Arslanbob Walnut Forest

The world's largest natural walnut forest — 11,000 hectares of ancient trees draped over the southern slopes of the Babash-Ata range.

The Arslanbob walnut forest covers approximately 11,000 hectares of the southern slopes of the Babash-Ata range above the Uzbek-speaking village of Arslanbob — believed to be the largest natural walnut grove on Earth, and according to some botanical theories the genetic source of all Eurasian walnut trees. The forest is a relict ecosystem from the warmer climate of 100,000+ years ago, surviving in this microclimate-protected pocket where moist Fergana Valley air rises and condenses against the north wall of the mountains. The largest walnuts are over 1,000 years old; the forest also contains wild apple, pear, plum, almond and pistachio. Each year in September–October, the entire village population migrates into the forest for the walnut harvest — families set up camp under specific allocated trees and spend two to three weeks beating the branches, gathering fallen nuts, drying them and bagging them for sale. Travelers arriving during harvest can stay with a host family in the village (community-based tourism is well-organised through CBT-Arslanbob) and join the harvest as participants — an unusually direct way to engage with the rural southern Kyrgyz way of life. Beyond the walnuts, the area also has several waterfalls, the Holy Stones (a Sufi pilgrimage site), and trails climbing into the Babash-Ata alpine zone.