Nurata

Introducing Nurata

To the north of the featureless Samarkand–Bukhara ‘Royal Rd’, the Tian Shan Mountains produce one final blip on the map before fading unceremoniously into desertified insignificance. The Nurata Mountains top out at just over 2000m, but are rapidly becoming, along with manmade Lake Aidarkul further north, the centre of Uzbekistan’s growing ecotourism movement. Most tour agencies launch trips into this area from Samarkand, Bukhara or even Tashkent, but individual travellers on a budget are advised to take public transport to Nurata and start their explorations there.

Modest Nurata is most famous for its old, circle-patterned suzani, which can sell for thousands of dollars at international auctions, but it also has a few quirky tourist attractions, most notably an old fortress of Alexander the Great. You can make like Alexander – go ahead, even throw on your suit of armour – and clamber all over the fortress, which looms over the town like a giant sandcastle. Behind the fortress, a path leads 4km to the Zukarnay Petroglyphs, which date to the Bronze Age. Ask the curator at the museum how to find the trail. If it’s too hot to walk, there are sometimes guys with motorcycles hanging out near the museum who will whisk you out there for a couple of thousand sum. (If you miss these, there are many more petroglyphs at Sarmysh Gorge, accessible by car 40km northeast of Navoi.)

More experienced trekkers can get a ride 10km east and launch an assault on camel-humped Oq Tog (White Peak; 2169m). Plan on at least a full day if you want to go the whole way.

Beneath Alexander’s fortress you’ll encounter the anomaly of several hundred troutoccupying a pool and well next to a 10th-century mosque and caravanserai. This is the Chashma Spring, formed, it is said, where the Prophet Mohammed’s son-in-law Hazrat Ali drove his staff into the ground. These ‘holy’ fish live off the mineral-laden waters of the spring and canals that feed it. Also on the grounds here is a small museum (admission 500S; 9am-5pm) with some old ceramics and other trinkets. The curator is Nurata’s best source of regional information, although he does not speak English.

Spend the night in Nurata only if you’re desperate. The appalling but cheap Hotel Bahkri (s/d with shared bathroom 1300/2500S), 500m from Chashma Spring on the road to the centre, is the only gig in town. Water and electricity are sporadic. Eating options are limited to what you can buy at the small market near the Navoi taxi stand. Navoi has better lodging options, such as the Yoshlik Hotel (436-224 40 21; Halqlar Dustligi 138; s/d US$17/34; ).

Last updated: Mar 2, 2009