"Zarafshan" National Nature Park (former reserve)

About

History of creation and status (1975–2018)

The history of protecting the Zarafshan floodplain began in 1958 with the creation of a sanctuary to save the population of an endemic pheasant subspecies. On 11 May 1975, a government decree established the Zarafshan State Valley-Tugai Nature Reserve. In February 2018, the protected area received the status of a national nature park, which opened ecological trails for strictly controlled ecotourism, education and birdwatching (Encyclopedic article about the park).

The uniqueness of the landscape and relict flora

The park stretches in a narrow ribbon (about 47 km) along the right bank of the Zarafshan River at elevations of 620–900 metres above sea level. Its ecosystem is unique:

Foothill tugai: Dense floodplain thickets dominated by turanga (grey-leaved poplar), Dzungarian and white willow, narrow-leaved oleaster (jida) and tamarisk.

Lowland sea buckthorn: Zarafshan Park is the only place in the region where sea buckthorn forms powerful impenetrable thickets not in high-mountain gorges, but right on the flat gravel beds of the river floodplain.

In total, more than 300 species of higher plants have been recorded in the flora, including Central Asian endemics (Korolkov's crocus, Kesselring's colchicum).

Rare fauna: hangul and golden pheasant

Bukhara deer (hangul): The main pride of the park. As part of an international programme of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the Ministry of Ecology, the region's largest nursery for the restoration and breeding of the tugai red deer has been created here, from which strengthened animals are released into the wild.

Zarafshan pheasant (Phasianus colchicus zerafschanicus): The symbol of the park, a rare bird with magnificent golden-copper plumage, found exclusively in the Zarafshan basin.

The park is home to 24 species of mammals (porcupines, corsacs, reed cats, jackals, muskrats), 207 species of migratory and nesting birds, as well as rare reptiles and fish listed in the Red Book of Uzbekistan and the IUCN.

Ecotourism and conditions for guests

In the recreational zone of the park there are:

Walking ecological trails and observation towers for watching birds and deer in semi-free conditions;

An information visitor centre and a museum of the nature of the Zarafshan valley;

Gazebos and canopies for tourists to rest in the shade of centuries-old willows on the bank of the channels.