Uzbekistan (which means the Land of Uzbeks) lies in the heart of Central Asia and borders on each of the former Soviet Asian Republics: Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan, and in the south - on Afghanistan. Uzbekistan occupies more than 447,400 square kilometres, measuring 925 km from the North to South and 1400 km from the West to East.

Nature has blessed Uzbekistan with mountains and rivers, steppes and deserts. Two-third of the territory is flat. The south and east are dominated by the Tian Shan and Pamir-Alai mountain ranges. Among the biggest rivers are the Syr-Darya (2212 km long), the Amu-Darya (1415 km long) and the Zerafshan (877 km long) rivers. The Amu-Darya separates the Kyzylkum desert from the Karakum desert of Turkmenistan. There are few lakes in Uzbekistan. The largest one, the Aral Sea, is located in the southwest.

Nature has also bestowed Uzbekistan with unlimited wealth. About 100 kinds of minerals, fuel and energy resources have been discovered.

The fauna and flora in Uzbekistan are diverse. Some rare species of animals are found here. Soil is very fertile, more than 6,000 varieties of plants grow in the country. Abundance of warmth and lights provides conditions suitable for growing subtropics

Climate
The climate in Uzbekistan is sharply continental. There are more than 250 sunny days a year. Often it's extremely hot in summer (June to August) - as much as 45-50 C (113-122 F) in the south of the Republic.

The hottest summer month is July. The average temperature in this period on plains and foothills is 25-30 C (77-86 F), and in the south it reaches 31-32 C (88-90 F).

Humidity is generally low in summer, as it almost never rains in this season.

In autumn (September to November) the weather is brilliantly clear and the temperature drops slowly as winter approaches. In winter (December to February) it is often overcast. Occasionally it rains or snows. The average temperature in December ranges from -8 C (18 F) in the north to 0 C (32  F) in the south. However sometimes there are hard frosts and the temperature drops to minus 20-25 C (minus 4-13 F). The coldest winter month is January.

The best time for travelling to Uzbekistan is from mid March to mid June and from August to mid November.