About Chimgan mountains and Uzbek ski resorts nearby Tashkent
Chimgan (Uzbek local pronounciation: Chimyon) is an all-season mountain resort located in the spurs of the Chatkal Mountain range, in the valley of the Chimgansay River, near the village of Chimgan, in the Bostanlyk district of the Tashkent region, 90 km east of Tashkent. Various ski slopes and cable cars with various hiking and mountaineering routes are available in spring, summer and autumn. The resort area was founded during Soviet union in 1879. Since the 1880s, Chimgan has been known as most popular skiing resort of Central Asia and especially in Uzbekistan. Since it is located very close to Tashkent, it is the main destiantion of mountain trips for skiing and hiking.
Being located at an altitude of 1400-1450 m. Summers are hot and dry (average July temperature 20 ° C), winters are moderately mild (average January temperature -5 to -20°C); precipitation is 790 mm per year.
Chimgan as a name came from persian words "Chim" - green and "yon" valley and is used since mid 1350s.
The Chimgan ski resort is located 85 km from Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan at an altitude of 1,600 meters (5,249 feet), in the Western Tien Shan Mountains surrounding Tashkent from the east. This ski resort has several hotels, resorts and vast choic of private cottages.
For its unique beauty and health benefits, Chimgan is called the "Uzbek Switzerland". The mountain slopes are covered with relict pine and spruce forests. The mountains and hills are cut by mountain rivers, which are popularly called "SAY". There is fresh and unpolluted air with the smell of countless mountainous flowers and healthy herbs.
With new large scale and moder resort nearby like Amirsoy ski resort and more, as well as lake Charwak that is near Chimgan, the destination is becoming even more popular both by local and international tourists.
The main peak of the entire mountainous area - Bolshoi Chimgan(Big Chimgan) (3309 m) - looks like the top of a giant star, from which rays of slopes decorated with rocky peaks diverge in all directions.
The Tien Shan Mountains, rising to a height of more than 3000 meters above sea level, are covered with an eternal snow cover, which in winter descends to the foot of the mountain.
There is a popular and historically known cable car station built during Soviet era, but still operating very nicely. Its length is 800 m, the upper station is at an altitude of 1925 m.
Also the is skiing route with the length of the ski track of 1500 m.
The is also ski cable station (T-Bar/mop) that is 570 m long, the upper station is at an altitude of 1850 m, the difference in altitude is 200 m, the length of the track is 800 m. There are also several separate 300-500-meter slopes with T-bar lifts.
The ski season in Chimgan is not very long - already in mid-March the descents are difficult due to sticky, wet snow. The beginning of the season is usually in December or early January.
The Chimgan skiing trails are built taking into account the location of avalanche chutes, so these trails are practically safe. The same cannot be said about the Beldersay trail. The fact is that in the upper section of the trail it is very easy to deviate from the safe direction and end up in an avalanche-prone area. In addition, at altitude there are often very strong fogs. In the fog it is very easy to lose direction, and the scale of the mountain is quite impressive. Therefore, when skiing on Kumbel, it is good to have a loud whistle or horn with you.
Plans have been once made announcing to combine the Chimgan resort with the newly built Amirsoy resort into a single system, however not much is known further about that development