Five Things to Do in Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Tashkent is the current capital of Uzbekistan. Admittedly, it’s one of the less interesting places in the country compared to cities like Samarkand and Bukhara.
However, Tashkent remains the most modern city in the country and is likely unavoidable for foreign visitors coming into and out of Uzbekistan.
How to Get Around Tashkent
The most convenient way to get around Tashkent is to use Yandex Go app. Yandex Go is the main rideshare app in Uzbekistan.
Luckily, Tashkent is the only city in Uzbekistan where you can use credit cards to pay for taxi rides. In other cities, they’d only accept cash.
Chorsu Bazaar
Chorsu Bazaar is the main traditional bazaar under a blue-domed building in Tashkent. I enjoyed walking around here and see fresh meat, spices, vegetables, snacks, and so on.
My favorite in particular is seeing freshly baked non breads being made and being able to eat them while they’re piping hot! Uzbekistan truly has some of the best bread in the world.
Beshqozon Plov Center
A trip to Uzbekistan won’t be complete without trying some plov, the country’s signature dish, and one of the iconic food of Central Asia!
The biggest plov center in Tashkent is called Beshqozon. It’s a popular spot to try out some of the best plov you’ll have in your life!
Not only that, you may also freely walk in the kitchen to observe how tons of kilograms of plov are served here everyday. It’s very rare for us customers to be able to just waltz in to the kitchen to see all the prep work in action.
Tashkent Metro
Tashkent has a metro system, though they’re not as expansive and they’re not the quickest mode of transportation to go around.
But, the neat thing about the Tashkent Metro is how every station has unique designs to them (often reflected by the station’s name), which makes stopping at each station, or at ones that catch your eyes, an interesting thing to do.
Thankfully, taking pictures and videos are now legal since 2018. It used to be illegal due to the metro stations serving as nuclear bomb shelters as well.
While I personally didn’t visit each and every station, there were few ones that I thought were neat:
- Alisher Navoiy
- Kosmonavtlar (space-themed)
- O’zbekiston (cotton light bulbs)
Tashkent City Park
Across the Hilton Tashkent City is a curated park with topiaries, fountain pools, cafes, planetarium, and wax museum.
In the evenings, the park lights up with colorful lighting effects, including the Hilton building with animated Uzbekistan flag effects.
There’s fountain shows in the evenings as well. You can also enjoy it from atop the top-floor restaurant of the Hilton too.
Magic City
Magic City is the largest amusement park of Tashkent. The best part is there’s no entrance fee, though you’ll have to pay for each attractions inside.
It’s like a mini-Disneyland that don’t charge exuberant prices! A great place for families and dates alike!
There are restaurants, rides, arcade/carnival games, theaters, aquarium, and general shops within Magic City.
Conclusion
These are the few things you can do in Tashkent. While the city’s not as interesting as Samarkand or Bukhara, there’s fun things to do and see still, both in traditional and modern sense.