The Gissar mountain range separates the Surkhandarya valley, a branch of the original Great Silk Road, from the rest of Uzbekistan. It can certainly be rated as one of the most beautiful landscapes in Central Asia. Juniper forests interchange with alpine meadows who in turn give place to mountainous tundra and snow peaked summits with mighty tongues of glaciers. In the Gissar you may come across dinosaur traces on the Khod-jakarshavar piateau, cascades of glacial lakes at Djanca, the beautiful Parmin garden, spectacular Pekhnasay canyon and the wondrous Bibi Shirin-Aziz cave.

A visit to now famous Baysun, the Boysun as one of 19 destinations on the Unesco list of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, will get you closer to the way of life and the traditions of the indigenous people. Boysun is one of the oldest inhabited places on earth.

The Gissar mountains allow for an ideal combination of culture with recreational activity. Fishing fiends will be able to fish for trout in Lake Tashmush. One of Gissar's most splendid waters, Lake Aygyrkul, the name of which translates as the lake of wild stallions, on the other hand, permits no fishing and swimming as it is considered a sacred site. The lake lays in a hollow at 2400 meters above sea level.Its diameter is 300 m and it is more than 30 meters deep. A big relic trout is said to inhabit its glacial waters. In the Western flanks of the Gissar ridge one can visit the renowned Timur cave, which provided shelter and an escape for Tamerlane and his troops in XV century. Expeditions and archaeological excavations in and around the cave brought to light relics of the Stone Age, proof of existence of early man in the region as well as vesels from the graeco-bactrian period (IV-III centuries B.C)

The Southwest of Uzbekistan, an area of 9000km2, is now accessible for tourism and an upcoming destination. A number of tour operators offer equestrian holidays, helicopter flights and chauffered car, van and bus routers both for groups and individuals.