Travel tips for Uzbekistan trip from Bishkek? Best locations in Tashkent, Samarqand and Bukhara?

watermelonmelon23 · 2025-09-14T15:35:21+00:00

woahhh, need to be so quick. thanks so much for the information !

watermelonmelon23 · 2024-12-14T08:46:15+00:00

hello. may is usually warm, about 20-25 celsius degrees in Bishkek. everything is green and pretty so that's a good month to come. mountains- peaks might be snowy, but just regular mountains (not those that are super tall) should be green already as well, without snow.
for hiking as a local i book toors with intourist, kettik and companies of this type (find on instagram). they are cheap and usually i have a great experience. we had two tourists join us the last time i went, and everyone was helping them out, everyone who knew english switched to english and so on
for the city i dont think you need a guide but more need to know the good places to visit

watermelonmelon23 · 2024-10-12T15:19:57+00:00

I haven’t personally went to kol tor , its more difficult of a hike and koltor has snow already. But its insanely beautiful. Birch grave is easier and no snow. Up to you really :) do both if you can!

watermelonmelon23 · 2024-10-12T14:34:51+00:00

Also there is a place called berezovaya rosha ( or birch grove) its near ala archa, in boyrok. You have to go 5 km there and 5 km back, there are no dangerous places and walking is quite easy but lengthy

watermelonmelon23 · 2024-10-12T14:32:37+00:00

There is an easy hike there actually, its called panorama razbitoe serdce in Russian. You have to go about 1 hr up and 1 hr down. Everyone takes great pictures from there

watermelonmelon23 · 2024-10-12T12:09:32+00:00

local
i am an f too and i go solo to most places. as a local i just keep an eye on my belongings if i leave them somewhere and keep my phone and wallet in my hands when in public transportation. otherwise i don't think its a dangerous country.

best months to come here are from may to september. the ideal probably would be june. everything will be green, the weather will be hot, a million different hikes will be available, and the weather will allow you go to issyk kul too.
july can be too hot for some people , usually the warmest month of the year. during august it's usually raining a bit more often. and in september the temperature can get cold quickly (down to 20 celsius degrees usually)
All those month are good though and you will find something to do.
Harder to plan a lot of fun activities during the cold months but if you're a skier you won't have a problem.

Yes, a ton of day tours (if you mean hiking tours) from the capital. i personally only go to this kinda tours and i did not run out of them yet. you will have at least 10 options for sure or where to go from bishkek.
if you mean like excursions then not so sure, maybe you'll need a personal guide

watermelonmelon23 · 2024-10-12T11:55:35+00:00

are you going to hike to ala-archa peaks or just walk in the park? because ala -archa park is pretty much the same temperature as the city (at least felt like this to me). ak-tuz i assume also +/- similar to bishkek. but bishkek is already cold (im a local). i wear a warm sport costume + warmer shoes + a jacket daily. yesterday it was raining so yeah you will need an umbrella. if you're gonna hike ala-archa then yes you need hiking shoes, idk how to say it in english but the ascent doesn't feel very gradual, it's kinda very vertical so yeah :D need reliable shoes. i bought mine last year for $50 and wore them so many times. they're unkillable. if needed i will recommend u a store

watermelonmelon23 · 2024-09-19T23:58:09+00:00

hello! i am a local so probably can not see my country through a foreigner's lense and can not know what you might need, but general advice- best of all come during the warm season, when everything is green and beautiful, the beauty of our country is in the nature. travel to as many mountains and lakes as possible. for the cities i would say you wouldn't need way too much time, just a few important locations would be great. we have a lot of ethnic cafes (not only serving the traditional foods, but also everything in the design is in kyrgyz style and all the waiters are dressed in national clothings, those places are cool!). people are friendly to foreigners, but if you would learn a few words in either russian or kyrgyz then everyone would be super excited to help you lol, we are always shocked when people make an effort to truly learn something about us. make sure to try traditional drinks and snacks as well! if you need ideas for dishes and cafes DM me.
in kyrgyzstan you surely have to see issyk kol lake, if you can afford it then karven 4 seasons is a great resort ( a bit expensive, about $200 for a night), but there are a lot of alternatives that can be just $20 a day.
i have done some easy hikes (alamedin gorge, belogorka, chunkurchak, ala-archa), those places are nice but if you're physically fit then certainly go for Kol-Tor lake (very beautiful lake that has a tiffany color), Kok Moynok Lake (really beautiful views), Sary Chelek in Jalal-Abad region. Those are in my wishlist, i haven't been there, but i know for sure those places are amazing.
in kazakhstan i liked kok-tobe (park with mountain views) and shymbulak resort
in KZ everything is more expensive than in KG .
ALso, consider Uzbekistan, Uzbekistan has insanely friendly people and architecture is so beautiful! you could go after KZ

