Tashkent Classic Guided Walking Tour with a Local Guide

Amir Timur Square

Every Tashkent city tour starts naturally at Amir Timur Square, the round park at the centre of the modern capital. Laid out in the late 19th century as a public garden, it is today surrounded by some of the best-known buildings of Tashkent, including a blue-domed history museum, the white Palace of International Forums and the old chiming clock tower. Wide avenues lead away from it in every direction, and shady paths cross the park.

Your guide uses the square to explain how Tashkent grew from an oasis on the Silk Road into a large modern city, and how much of the centre was rebuilt after the earthquake of 1966. It is the place where locals meet, walk and take wedding photos, and a good first impression of the city. The stop is short, about 10 minutes, before you continue towards Independence Square.

Independence Square

Independence Square, called Mustaqillik Maydoni, is the largest and most symbolic square in Uzbekistan. Fountains, flower beds and tree-lined paths surround the Monument of Independence with its golden globe, and the main entrance is marked by an arch topped with sculpted storks, a symbol of peace and good fortune. Government buildings line the square, and it is the setting for national celebrations.

On one side stands a memorial with an eternal flame and the figure of a grieving mother, dedicated to the soldiers who did not return from the Second World War, a quiet and moving place. Your guide explains what the square means to Uzbeks today. About 30 minutes here gives you time for photos and a walk along the colonnade before you head to the old town.

Chorsu Bazaar

Chorsu Bazaar is the most famous market in Tashkent, and many visitors ask whether it is worth visiting; for food and daily life, the answer is yes. Its name means crossroads, and a market has stood here for centuries. The main hall, built in 1980, sits under a giant turquoise dome, with circular rows of stalls selling spices, dried fruit, nuts, sweets, cheese and fresh bread, while the open areas around it sell fruit, vegetables, meat and household goods.

Walking through it with your guide, you learn which spices go into plov, how to recognise good dried apricots and what locals buy for a family meal. The upper galleries of the dome give a great view over the stalls. You spend about an hour here; bring some cash if you want to buy a few treats, and keep an eye on your bag in the crowds.

Khast Imam Square and the Barak Khan Madrasah

The walking tour ends at Khast Imam, also called Hazrati Imam, the spiritual centre of Tashkent. Around a wide paved square stand the Barak Khan Madrasah, a 16th-century Islamic school with a tall tiled portal and turquoise dome, the modern Hazrati Imam Friday Mosque with its twin minarets, and the Muyi Muborak library museum. The museum keeps one of the oldest surviving Quran manuscripts in the world, traditionally dated to the 7th century.

Your guide explains the history of the complex, how it survived the changes of the 20th century, and how it is used today. Entrance to the manuscript museum is not included and costs a small fee on site. Modest dress is expected, and women may be asked to cover their hair inside the mosques. Khast Imam is also beautiful in the soft light of late afternoon.

Tillya Sheikh Mosque and the Kaffal Shashi Mausoleum

Next to the square, the Tillya Sheikh Mosque, built in the 19th century, is still an active place of prayer, with a carved wooden porch and a quiet courtyard. Your guide shows you its architecture from outside and explains how the old mahalla neighbourhoods around it were organised around mosques, water channels and small bazaars, a pattern still visible in the narrow lanes nearby.

A few steps away stands the Kaffal Shashi Mausoleum, built in the 16th century over the grave of a 10th-century scholar and poet of Tashkent, then called Shash. Its brick dome and tiled portal are among the oldest surviving monuments of the city. These final stops complete the picture of Tashkent as a city of three faces: Silk Road town, Soviet capital and modern Central Asian metropolis.