Best places July-August?

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tzipporah
tzipporah

My friend and I would like to make our first visit to Central Asia this summer. We have one month, mid July to mid August. We'll probably fly into Almaty as we can get direct flights from where we live, but can get a connecting flight to one of the capitals in region. I'd say we mostly like learning about the culture of a place, meeting local people and visiting historical sights, but we also like beautiful scenery (just not strenuous multi day treks, climbing, stuff like that).

Our main concern is the weather/temperature in the region over the summer. Travel guides are inconsistent/vague - like one says temperatures in Tajikistan could be "as high as 30C" (a normal summer temperature where we live), then later refers to temperatures of 45C in Dushanbe (I've experienced that, it was miserable). So far for the four countries we're considering it seems like:

  • Kazakhstan is OK or even recommended in the summer
  • Tajikistan's mountains will be comfortable to cold (5C is very cold to us!), but maybe the sights in the west would be extremely hot?
  • Uzbekistan will be miserably hot and is best avoided (sadly - it's the one that most appeals to me!)
  • Kyrgyzstan ... done the least research on this one, but again it seems trekking in the mountains is great but the lowlands very hot?

Any suggestions of places to visit at this time of year? Stick to Kazakhstan, or see some of the sights in the south then head to the Pamir highway in Tajikistan/the mountains of Kyrgyzstan?

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Kazakati
Kazakati

I was in Turkistan in August, Kazakhstan's hottest region. It was maybe 40 degrees but still ok for me because it was not humid.
If you like sun and nice weather it will be great. I would make sure to have a car with AC when you drive around.
I would even say you can visit Uzbekistan (maybe Khiva is too hot) but Bukhara and Samarkand ok. Again just make sure you have AC in your room/car.
I would stay one 1 week in Almaty region and then head to Kyrgyzstan/Tajikistan.
Have a great trip

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tzipporah
tzipporah

Yes, I've heard temperatures aren't so bad if it's dry. Summer temperatures for us are usually in the 28-32C range but humidity is usually around 90%.

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onechai
onechai

You can expect temperatures between 35 and 40°C in the lowland (Dushanbe, Samarkand, Bukhara).
High up in the Pamir, even if the temperatures are not very high, it still feel very confortble under the sun because with the altitude, the UV radiance (not sure it's the righrt word in English) is quite high and warms you a lot.
But as soon as the sun disapears and wind comes along; it gets cold indeed and you could sometime even get some snow during the occasional thunderstorm.

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Giora
Giora

Does the weather really matter that much? I traveled in Kazakhstan in the middle of winter, when it was freezing, and I still had a great time. It's only weather. It's nothing you can't put up with for a while.

If you want to see Uzbekistan, go to Uzbekistan! The most interesting historical sights in Central Asia are virtually all in the plains. If you want to see them, you'll have to put up with some heat.

I like Kazakhstan a lot, but it lacks obvious sights. It does have lots of mountains to explore though. And the country's huge, so you'll spend a lot of time traveling. Kyrgyzstan is an incredibly mountainous country. It doesn't really have lowlands. I imagine Osh is very hot in summer, Bishkek less so, but everything else is a mountain, basically.

Anyway. Just my thoughts.

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chriskean1
chriskean1

I've been to Samarkand and Bukhara in August, June and January. They are not to be missed.

It does get up to 40 on some summer days in the lowlands. While the phrase "it's a dry heat" matters less at 40 degrees than at 30, there's still a world of difference between 40 degrees in Dushanbe (hot but bearable) and even the high 20s in parts of Southeast Asia, Central America or coastal West Africa (please, make it stop).

Also, it does cool down considerably at night. Do your Samarkand sightseeing early in the day, and you'll have better light, fewer crowds and lower temperatures.

August is perfect for high country (Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan's GBAO area), which are spectacular. With a month, you can see the historical sights of Uzbekistan (and Turkestan in Kazakhstan, if interested) plus spend time in the Pamirs or Kyrgyzstan. Don't skip Uzbekistan just because it's hot.

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