Two epic journeys, one tough travel choice: Kyrgyzstan or Uzbekistan?
By Amy Cooper and Mal Chenu
Updated July 4, 2025, first published July 5, 2025 Subscribe now for unlimited access.
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I'm a Stan fan. Show me a Central Asian country with those four letters ending a name no spelling bee contestant would ever wish to encounter, and I'm there quicker than you can say Borat. Just to be clear, Borat does not come from Kyrgyzstan - probably because nobody would ever dare mock the second smallest and by far fiercest of the seven Stans.
You do not mess with a country where instead of playing footy, men grapple a headless goat carcass on horseback at breakneck speed and where, instead of calling Uber Eats, you send your trained golden eagle to hunt down a jackal, which you will butcher yourself.
To be an influencer in Kyrgyzstan, you must be able to recite word-perfectly and by memory the 500,000 lines of your nation's immense epic poem passed down orally for more than 1000 years. In short, Kyrgyz people are badass. Light on vowels but heavy on bravery, pride, virtuosity and harmony with nature, Kyrgyzstan is one of the world's last bastions of nomadic culture. Practically born on horseback, Kyrgyz clans still follow the seasons across central Asia's highest peaks in the towering Tian Shan ranges to graze their flocks in alpine summer meadows.
It's a life of astonishing freedom and beauty, and thanks to Kyrgyz nomads' hospitality - as legendary as their history - visitors can join in. You'll be invited to sleep in a traditional yurt on the shores of glacial lakes, ride across the steppes on horses, yaks or camels, accompany the eagle hunters and their remarkable raptors, then toast your new friends with fermented mare's milk while yurt-y dancing around the open fire. You'll be high the whole time. Kyrgyzstan is about 90 per cent mountainous, with more than half the land over 2500 metres above sea level; a rarefied, unfolding wonder of needle summits soaring to more than 7000 metres amid plunging gorges, roaring waterfalls and emerald forests and meadows.
The world's second-largest mountain lake, Issyk-Kul, shimmers like a mirage surrounded by snow-capped peaks. In the icy wilds of Tash Rabat, the remains of a 15th-century Silk Road inn recall that this was once a superhighway. Now you can trek or ride for days and see nobody but the odd shepherd. Bliss.
And then there's the World Nomad Games, Kyrgyzstan's insane answer to the Olympics. At this biennial festival of unhinged heroics, next staged in 2026, you can see horseback wrestling, foot archery, bone hurling, an opening ceremony in which performers are aflame and - the Kyrgyz national sport - Kok Boru, a brutal mix of rugby and polo in which two teams on horseback battle for possession of a decapitated goat.
Meanwhile, next door in Uzbekistan, Mal might be marvelling at mosaics and minarets, but he's missing out on the most out-stan-ding Stan of all.
The Stans of Central Asia may sound like a spin-off of The Kumars at No 42 , but they are actually fascinating travel destinations, and not just so you can wait and wait and one day be a hero at pub trivia, or at an albeit less likely geography spelling bee.
Gur-e-Amir mausoleum in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Picture: Shutterstock
Of the five Stans, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan are the most impressive if you are a place name dropper.
After your friends tell you about the cool bar they went to in Kuta, you can casually mention the magical twilight that accentuates the glazed azure tiles of the Kalta Minor Minaret in the walled city of Itchan Kala in the Khanate of Khiva.
But you can only do this if you go to Uzbekistan. If you go to Kyrgyzstan, you can tell your friends you saw some nice sheep shivering on the steppe.
Kyrgyzstan is in more danger of overgrazing than overtourism. You may think you would only travel to the Stans if you have literally been to every country. If this is the case, you would only visit Kyrgyzstan because you've been to all the other Stans.
As a central hub of the legendary Silk Road, the region that is now Uzbekistan thrived.
Prior to Genghis Khan's scorched earth pillaging in the early 13th century, the cities of Bukhara and Samarkand were prosperous centres of science, culture and learning.
One lesson they learned well was architecture, and Uzbekistan's ancient cities remain a repository for some of the most stunning buildings in the world. Magnificent mausoleums, mosques and madrasas, many finished in turquoise and gold, are sprinkled throughout the country like sumac on a kebab.
In Samarkand, Registan is a sprawling network of three grand madrasas filled with gorgeous majolica pottery and mosaics. Samarkand is also home to the Gur-e-Amir and Shah-i-Zinda mausoleums, built as the final resting places of famous Uzbeks that even the most demanding pub quiz is unlikely to probe.
The Ark in Bukhara was the residence of emirs from the 5th century until the Russian Red Army bombed it in 1920. Now mostly ruins, it still hosts several museums and the 17th-century-built Juma Mosque.
Nearby Maghoki-Attar has been a religious site since the 5th century and was once a mosque by day and a synagogue by night. Imagine! Legend has it that the locals saved Maghoki-Attar from the Mongol hordes by burying it in sand.
More architectural wonders can be found in Namangan, Andijan, Nukus, Fergana and Kokand, all of which will provide you with better bragging rights than Kyrgyzstan. Or Kuta. Those who say a good Stan is hard to find should put Uzbekistan on their uz-bekit list.
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Separated by just two hours, these towns sit on the traditional lands of the Wiradjuri people and boast lovely colonial heritage buildings and robust art, food and wine scenes. Tasting at Swinging Bridge Wines in Orange. Picture: Destination NSW So, what's the difference between Orange and Mudgee? Well, besides the spelling and pronunciation, Orange rises head and shoulders above Mudgee with an elevation advantage of 400 metres. The superior altitude (along with the rich terroir) produces excellent cool-climate wines, as you will find at the region's wineries (there are more than 80, and about 30 of them have cellar doors), including well-known purveyors Printhie, Philip Shaw, Ross Hill and Swinging Bridge. Four times as many people choose to live in Orange as they do Mudgee, and this is reflected in the accommodation options. Another top-end winery - Nashdale Lane Wines - offers luxe glamping cabins with views across the vineyards and out to Mount Canobolas. 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