Morning check-out
At 8:00 a.m., our group with the Vezdebody travel agency left Tashkent for the Sukok Mountain Reserve, a natural area in the Parkent district of the Tashkent region of Uzbekistan. After about an hour, the road led us to a territory where the kingdom of the metropolis, concrete and technology was replaced by mountain air, greenery and the sweet anticipation of a walk.
Tea party on the observation deck
When we arrived, the first thing we did was go to the viewing platform, a favorite place of all the guests of the reserve. From here, there was a spacious view of the mountains and forest slopes. Our lungs breathed in the cold, fresh mountain air with gusto, while our guide Maksud told stories about how they celebrate New Year here every winter.
There was also a gazebo in which we stopped for a kind of rest – we brewed teas, black and green, and refreshed ourselves with sweet treats, enjoying the moment and the view, which seemed to stop the clock.
Visiting the cave
Then the climbing part of the route began: we walked up to the top, where a cave was visible among the rocks – a small mountain cavity, mentioned in various tours of Sukoku as “ancient”. Nondescript at first glance, she kept inside the dark, gloomy atmosphere of her old age and historical wisdom. How many have these stone walls seen in their lifetime?
A walk along the bottom of the stream
After that, we went down to the foot and walked along the bottom of a dried-up stream: wet stones, the fresh outline of the water that had been bubbling here recently, and, of course, the air filled with the scent of pine needles and forests.
But then the trail turned sharply and began to climb steeply up the mountain, at the top of which there is a dense “red” coniferous forest. It is called “red” because, with the onset of cold weather, every plant except fir trees takes on shades of this color here. They are known to be both winter and summer…
Here, amidst the still solid greenery, we made a short stop. It was that short period that everyone had experienced at least once in their lives–a moment in which they wanted to stay forever.
Farewell dinner
But now it’s time to return. We bought farm produce from local vendors and went to the nearby Favvora teahouse. There we tried the famous Sukok kebab and samsa. Both dishes were served with a light smoke in the atmosphere of a truly mountain feast.
Return
When our lunch was over, the sun was already setting. The road back to Tashkent was already perceived as a return from another world – the world of forests, rocks and silence.
Such a trip is a step beyond the usual, where every sound and smell becomes part of the route: from a gazebo on an observation deck to the cool shade of a coniferous forest on a mountain peak.
