# The 10 Best Cities to Visit in Central Asia

> Silk Road domes, Soviet boulevards and mountain towns sit side by side, and the cheap, easy places compete with the hard-to-reach ones.

*By YPB Team · Published October 15, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/the-10-best-cities-to-visit-in-central-asia*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Almaty** — score 1000/1000
   Kazakhstan's biggest city, with a cheap metro, mountain gondolas at Shymbulak and day trips to Charyn Canyon.
2. **Samarkand** — score 666/1000
   Silk Road city in Uzbekistan whose Registan square and turquoise-domed madrasas anchor most Central Asia itineraries.
3. **Khiva** — score 500/1000
   Walled desert town in Uzbekistan whose Itchan Kala is a compact open-air museum of mud-brick and tilework.
4. **Dushanbe** — score 499/1000
   Tajikistan's green, low-key capital, gateway to the Pamir and Fann Mountains.
5. **Osh** — score 499/1000
   One of Central Asia's oldest cities, with a huge bazaar and the Sulaiman-Too sacred mountain above it.
6. **Astana** — score 388/1000
   Kazakhstan's futuristic capital, built up from the 1990s with towers and landmark buildings on the steppe.
7. **Bishkek** — score 388/1000
   Kyrgyzstan's leafy Soviet-planned capital, with Ala-Too Square and the Tian Shan rising behind it.
8. **Karakol** — score 0/1000
   Kyrgyz town on Lake Issyk-Kul known for its wooden Holy Trinity Cathedral and as a hiking and ski base.
9. **Bukhara** — score 0/1000
   Uzbek trading city with a walkable old town of domes, minarets and the Kalyan minaret at its heart.
10. **Shymkent** — score 0/1000
   Southern Kazakhstan's big, warm and food-focused city near the Silk Road site of Turkistan.

Tags: travel, cities, central asia, kazakhstan, uzbekistan