Explore the best Tashkent photography spots and take amazing photos of the capital city of Uzbekistan with this complete guide. Discover one of Central Asia’s best-kept secrets!
Why should I photograph Tashkent, Uzbekistan?
A trip to Uzbekistan is not very common. The country welcomes fewer than 10 million tourists a year. As a comparison, Spain receives 138 million. However, it’s a location that’s going to start rising in popularity in the coming years. The number of tourists is growing at a very high rate. It’s one of those countries that you should visit before it becomes popular, because the moment it’s trendy, it will be a very different tourist destination.
If this is not enough reason to visit this great city, check the best Tashkent photography spots below, and you will be convinced! If you are planning a (photography) trip to Uzbekistan, I can help you with first-hand experience in the country. Schedule a call with me using the link below!
Before jumping into the best Tashkent photography spots, these are some of the questions I asked myself before visiting the country, and that I would have liked to see answered in an honest and direct way.
Is Tashkent, Uzbekistan, safe for photography?
Uzbekistan is not a very popular country when it comes to tourism. In recent years, the countries whose name ends in -stan have gotten a bad reputation due to some unfortunate events that have happened in a couple of these countries. However, Uzbekistan is not one of them. The country is welcoming tourists, it’s extremely safe and one of the hidden gems of Central Asia.
How to move around Tashkent, Uzbekistan?
Moving around Tashkent is very easy. The metro system is extremely efficient and connects most of the tourist attractions and spots listed in this guide. You can just tap in using a credit card (when I was there, only physical cards were accepted). Also, it’s among the best Tashkent photography spots, and I even wrote a full guide about it!
Tashkent is also quite walkable, especially in the most central areas. Yet, it’s common to have big avenues with no easy ways to cross them, and being forced to walk a bit to the nearest traffic light.
Alternatively, you can take taxis to move around. They are not expensive, and you can request them using the app Yandex Taxi, which is the local equivalent of Uber.
Where to stay in Tashkent?
The great metro system makes it very easy to reach most of the Tashkent photography spots. However, staying at a good location is key.
I can recommend staying close to the Tashkent City Park. It’s the modern area of the city (where the photo of the skyscrapers above was taken), and there are some good hotels, shopping malls, and most importantly, metro stations, which make it super convenient to move around.
Hotels in Tashkent are a bit more expensive than in the rest of the country. Even if it’s not the most touristy place, it’s the capital and business centre of the country.
Why write a Tashkent photography guide?
Its capital city, Tashkent, is not the most touristy spot in the country, with places like Samarkand, Khiva, or Bukhara taking most of the tourists. However, even if the city doesn’t have the historical appeal of some other cities in the country, when it comes to photography, it’s a city that should not be disregarded. It’s the most populated city in the country, and this means lots of activity and an incredible contrast between modernity and tradition.
If you are planning a trip to Uzbekistan, spend a few days in the capital. It’s a nice first place to see and start learning about the culture of the country, and you will be able to take great photos. These are some of the best Tashkent photography spots!
Best Tashkent photography spots: a complete guide
Tashkent Tower
Let’s start with the best Tashkent viewpoint. Tashkent Tower stands at 375m, and it’s the tallest tower in the country. It was even the fourth tallest in the world for some time. What makes me add it to this list, besides its cool structure, is its viewpoint. Getting to the top is quite cheap for Western standards (I remember around 3-4$). There’s a restaurant, a 360 view (inside) and a small bar to grab a drink.
The views from there are breathtaking. I highly recommend timing your visit with the sunset. At least when I visited, it wasn’t crowded, and I could move freely and take great photos. Check the views from some of the nearby mountains, as well as of the park in front of it.
It’s also a great place to see the few skyscrapers of the city, as well as the overall structure of the city. Oh, and if you don’t want to have dinner at the top, read the next spot.
Tashkent City Park
If you think about Tashkent, how do you picture it? Skyscrapers and lasers? Well, there are skyscrapers and lasers in Tashkent, and they make for a must-visit spot in this photography guide.
Tashkent city park is a beautiful park with a pond at the heart of the city. It is especially a great spot for photography at sunset, when the nearby skyscrapers are lit and they reflect on the water.
This is one of the richest and most modern areas of the city, but if you are looking for a more traditional place, make sure to check the next spot, one of my favourite ones in Tashkent for photography.
Chorsu Bazaar
If you have read some of my other travel photography guides, you might have noticed that I always include markets in them. Tashkent market, the Chorsu Bazaar, is an amazing place to photograph. Be warned that it’s authentic. If you don’t like seeing dead animals, raw meat (and all you can imagine), this might not be your place. However, it is probably the best place for street photography in all of Tashkent. People are friendly, especially if they notice you are a tourist, and it’s easy to take great photos.
Chorsu Bazaar is a massive circular market with an impressive dome. I strongly recommend visiting not only the lower level, but also the second level for a great view over the whole market. However, this doesn’t stop there. Outside the building, the market extends all over the place, and you can find almost everything there. Most people don’t speak English, but if you want, it’s easy to chat with them in a mix of broken Russian and hand gestures.
Tashkent metro
Among the best Tashkent photography spots in this guide, I had to list its metro system. I have something for metro systems. I love photographing them and seeing the differences between countries. Before visiting Tashkent, I had seen some people mentioning the metro system as an interesting one to visit, but what I found left me speechless.
