[Uzbekistan] Travel Experience — Namangan

(Accurate as of 2023/12/08)

It was the first destination of my visit to Fergana Valley, and I was excited as I had heard about the region even before I moved to Uzbekistan. I originally planned to visit Namangan in May for its International Flower Festival, but somehow it wasn’t until December during my nationwide adventure did the trip finally happen.

Transportation

• Arrival — Train (Tashkent North — Namangan) | UZS127,840

- Mountainous scenery is nice after the train passes Angren and when it is entering Fergana Valley, but on the other hand, train can also get stuck for whatever technical reason along this mountainous section — our train from Andijan to Tashkent was stuck for 1+ hour

- Taking a sleeper train and not being able to charge my phone along the way, I was expecting to charge my phone inside the station building once I arrive as I had done in previous trips, but Namangan station turned out to be the most bizzare station I had encountered — there was nearly no one in the station building (only 1 staff sitting on 1st floor), and there was no light on either (but there was electricity), as if the station was not functioning at all

- There were a few staffs on the platform instructing arriving passengers to directly leave the station from a side gate without passing through the station building; being (forcefully) requested to leave the station amidst cold drizzle and not being allowed to remain in the station to charge my phone was quite an unpleasant start of the trip

• Departure — Train (Namangan — Andijan) | UZS79,770

- Waiting for the train alone (literally, because there were no other staffs to be seen for most of the time, no other passengers, only 1 light on) in such a beautiful Soviet-style train station was once-in-a-lifetime experience, and in some sense I had the entire station to myself

My Itinerary

• Went to Sayohat oshxonasi for lunch

- The place recharged not only my energy but also my phone battery, and it is within only a few minutes walk from the station

• Walked along Alisher Navoi Street, passed by Sardoba Bozori and spent time at Park Bobur and the area nearby

- Park Bobur itself looked out of maintenance when I visited, and I could not imagine how it looked like 6 months ago when the Flower Festival took place, although there were still some banners / signboards here and there reminding the fact that it was where the Festival took place

- Nearby Park Bobur one can find Usmon Nosir hiyoboni, Tinchlik Maydoni, Khokimiyat Namanganskoy Oblasti, Театр «Навои», and a bunch of governmental buildings, all of them altogether form an interconnected area for walking

- Opposite from Театр «Навои» is Рынок «Чорсу», which is a busy bazaar (is there any bazaar that is not busy?)

• Walked along Boboraxim Mashrab koʻchasi, turned right on N. Nomongoniy koʻchasi, and found out that Kichkintoylar Bog’i seemed to be totally not functioning and being maintained at all

• Took a taxi along Girvonsoy Street to Afsona and spent time there

- Afsona is a large-scale recreational park that is being developed, consisting of amusement park, lake / water park, restaurants

• Went to Korzinka and took a taxi to the train station early as the rain became quite heavy and it was not possible to visit anywhere else

Read more about how to enjoy your time in other regions in Uzbekistan here — Andijan, Fergana, Jizzakh, Qarshi, Termez, Urgench