Where to walk in Fergana
through the green city and to Margilan

The short version, if you're in a hurry

Fergana is flat, small and surprisingly green. That changes the whole logic of walking. Your main ally is the plane-tree canopy; your main enemy is the sun. From June through August daytime temperatures run +35–40°C, so in summer you walk before 8 a.m. or after 7 p.m. Winters are mild, +5–10°C — you can walk all day. The good news: thanks to that 1876 Russian orthogonal plan, almost every central street is walkable, and most of the wide avenues are lined with shade trees

Basic rule: the further you are from Bukhara highway and the inner ring road, the cleaner the air. The Fergana Valley gets dusty episodes in spring and autumn, but the parks and the Alley really do scrub the air — PM2.5 inside Central Park is typically 1.5× lower than along Al-Fergani Street

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Pick a route that fits

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Check the air and temperature first

The Fergana Valley has two seasonal headaches: summer brings heat, dust and occasional vehicle smog from the city's tight ring road; spring and autumn bring dust episodes when wind from the Kyzylkum desert drags pollution across the valley. Before walking, check:

• IQAir / AirVisual — app and website that aggregates sensor data. Coverage in Fergana is thinner than in Tashkent but you'll get the basic picture
• uzhydromet.uz — Uzhydromet's official portal. Government station data for the regional capital — slower to update but reliable
• Windy.com — wind forecasts. In the Fergana Valley a fresh wind can clear the air within an hour

What PM2.5 numbers mean (μg/m³): 0–12 clean, 13–35 acceptable, 36–55 short walk OK, skip exercise, 56+ stay indoors — especially kids and the elderly

Temperature rule of thumb: above a feels-like +35°C, hard exercise is risky, especially in your first two weeks of summer. Plan on 0.5 L of water per hour walking

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City routes — where Fergana lives

1. The Alley of plane trees — main pedestrian axis

Length: ~1.5 km one way · Steps: ~2,500 · Elevation: flat

Fergana's main pedestrian avenue and its calling card. Unbroken shade from chinars planted in the early 20th century: at noon the Alley is genuinely 5°C cooler than neighbouring streets. Benches, lamps, small cafés and fountains every 200 metres. Mornings: joggers and pensioners with chess boards. Evenings: families, teenagers on rollerblades. If you only have half an hour, this is the place

Getting there: any central spot is a 5–10 minute walk; marshrutkas and taxis along Mustaqillik

2. Mustaqillik Square promenade

Length: ~1 km loop · Steps: ~3,000 · Elevation: flat

Fergana's main square — marble paving, fountains, the Independence monument and the regional hokimiyat building. Lights and music in the evening, families taking photos by the fountains on weekends. The square itself is small but the surrounding tree-lined promenade easily yields a relaxed 3,000-step lap. Good for a short post-work decompression

Getting there: city centre, just off Mustaqillik Street; marshrutkas 14, 22, 25

3. Ahmad al-Fergani Park

Length: ~2 km loop · Steps: ~4,500 · Elevation: flat

A park named after the great 9th-century Fergan astronomer and mathematician — streets across the Muslim world and a crater on the Moon also bear his name. Reopened after a 2018 reconstruction: a large fountain pond, a bronze statue of Al-Fergani holding an astrolabe, fountain alley, shaded benches. Cool, green, lit at night. One of the best-kept parks in town

Getting there: Mustaqillik Street, north of centre; marshrutkas 14, 78

4. Central Park of Culture and Rest

Length: ~2.5 km big loop · Steps: ~5,500 · Elevation: flat

Fergana's oldest and shadiest park, laid out in the early 20th century when the city was still called Skobelev. Mature plane trees and chinars throw dense shade in any heat — a precious thing in this valley. Rides, a Ferris wheel, a teahouse with plov and quiet side alleys deeper in. Quiet on weekday mornings, packed at weekends. Air is noticeably cleaner than on the surrounding streets

Getting there: city centre, at the corner of Mustaqillik and Al-Fergani; walking distance from anywhere downtown

5. Babur Park and the Margilan canal

Length: ~3.5 km · Steps: ~6,500 · Elevation: flat

A quiet park in the Yukori-Dahana district, named for the founder of the Mughal Empire who was born in the Fergana Valley. A small pond, narrow shaded alleys, and a path along a shallow irrigation canal. No tourists, few locals — a perfect "secret" weekday-morning route. Add a stretch along the Margilan canal — an old irrigation channel lined with poplars

Getting there: Yukori-Dahana district, 5–7 minutes by taxi from centre; marshrutka 22

6. Yoshlar (Youth) Park

Length: ~3 km loop · Steps: ~6,000 · Elevation: flat

A modern park in the city's western section, reopened after a 2021 reconstruction. Cycle paths, a skate area, calisthenics rigs, paved running loops. Evening lights turn it into a youth meet-up spot. Downside — the trees are still young, the shade is thin, summer afternoons get hot. Best at sunrise or after sunset

Getting there: western Fergana; marshrutkas 25, 80

7. Colonial centre — Al-Fergani Street and Skobelev square

Length: ~3.5 km loop · Steps: ~7,500 · Elevation: flat

A walk with history: late 19th-century Russian colonial Fergana, the only Uzbek city with this kind of architectural identity. Low two-storey mansions, plaster cornices, former officers' clubs and merchants' houses. The old Skobelev square, the Alexander Nevsky Orthodox church (1880s), parks all around. Shady, quiet, an oddly precise feeling of "small Russian spa town in an Asian valley"