I have a full guide on the Tashkent metro photography spots, check it out!
Tashkent has some of the most beautiful metro stations I have seen. Although I can’t compare them with the ones in Russia, they definitely have a lot in common, due to the history of the country. I have dedicated a full article on the Tashkent metro system, with its best stations, and some tips on how to visit and photograph it, as it’s not as easy as you might think.
Security guards are quite concerned with cameras, so you’ll need to approach them and let them know that you are not photographing people, but the metro system. After doing this, I even got some more station recommendations from the metro personnel.
Hotel Uzbekistan
Tashkent might be a modern city, but it’s not all about tradition and skyscrapers. As you can imagine, due to the location of the country, it has had a heavy Russian influence over the years. Although they don’t border Russia, the soviet influence can be seen in many places, and one of them is Hotel Uzbekistan. This is a massive hotel with a unique architecture that makes it a must in any Tashkent photography guide.
The hotel is still open to the public, and it’s not that expensive to stay in. Although I did not choose it as my accommodation, I made sure to visit it. The structure can be seen from a distance, and from the outside looks like a massive beehive. Make sure not to miss it, it’s a very unique Tashkent photography spot.
Amir Temur statue
If you travel to Tashkent and Uzbekistan in general, you will hear the name Amir Temur more than any other. At least where I come from in Europe, we were not taught about the history of Amir Temur. However, he was the ruler of one of the most important empires in the world.
While his memorial is not in Tashkent, there is a very cool equestrian statue of him near Hotel Uzbekistan. Thus, it makes for a quite unique photo, showing two very different historical realities of the country: the old powerful empire and the more recent soviet influence. While it doesn’t sound like a very unique photo spot, the statue is placed at a really prime location, showing the admiration that Uzbeks have for Amir Temur.
Mustakillik Square
If we speak of statues, there’s one place that is among the best Tashkent photography spots listed in this guide: Mustakillik Square. This square has two photography spots: the monument to the Independence of Uzbekistan and the Ezgulik statue.
The monument to independence is a massive red structure with a golden sphere at the top. While it’s nice, when I was there, it was a bit difficult to photograph, as it was impossible to reach. This was because there are some governmental buildings in the area, and it can be closed to the general public if there are some official events happening.
However, what makes me list this square here is the statue of the storks at the centre of the square (Ezgulik). This monument was a great spot to take nice photos. It’s a tourist spot, because when I was there, I saw more tourist groups than in the rest of my stay in Tashkent. Yet, don’t think this means it was crowded, maybe I saw 50-60 people in 2-3 separate groups.
Magic City
Uzbekistan, and more specifically Tashkent, is a city of contrasts. The city has a nice mix of old structures and modernity. However, there are some modern places that are so unique that they feel like a theme park. Or, well, maybe it’s because they are a theme park, like Magic City.
It is located in a quite central part of Tashkent, and it’s a really weird place. It feels like a theme park; it has some theme park attractions, but it feels so fake and disconnected from its surroundings that I loved taking photos there. From a replica of Samarkand Registan square to a castle that looks too similar to Disneyland. Magic City is a place that everyone should see. Moreover, the gardens located just next to it are a nice place for a walk or to sit down for a few minutes.
Seoul Mun
Talking about modernity, Seoul Mun is another of the places that reflects the changes that Tashkent is going through. This is an open-air shopping mall located by the river. As its name indicates, it has some Korean inspiration.
It’s an interesting place for photography. The river, the shops and restaurants are distributed over three levels,… it all has a really unique vibe. It feels fake, like Magic City, but this is what makes me list it as a part of the Tashkent photography spots.
Plov Center – Besh Qozon
Plov is one of the national dishes of Uzbekistan (and half of Central Asia). It’s rice with meat, carrots, onion,… and many other things depending on the version you ask for. Next to the Tashkent TV tower, there is one of the best places to try it out in Uzbekistan, the Plov Center, or Besh Qozon. The reason why I list it as a photography spot is that the process of making plov is extremely photogenic.
It is prepared in massive fire-lit structures, all located outside the “restaurant” area. Not only is it a cool photography spot, but also a place to get authentic food at an affordable price and in a nice location. The Plov Center is a meeting point for locals, and I saw only a handful of tourists there. I went there twice, once with a local friend, and I can’t get more of this amazing dish.
Other Tashkent photography spots (that I did not have time to visit)
I am not a big fan of adding spots I did not visit, but there’s one specific one that I was recommended by my friend in the country, but that I could not visit because I did not have time and because it was SO far away from the city centre.
New Uzbekistan Park
As its name indicates, this is a new park in Uzbekistan. Theoretically, it’s in Tashkent. However, if you look for it on a map, you’ll understand why I did not have time to visit it. It’s not because of the taxi price, but because time it would take to go there, see it and go back. However, what makes me include it as a photo spot is its massive central statue. I could see it from the plane when leaving Tashkent, and it’s a unique place and structure. If you have a few dead hours, it might be a great place to go and explore!
This concludes my best Tashkent photography spots guide! If you want to know more about Tashkent and Uzbekistan, to plan a perfect trip, you can schedule a 30-minute call with me in the link below.
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