Ugam-Chatkal

Ugam-Chatkal National Park was established in 1990 in north-eastern Uzbekistan, in Tashkent province, beside the borders with Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, and protects some 5,745 km² in the Ugam, Chatkal and Pskem ranges, the western foothills of the Tian Shan. In 2016 it was added to the World Heritage List as part of the serial property Western Tien-Shan.

The relief rises from the valleys to more than four thousand metres, with deep gorges, glaciers at the higher levels and a succession of belts running from semi-desert to alpine tundra. It is the principal water catchment of the Tashkent region, and its rivers supply the Uzbek capital.

As across the rest of the western Tian Shan, its botanical value lies in the wild fruit forests — walnut, apple, pistachio, almond — reckoned the centre of origin of much of the fruit cultivated worldwide, alongside high-altitude juniper woodland. The fauna includes snow leopard, Tian Shan brown bear, ibex and Menzbier's marmot, endemic to this region. The park also preserves petroglyphs and archaeological sites, and its proximity to Tashkent makes it the country's principal recreational area.