Travel has selected 24 destinations to consider when planning for 2024, including Uzbekistan's historic cities.

“Before the pandemic, Uzbekistan was poised to become the next big thing in travel thanks to a series of ambitious reforms aimed at transforming the country into a world-class destination,” CNN said. “Now his time has finally come.”

It is noted that Uzbekistan offers visa-free access to citizens of 86 countries, and the country's pristine landscapes and well-preserved architecture are ready and waiting for visitors.

“For a deeper understanding of Uzbekistan's position at the heart of the legendary Silk Road, the historic trade route that ran from China and India to the Mediterranean, look to the cities of Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva,” writes CNN. “Meanwhile, the mountainous Uzbek village of Sentob, located about 3.5 hours from Samarkand, has been added to UNESCO’s list of “Best Tourist Villages” in 2023.”

Getting around the country is reported to be easy thanks to the Afrosiab Express high-speed train connecting the capital Tashkent with Samarkand and Bukhara.

Some of the other recommended world destinations as best ones to travel to in 2024 include the following:

Sumba, Indonesia

Turkey’s Black Sea coast

Tartu, Estonia

Tainan, Taiwan

Northwest Michigan

Trans Dinarica Cycle Route, Balkans

Culebra, Puerto Rico

Angola

Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada

South Korea

Albania

Chile

More news about Uzbekistan
Hotel complex to be built in centre of Tashkent

 three modern 15-story buildings will be erected: a hotel and two business centers  in the very centre of Tashkent

16 December 2019
Uzbekistan participates in World Travel Market London 2023

The national pavilion of Uzbekistan was opened at the prestigious international tourism exhibition in the UK - World Travel Market London 2023.

14 November 2023
Uzbekistan’s historical spots displayed on Seoul public buses

Buses with images of historical landmarks of Uzbekistan move along the central streets of Seoul, South Korea.

01 August 2024
Did you know?

Uzbekistan is one of only two countries in the world to be ‘double landlocked’ (landlocked and totally surrounded by other landlocked countries). Liechtenstein is double landlocked by 2 countries whilst Uzbekistan is surrounded by 5!

Did you know that Uzbekistan lies in the very heart of Eurasia, the coordinates for Uzbekistan are 41.0000° N, 69.0000°

Uzbekistan is home to the Muruntan gold mine, one of the largest open pit gold mines in the world! The country has 4th largest reserves of gold in the world after South Africa, USA and Russia

Uzbekistan is the world capital of melons. They have in excess of 150 different varieties, which form a staple part of the local diet, served fresh in the summer and eaten dried through the winter.

It is Uzbek tradition that the most respected guest be seated farthest from the house’s entrance.

Tashkent’s metro features chandeliers, marble pillars and ceilings, granite, and engraved metal. It has been called one of the most beautiful train stations in the world.

The Uzbek master chef is able to cook in just one caldron enough plov to serve a thousand men.

When you are a host to someone, it is your duty to fill their cups with for the whole time they are with you.  What you must not do, however, is to fill their cup more than half-full.  If you do that as a mistake, say it is a mistake immediately.  Doing it means you want them to leave.  Wow!  Amazing, right?

To Uzbeks, respect means a whole lot.  For this reason they love it if, even as foreigners, you endeavour to add the respectful suffix opa after a woman's name; and aka after a man's.  Example: Linda-opa and David-aka.  You could also use hon and jon respectively.

Having been an historic crossroads for centuries as part of various ancient empires, Uzbekistan’s food is very eclectic. It has its roots in Iranian, Arab, Indian, Russian and Chinese cuisine.

Though identified with the Persia, the Zoroastrism probably originated in Bactria or Sogdiana. Many distinguished scholars share an opinion that Zoroastrianism had originated in the ancient Khorezm. Indeed, today in the world there were found 63 Zoroastrian monuments, including those in Iran, India, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Thirty-eight of them are in Uzbekistan, whereas 17 of these monuments are located in Khorezm.

One of Islam's most sacred relics - the world's oldest Koran that was compiled in Medina by Othman, the third caliph or Muslim leader, is kept in Tashkent. It was completed in the year 651, only 19 years after Muhammad's death. 

Tashkent is the only megapolis in the world where public transport is totally comprised of Mercedes buses. And due to low urban air polution it is one of the few cities where one can still see the stars in the sky.

You would be surprised to know that modern TV was born in Tashkent. No joke! The picture of moving objects was transmitted by radio first time in the world in Tashkent on 26 of July 1928 by inventors B.P. Grabovsky and I.F. Belansky.

Uzbekistan is the only country in the world all of whose neighbours have their names ending in STAN. This is also the only country in Central Asia that borders all of the countries of this region

Uzbeks are the third populous Turkik ethnicity in the world after Turks and Azeris (leaving both in Azerbaijan and Iran)

Did you know that there was silk money in Khiva? Super interesting right? Of course, but the best part of having silk money was that it could be sewn into your clothing.

Famous Islamic physician Ibn Sina (Avicenna in the Latin world) who was born near Bukhara was the one of the first people to advocate using women’s hair as suture material – about 1400 years ago.

Uzbekistan has a long and bloody history. The most notorious leader of Uzbekistan was Timur (or Tamerlane) who claimed descent from Genghis Khan. His military campaigns have been credited for wiping out some 5% of the world’s population at the time.

If you have thought that some of the Islamic architecture in Uzbekistan resembles that from Northern India, then that is because Timur’s great great great Grandson, Babur Beg, was the founder of the Moghul Empire that ruled much of India for almost four centuries! Babur’s great great Grandson was Shah Jahan, who built the Taj Mahal.

Uzbekistan was once a rum producig country. There is still a real arboretum in Denau (city near Termez on the border with Afghanistan), grown from a selection station that studied the prospects of plant growing in the unusual for the Soviet Union subtropical climate of Surkhandarya region: only here in the whole of the USSR sugar cane was grown and even rum was produced!

Uzbekistan has been ranked one of the safest countries in the world, according to a new global poll. The annual Gallup Global Law and Order asked if people felt safe walking at night and whether they had been victims of crime. The survey placed Uzbekistan 5th out of 135 countries, while the UK was 21st and the US 35th. Top five safest countries:

  • Singapore
  • Norway
  • Iceland
  • Finland
  • Uzbekistan
Exchange rates
100 RUR
13101.08 UZS
100 USD
1278008.79 UZS
100 EUR
1390582.42 UZS
100 GBP
1643008.74 UZS
Weather in cities
Tashkent
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Samarkand
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