Omonqoton National Nature Park

Omonqoton National Nature Park lies in the Urgut district of Samarkand region, centered on the mountain village of Omonqoton, one of the most heavily visited recreational areas in the region, drawing several thousand people a day during the summer. The park's forested slopes and gorges support more than 1,300 recorded plant species and over 100 kinds of birds, among roughly 126 vertebrate species overall; around a hundred of the plants and several of the animals are protected under Uzbekistan's Red Book or the IUCN Red List. Within its territory are the remains of an old stone road running for about 12 kilometers, which local tradition links variously to the era of Amir Temur or to Alexander the Great, though its true age remains uncertain. Some of the park's trees date back to an 1878 reforestation effort. The surrounding village has recently been granted official status as a tourism village, and dozens of family-run guesthouses now serve the growing number of visitors drawn to its cool mountain air.