Khanabad

Past and present

Khanabad stands on the right bank of the Kara Darya near the Kyrgyz border. In Kokand times the area was called Beshkapa; legend has it that the khans liked to hunt in its riverside thickets and had the place developed. Its population grew quickly after work on the Andijan Reservoir began in 1969. Khanabad became a town in 1972 and was known as Sovetobod until 1991.

The town is home to the Andijan hydropower station and factories making building materials and cable. The Khanabad sanatorium, opened in 2018, draws visitors from across the valley to its thermal waters. The 200-year-old plane trees of the Fozilmon Ota shrine and a small museum about the reservoir are also worth a look. The town takes in the mahallas of Khidirsha, Fozilmon, Kampirravot and others, and the surrounding hills give views over the reservoir and the Kara Darya gorge.