Getting there: historic centre; start at the corner of Mustaqillik and Al-Fergani

8. Loop: Alley → Central Park → Ahmad al-Fergani

Length: ~5 km loop · Steps: ~10,000 · Elevation: flat

The best long city walk in one circle. Start on the Alley by Central Park, go up to Ahmad al-Fergani Park, then return via Mustaqillik Square and the colonial blocks back to the Alley. The whole way: plane-tree shade, fountains, benches, almost no cars. You'll close 10,000 steps without noticing — especially with a teahouse stop halfway

Getting there: start at Central Park

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Out of town — Margilan, Rishtan and the valley

9. Old Margilan — Yodgorlik and Kumtepa bazaar

Length: ~6 km in Margilan · Steps: ~12,000 · Elevation: flat

Margilan, 10–12 km from Fergana, is Central Asia's oldest silk centre — silk has been made here for more than 2,000 years. Highlights: the Yodgorlik factory, where khan-atlas and adras are still hand-woven (cocoon to finished cloth, you can watch the whole process); Kumtepa bazaar with mountains of skullcaps and fabrics; Chakar Khan mosque; Pir Siddiq mausoleum. This route is a genuine plunge into valley history — and easily 12,000 steps

Getting there: 15–20 minutes by taxi from Fergana (30–50K sums), or marshrutkas 78, 80 from the central bus station

10. Pyatigorskoe Lake

Length: ~6 km along the shore · Steps: ~14,000 · Elevation: flat

A reservoir on Fergana's eastern edge. Not turquoise sea, but open water, space and a real breeze. Summer brings local beaches, water-side cafés and noise; off-season and winter — empty and quiet. You can walk the perimeter or out to the dam and back. Air is meaningfully cleaner than downtown — no traffic, no dense buildings

Getting there: 15 min by taxi from centre; marshrutka 33 to the last stop

11. Rishtan — pottery workshops

Length: ~8 km in town + workshops · Steps: up to 18,000 · Elevation: flat

If you want a real valley experience, head 50 km west to Rishtan. World capital of ceramics, with its signature blue-green "ishkor" glaze documented since the 12th century. Dozens of pottery workshops still operate (the Nazirov and Usmanov families are famous names) — they let you in and walk you through the whole process from raw clay to kiln. There's a ceramics museum and a bazaar. A proper day trip: budget 4–5 hours in Rishtan plus 2 hours of road

Getting there: taxi from Fergana (~150K sums one way), marshrutka from "Yangichek" bus station, or organised tours from Fergana hotels

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Seasonality — when to go

Winter (December — February)

Mild, +0–10°C, snow rare. Occasional fog and dust, but mostly pleasant walking weather. What to do: walk midday, between 10 and 16. The Alley and Central Park are particularly atmospheric in winter, when the bare chinars stand against the sky. A season for long uncrowded walks without heat

Spring (March — May)

The valley's best time of year. +15–28°C, orchards in bloom, clear skies. What to do: March-April are peak for every route here and for Rishtan. Apricots, almonds and magnolias flower in the parks. By the end of May the heat already creeps toward +35 — switch to morning and evening walks

Summer (June — August)

The main seasonal challenge. +35–42°C by day, never below +22°C at night. What to do: walks strictly before 8 a.m. or after 7 p.m. Salvation: dense-shade parks (Central, Ahmad al-Fergani) and the Alley. Near water (Pyatigorskoe Lake, Mustaqillik fountains) feels cooler. Margilan and Rishtan in summer — only in the morning

Autumn (September — November)

The second peak after spring. From mid-September the heat eases; October brings "golden Fergana" with crimson and gold chinars. What to do: hunt down October-November and walk a lot. Days shorten by late November but the weather stays mild

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Walking checklist

• Plenty of water. 0.5 L per hour in summer. At least 0.5 L in winter
• A hat or panama. Eight months of sharp sun a year in this valley
• Sunscreen. SPF 30+ on face and arms in summer — not optional
• A light jacket. Spring and autumn morning-to-afternoon swings reach 15°C
• Comfortable shoes. Sandals and flip-flops turn into torture by 10,000 steps
• Cash sums. Cards are rare in Margilan and Rishtan — bazaars and workshops are cash-only
• Charged phone. Signal drops between Fergana and Rishtan — keep an offline map

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The takeaway

• Fergana is Uzbekistan's greenest city: thanks to that 1876 Russian colonial plan, almost every central street is lined with chinars
• The main pedestrian boulevard is the Alley of plane trees, a roughly 1.5 km central axis
• Main enemies are sun and dust, not climbs. The city is flat, every route is walkable
• Most convenient parks are Central, Ahmad al-Fergani, Babur and Yoshlar
• The best long city loop is Alley → Central Park → Ahmad al-Fergani Park, 10,000 steps in one circle
• Best day trips: Margilan (10 km, silk, 2,000 years of history) and Rishtan (50 km, ceramics)
• Seasonality matters: best windows are March-May and October-November; summer means morning and evening only

The rule is simple: in Fergana you can walk almost year-round, you just have to respect the summer sun and remember that even locals sit in the shade at noon. Know five or six trusted spots, plan a day trip to Margilan or Rishtan, and the valley really opens up. Qozgal will count every step — no subscriptions, no ads, no clutter