Best places to visit in Uzbekistan

A tiny Turkmen village razed in 2002 by order of the President, Derweze is famous for its fiery crater, nicknamed the "Door to Hell."

An inland sea straddling Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, the Aral Sea has now almost dried out, exposing a landscape of desolate desert.

Located on the border between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, Lenin Peak climbs majestically to a height of 7,134 meters.

Khiva is a small, fortified town located in the middle of the Uzbek desert. The town is an open-air museum with an enormous number of Islamic religious monuments that are open to visitors.

Uzbekistan is Central Asia's most visited country, and Samarkand was a key staging post on the Silk Road with its celebrated Islamic monuments.

Shakhrisabz is authentic! I really enjoyed walking around here. The architectural heritage has not yet been renovated and it is far from the tourist crowds.

Rishton is a nice little village with a number of pottery factories. Perhaps it isn't worth staying 3 days, but coming here is a good idea!

Meaning "hot lake" in the Kyrgyz language, Lake Issyk Kul offers magnificent views of the surrounding snow-capped mountains.

Tashkent is a nice city to visit - Uzbekistan has some economic development here, far from the traditions of the East and very touristy cities of the West.

Bukhara is considered to be the holiest city in Central Asia. It's a key stop on a trip to Uzbekistan between mosques, madrassas (Islamic schools), and even mausoleums that have been here for thousands of years. 

Located deep in the Ferghana Valley, Margilan is a town with a rich history, and which is famous for manufacturing silk.

The country's second city, Osh, has retained relatively little of its three millennia of history, but it nonetheless remains a pleasant place for a brief stopover.

A former port on the Aral Sea, Mo'ynoq is now a city in the middle of the desert due to the recession of the lake.

This historic, ruined city dates from the first to sixth centuries, and Toprak Kala bears witness to the glory of the Khwārezm culture.

The main city in the eponymous valley, Fergana is rather new but nice, and remains an ideal gateway for discovering the natural wonders of the area.

Urgench is a crossroads when traveling towards Khiva. Beyond this asset, the city has no particular appeal.

Like the rest of the Ferghana Valley, Kokand is not a town that attracts a lot of tourists; nonetheless, a day spent there can be full of pleasant surprises.

The largest Uzbek town in the Fergana Valley, Andijan still bears the scars of the massacre of May, 2005.

The capital of Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, is a bright, golden, immaculate city with unparalleled charm and mystery.

Merv is an ancient, historic Islamic city on the Silk Road and is one of the finest examples of early Islamic culture.