2019-10-01 Wanderlust

wanderlust.co.uk October 2019 179

Wanderlust readers voted Uzbekistan as their Top Emerging Destinationfor2019.

Sophie Ibbotson introduces its capital, Tashkent – the gatewaytotheSilkRoad

Before you arrive
Tashkent is overlooked all too
frequently. In the clamour to
reach the UNESCO treasures of
Samarkand and Bukhara, most
visitors skip the eclectic sights
of Central Asia’s largest city.
But Tashkent boasts more
than 2,500 years of history. On
this Silk Road crossroads you’ll
not only ­ind superb museums
and striking architecture, but
also vast markets and green
parks. Tashkent Metro is
a subterranean art gallery as
much as it is a transport system,
and as you survey the gleaming
public buildings and swish
apartment blocks shooting up
across the city, you’ll have
a strong sense of where
modern Uzbekistan is headed.

So plan in at least a day in this

cosmopolitan, vibrant capital

on your Silk Road adventure: it’s

time this secret was leaked.

At the airport

The new terminal of Tashkent

International Airport is situated

just 7km from the city centre. If

you qualify for the visa waiver

(which all EU nationals do), you’ll

breeze through immigration.

Should you need it, there is

a large, well-marked tourist

information desk right in the

centre of the arrivals hall.

Before you leave the airport,

use the ATM or buy some

Uzbekistani So’m at the foreign

exchange desk. The rates are

consistent; you won’t pay any

more for changing money here,

ocket

r cut-out and keep travel companion

FIRST 24 HOURS IN...

TASHKENT,

UZBEKISTAN

Spiritual centre

With its towering

minarets and turquoise

tilework, Hazrat Imam

Mosque looks like a Silk

Road relic – but it was, in

fact, built in 2007

ASK A LOCAL

“Tashkent Ecopark is

a breath of fresh air in the

heart of the capital – with

a pretty lake and lawns

surrounded by pathways.

ar the entrance

Shashleak,

mall café: its

yma (minced

eef kebab) is

he city’s best.”

Dinara Dultaeva,

ublisher of

Visit Uzbekistan

SECRET^199

so take advantage of the

convenient location.

Getting into town

There are two ways to get from

the airport into the centre of

Tashkent. Buses leave from the

edge of the terminal’s car park:

bus 40 goes to the train station

and costs UZS1,200 (UK£0.11).

You pay for tickets onboard,

and the trip takes 15 minutes.

If you prefer to travel by taxi to

the city centre, there’s a pre-pay

booth as you exit customs.

Booked here, a taxi will cost you

UZS50,000 (UK£4.66). Or, you

can head to the o‚ icial taxi rank

(50m from the arrivals exit) and

agree a rate directly with a

driver. Ignore the usual crowd

of taxi touts hanging around.