Nuratau Mountain Villages

On the northern slopes of the Nuratau ridge, small villages sit in valleys where streams come down from the mountains. Their inhabitants speak Tajik, grow walnuts, apricots and mulberries on terraces, keep sheep and goats, and bake bread in clay ovens. Life here has changed slowly, and since the early 2000s several families have opened their homes to travellers.

The villages

• Sentob, in Navoi region, is the best known, with a row of guesthouses along its stream and petroglyphs on the nearby rocks
• Asraf and Uhum, across the regional border in Jizzakh region, are known for their waterfalls, orchards and old mosques
• Hayat and smaller hamlets are reached on foot or by rough track

Trails link the villages over low passes, so you can walk from one homestay to the next in a day.

A protected landscape

The ridge is part of the Nuratau-Kyzylkum biosphere area, and the Nuratau State Nature Reserve, created in 1975, protects juniper and walnut woodland and the rare Severtsov's argali, a wild mountain sheep found almost nowhere else. Eagles, vultures and chukar partridges are common, and in spring the slopes are covered with wild tulips and other flowers.

Staying in a homestay

Rooms are simple and clean, with mattresses on the floor and shared bathrooms; meals are home-cooked from the garden. The pleasure lies in the rhythm of the day: bread from the oven at breakfast, a walk through the orchards, tea on the topchan by the stream. Bring cash, a torch and a little patience with mobile coverage.