Buddhist Uzbekistan · Uzbekistan
Termez travel guide
Ancient stupas and monasteries on the banks of the Amu Darya.
Termez sits on the Amu Darya, the river border with Afghanistan, and is one of the oldest cities in Uzbekistan. Two thousand years ago it was a centre of Kushan Buddhism, and the remains of monasteries and stupas still stand in the surrounding desert.
Few visitors make it this far south, which is part of the appeal. It suits travellers with a deep interest in archaeology and the full story of the Silk Road.
- Time needed
- 1–2 days
- Best time
- March–May and October–November; very hot in summer
- Getting there
- Domestic flights from Tashkent, or a long road day from Shakhrisabz or Samarkand.
Don’t miss
What to see in Termez
- 01
Fayaz Tepe
A Buddhist monastery complex with a protected stupa.
- 02
Kara Tepe
Cave monasteries cut into a hillside above the river.
- 03
Zurmala stupa
The oldest standing structure in Uzbekistan, a tall mud-brick stupa.
- 04
Al-Hakim at-Termizi
Mausoleum of a revered 9th-century Sufi scholar.
- 05
Archaeological museum
Finds from the region’s Greek, Kushan and Islamic periods.
Nearby
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