How to use this guide
There will be no athletic heroics here. The idea is simple: you choose a green or “blue” corridor — a canal, lake or park — and build a loop so that at any moment you have a way out to the metro, a café, shade or a major street. In Tashkent this is especially important in summer: the city is beautiful, but the sun can quickly turn a walk into a test.
- In the heat, plan a safe window rather than a record: early morning or evening.
- Count 1 km as roughly 1200–1400 steps; for a more accurate number, check your app or fitness band.
- Canals do not have continuous embankments everywhere, so your loop should have a backup exit.
- The best city combinations: Anhor + Tashkent City + National Park, Bozsu + Japanese Garden + Memorial, Salar + Ecopark.
- For 60–90 minutes, take water, wear a hat and mark crossings over wide roads in advance.
First set your pace, not your route
For a walk in Tashkent, a good pace is one where you can speak in short phrases and don’t feel your pulse “in your temples.” If you want to get more steps, you don’t have to speed up: it is better to add 10–15 minutes of shade than to walk faster along a scorching sidewalk. If you count steps, use this as a guide: 30 minutes usually gives about 2500–3500 steps, 60 minutes — 5000–6500, 90 minutes — 7500–9000. To adjust the conversion to your height, the article how many kilometers are in 10,000 steps will help.
Build your route like this: metro → water or park → shade → clear crossing → metro. If even one element is missing, shorten the loop or move the walk to the evening.
Route 1. Anhor: the center, water and big parks
Anhor is the most convenient canal for a first walk: it passes through central districts, with Tashkent City Park, Anhor Lokomotiv Park and the Alisher Navoi National Park of Uzbekistan nearby. In practice, it is not one perfect embankment, but a set of good sections. Your task is not to stay by the water at any cost, but to choose visible sidewalks, shade and safe crossings.
- 30 minutes: start from Alisher Navoiy or Paxtakor metro, walk to Tashkent City Park, make a short loop through the park and return to the metro. Guide: 2–2.5 km, 2600–3300 steps.
- 60 minutes: add a section toward Anhor and the National Park side. A convenient finish is at Milliy bog‘ or Xalqlar Do‘stligi. Guide: 4–5 km, 5200–6500 steps.
- 90 minutes: connect Tashkent City Park, Anhor and the National Park into a larger loop. Don’t go deep into the parks if it is getting dark or you are tired: it is better to reach the metro earlier.
- Exit points: Paxtakor, Alisher Navoiy, Xalqlar Do‘stligi, Milliy bog‘. This makes the route flexible: you can shorten it at any stage.
A good walk in a hot city is not about “getting there at any cost.” It is about turning into shade in time, drinking water and leaving yourself the desire to go out again tomorrow.
Route 2. Bozsu: quieter, greener, closer to water
Bozsu is good for a calmer walk on the northern side of the center. A convenient combination: Bodomzor metro, the Japanese Garden, the area near Uzexpocentre, then, if possible, toward the Memorial to the Victims of Repression and green sections along the canal. The Japanese Garden is not a place for fast laps, but for slow walking: bridges, water, quiet, less rush. Check the opening hours before you go, because park schedules can change.
- 30 minutes: Bodomzor → Japanese Garden → a short loop around the water → Bodomzor. Guide: 1.8–2.3 km, 2300–3200 steps.
- 60 minutes: add a calm section around the exhibition center and the green sides near the canal. If the sidewalk ends or a busy road begins, turn back without regret.
- 90 minutes: move toward the Memorial to the Victims of Repression along the greener parts of Bozsu, then return to Bodomzor or exit to the nearest major street for a taxi/metro.
- The route’s plus: lots of visual rest — water, trees, open spaces. The minus: not every section is equally convenient for continuous walking.
Route 3. Salar: Ecopark and short green links
Salar is not a route with a continuous showcase embankment. Here, the “park plus fragments of water” format works better: start from Hamid Olimjon metro, make a loop through Z.M. Babur Ecopark, then carefully continue toward streets where you can see the canal and return. Ecopark is convenient for everyday steps: paths, a lake, sports zones and less of a feeling that you are “crossing” the city.
- 30 minutes: Hamid Olimjon → Ecopark → one calm loop → Hamid Olimjon. Guide: 2 km and about 2600 steps.
- 60 minutes: make two different loops through Ecopark and add an exit to nearby quiet streets. The goal is not speed, but steady movement without overheating.
- 90 minutes: you can connect Ecopark with a walk toward Pushkin, but only if the sidewalks are clear, the crossings are obvious and the sun is already low.
- If the route becomes noisy, dusty or inconvenient, return to the park. This is not a failure, but smart city navigation.
Do not go down to the water where there is no equipped path, railing or normal exit. Along canals there may be sharp edges, technical zones and unlit sections.
Loop comparison: what to choose today
| Loop | Start and exit | Time and steps | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anhor + center | Paxtakor / Alisher Navoiy / Milliy bog‘ | 30–90 min, 2600–9000 steps | a first walk and city guests |
| Bozsu + Japanese Garden | Bodomzor | 30–90 min, 2300–8500 steps | quiet, water, a slow pace |
| Salar + Ecopark | Hamid Olimjon | 30–90 min, 2600–8500 steps | everyday loops without rush |
| Botanical Garden | Shahriston | 60–90 min, 5000–9000 steps | long shade and even paths |
If you want the greenest possible walk without complicated navigation, keep the F.N. Rusanov Botanical Garden as a backup. According to the garden, it has 65 hectares of grounds and more than 10 km of main alleys — convenient for a day when you do not want to think about crossings and traffic. Check the entrance, payment and opening hours before you go.