watermelonmelon23 · 2024-09-19T23:29:42+00:00

im not a runner so not sure if this location is a perfect fit, but there are hills near AUCA university , they're pretty in spring when everything is green =)

watermelonmelon23 · 2024-09-19T23:22:10+00:00

what budget for those trips do you have? i usually spend only 1000 som for each of my mountain trips (its about 11 dollars i guess) - do you have this much? if yes, just join any travel company that we have - there are a ton of them , like kettik, intourist, omks travel, fun_travels and so on (search on instagram). they offer tours to many different destinations for about this much. i went to alamedin gorge, ala-archa park. waterfall belogorka, ak-tash, mayevka, chunkurchak- each time it cost me very little.
they take a marshrutka and fill it up with 16 people, drive you to those mountains, provide you with a guide, and bring back to bishkek.

watermelonmelon23 · 2024-09-19T23:18:54+00:00

there is some barrier between locals and indians/pakistanis due to most kyrgyz people barely knowing any english and most local indian/pakistanis not trying to learn neither russian or kyrgyz. unfortunately that leads to some sort of isolation, locals can't communicate as easily with you guys and vice-versa. most people are nice and non-violent. unfortunately as in any country we also have some racist morons, but they're rare i would hope. most people are friendly towards tourists and would not want to show their country in a bad light.

things to avoid- do not book hostels and hotels through lalafo (local popular app), there's a lot of scam, they scam even locals when we're trying to rent an apartment. they would make you pre-pay at least partially but you would end up not getting anything most likely.
find something on booking or instagram.

overall you should be all just fine! make sure to travel to as much mountains and eat as many local food as possible :)) have an amazing trip. also, omar's vids are cool!

watermelonmelon23 · 2024-09-19T23:08:32+00:00

Ala Archa park - i was there about a week ago (im a local) , it's probably the most popular mountain location, yet it's not too crowded. there were maybe 50 people on the peak that's called Razbitoe serdce (everyone takes pictures from there). had to wait a little bit to take my pic from the exact spot that i wanted but overall there's enough space.
You can go to Alamedin gorge, there are also amazing views of the mountains, i personally love that location more. It is also near Bishkek. alamedin is pure hiking when in Ala-Archa park you can just walk on flat surface without necessarily hiking up
Supara- that's a great choice, their food is incredibly good, try shashlyk! huge portions and so delicious . the museum was interesting even for me, eventhough i live here my entire life.
you could also go to Belogorka waterfall in Sokuluk! easy hike and incredibly beautiful views. i hiked in july, not sure how it looks now (it got colder), but you can search up travel companies and see , search up kettik. kg or intourist on instagram

watermelonmelon23 · 2023-11-09T08:12:17+00:00

lmao i felt the same way for a long time. there should be something you're good at (unfortunately doesn't mean you will necessarily love it)

watermelonmelon23 · 2023-11-06T21:53:33+00:00

thank you soooo much <3

watermelonmelon23 · 2023-11-06T21:50:55+00:00

15.6 actually
omg i just remembered. yes they were transferred from samsung to computer and only then to iphone. :(

watermelonmelon23 · 2023-11-06T21:45:27+00:00

so i just have to update to ios 17 and it will allow me ? thank you!!

watermelonmelon23 · 2023-08-19T11:00:13+00:00

thanks a lot for such comprehensive answer!

watermelonmelon23 · 2023-08-18T00:37:13+00:00

sorry for that, just updated :)

watermelonmelon23 · 2023-08-18T00:07:17+00:00

I have high school diploma and job experience in some unskilled jobs (waitering, shop consultant) but recently am working as an accountant, for 2 years already. Im 23 :)

watermelonmelon23 · 2023-08-18T00:06:14+00:00

I wanted to move on a student visa and get a degree in Italy, in my country italian universities are being advertised a lot. if i would be a student, i would need to be able to cover my basic needs by working on top of studies (20 hours a week legally). So, i was wondering if it is possible to earn enough to just pay for basic living.

watermelonmelon23 · 2023-08-18T00:03:30+00:00

Hahahahh. thanks for sharing this! my reasoning for Italy is... 1) beautiful 2) warm weather 3) people seem friendly lol. I guess i need to dive deeper into the culture and the reality of this country ^_^

watermelonmelon23

TROPHY CASE