Hostels in Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan is the country for you if you've been dreaming of traveling on the Old Silk Road and visiting beautiful ancient cities. Uzbekistan is a treasure for travelers who love to explore places with a great historical background and many cultural sites.

Once conquered by Alexander the Great, the Arabs, and more recently the Soviets, Uzbekistan has a rich history. Uzbekistan used to be a wealthy country, but these days it is one of the poorest in Asia. This, of course, is no good for the locals, but for this reason Uzbekistan is great value for travelers.

Uzbekistan hostels can be found throughout the country. In each of the important cities on the Silk Road you can find Uzbekistan hostels. Most hostels in Uzbekistan are located in the eastern half of the country; this is also where most of the interesting cities are, but not all.

Cities that you cannot miss on your Uzbekistan trip include Bukhara and Samarkand. Bukhara was once the capital on the Silk Road and is more than two thousand five hundred years old. It is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and offers a fascinating mix of (Medieval) Islamic architecture and Central Asian architecture. Samarkand is another city you cannot skip when you are in Uzbekistan and is also listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Samarkand is home to the most famous attraction on the Silk Road. If you’ve ever seen a picture from Uzbekistan, it probably was from the magnificent Registan. Most likely you will cross the capital Tashkent, too, which is also worth a visit. Tashkent is more modern than the other cities and is by far Uzbekistan’s largest city and is much more a metropolis than all other cities. In each of these cities there is a large amount of Uzbekistan hostels, most of them offering good quality with Western facilities.

Other cities on the Silk Road that are worth visiting include Nukus and Khiva. There are Uzbekistan hostels in both cities too, but there are not as many Uzbekistan hostels here as in the cities mentioned above. Nukus is not only a pleasant city to spend some time, but it is also the access point to the Aral Sea, which is drying up quickly and has a size similar to Germany. While the places in the eastern half of the country can be easily accessed from each other with a several hours' minibus or train ride, Nukus and Khiva are much further afield. It will take a full day of traveling to reach Khiva and Nukus from Bukhara, Samarkand, Tashkent, or other cities in that region. If you choose to travel to Nukus and Khiva overland, you will get to see endless Uzbek desert. Taking a plane into that region is also possible. If you happen to arrive in Uzbekistan from Turkmenistan, then these cities are a great place to start your trip in Uzbekistan.

Uzbekistan is not only a desert country with a few magnificent historical cities on the Silk Road; in the far east of the country, you will find the Ferghana Valley, a mountainous region that is great for hiking and in winter even skiing. The culture in this region is different than in the rest of Uzbekistan, as there is a lot of Tajik and Kyrgyz living there. Andijan is the biggest city in the valley and the place to search for an Uzbekistan hostel if you'd like to stay some days in the valley.

Handwritten by local expert for Uzbekistan hostels Martin Straatman