Heat, water and shade: Tashkent’s main rules
In summer in Tashkent, you need to build your route around cooling down. The World Health Organization advises avoiding activity during the hottest part of the day, staying in the shade and drinking water regularly; in hot weather, the temperature felt in the sun can be noticeably higher than in the shade. For a 60–90-minute walk, take a bottle of water, a cap or panama hat, and do not be shy about stepping into an air-conditioned place for 5–10 minutes.
- Best windows: early morning before the strong sun or evening after the heat drops.
- For 30 minutes, a light bottle is enough; for 60–90 minutes, it is better to take 0.5–1 L of water, especially if you are not walking alone.
- Do not wait for intense thirst: take a few sips every 15–20 minutes.
- If you feel dizzy, nauseous, chilled or unusually weak, stop the walk and get somewhere cool.
- There is more practical advice in the articles on walking in the heat and summer hydration.
Shorten the route to a park loop, slow down and check the air quality before you go out. For days like this, a separate guide is useful: how to walk when the air is poor.
Crossings, metro and safety
In Tashkent, wide avenues can take more energy than the walking itself. So before you start, mark not only the park but also the crossings: underground, regulated, with a traffic light. If you see a convenient crossing earlier, use it instead of trying to “cut through” the traffic. This is especially important near major roads by parks, the exhibition center and metro stations.
- Walk on the bright side of the street in the morning and the shaded side during the day — sometimes this changes how you feel more than pace does.
- Keep the route as a loop, not a straight line: it is easier to return to the start if it gets hot.
- Do not plan 90 minutes through an unfamiliar area on the first day. First walk 30–40 minutes and check the surface, shade and crossings.
- If you walk in the evening, choose lit parks and central sections; by the water, do not experiment with dark paths.
- For a general list of city ideas, keep walking routes in Tashkent nearby.
If you only have 30, 60 or 90 minutes
The easiest way not to burn out is to choose the length in advance. Then you do not argue with yourself on the route or add an extra lap “on principle.” Walking works better when it leaves you feeling normal afterward, not wanting to lie under the air conditioner for half a day.
- 30 minutes: choose one park or one canal. The goal is to get out, walk steadily and return without overheating.
- 60 minutes: add a second green point. For example, Anhor + Tashkent City or Ecopark + nearby quiet streets.
- 90 minutes: do it only in a cool window. Take water, plan exits and do not turn the walk into a forced march.
- If you want to get steps in on an office day, split the goal: 20 minutes in the morning, 20 minutes in the evening and 10–15 minutes after a meal.
Questions and answers
Where is the best place to start a first walk by the water in Tashkent?
Start with Anhor in the center: Tashkent City Park, the National Park, Anhor Lokomotiv Park and several metro stations are nearby. It is the most flexible option: you can do 30 minutes and exit easily.
Can you walk along the canals continuously for 90 minutes?
Sometimes yes, but you should not count on a continuous embankment. Along Anhor, Bozsu and Salar there are good sections, but also roads, technical zones and stretches without a comfortable sidewalk. Plan a loop, not a “line at any cost.”
How many steps will I get in 60 minutes?
Usually about 5000–6500 steps if you walk calmly and without long stops. In the heat, getting fewer is normal: safety matters more than the number.
When is the best time to walk in summer?
Early morning or evening. During the day, choose only short park loops in the shade, take water and do not speed up. If there are heat warnings or you feel unwell, move the walk to another time.
What should I choose: Bozsu, Anhor or Salar?
For a first walk — Anhor. For quiet and water — Bozsu with the Japanese Garden. For regular weekday loops — Salar through Ecopark. The best route is the one you can calmly repeat tomorrow.
Sources
- Visit Tashkent: Anhor Lokomotiv Park — a park along the Anhor canal, with address and nearest metro stations. Visit Tashkent
- Visit Tashkent: Tashkent City Park — an urban stop for a central walk near Anhor. Visit Tashkent
- Visit Tashkent: Alisher Navoi National Park of Uzbekistan — a green area for a longer loop. Visit Tashkent
- Visit Tashkent: Japanese Garden — a location near Bodomzor for a calm walk by the water. Visit Tashkent
- Visit Tashkent: Memorial to the Victims of Repression — a complex in Yunusabad district along the Bozsu canal. Visit Tashkent
- Visit Tashkent: Z.M. Babur Ecopark — a park near Hamid Olimjon with paths, a lake and sports zones. Visit Tashkent
- Tashkent Botanical Garden named after F.N. Rusanov — official information about the garden’s grounds, alleys and ecosystem. Tashkent Botanical Garden
- Paluch A.E. et al. Daily steps and all-cause mortality. Lancet Public Health, 2022. PMC
- White M.P. et al. Associations between green/blue spaces and mental health across 18 countries. Scientific Reports, 2021. DOI
- Tudor-Locke C. et al. How fast is fast enough? British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2018. PMC
- Twohig-Bennett C., Jones A. The health benefits of the great outdoors. Environmental Research, 2018. PubMed
- World Health Organization: Heat and health — guidance on heat, shade, water and overheating risks. WHO
Count your steps with Qozgal
A free app that counts your steps, keeps your streak and motivates you to walk every day.