Pop District

Location and history

Pop District was formed in 1926, renamed Chust-Pop in 1930 and became Pop again in 1931. From 1960 to 1967 it belonged to Fergana Region, returning to Namangan Region in December 1967. It borders Kyrgyzstan's Jalal-Abad Region to the north, Chust and Mingbuloq districts to the east, Fergana Region's Buvayda and Dangara districts to the south, and to the west Tajikistan's Asht District and the Ohangaron and Bostonliq districts of Tashkent Region. It is the largest district in the region by area and contains the Tajik enclave of Sarvak.

Medieval sources record Pop as 'Bab', which scholars interpret as 'river crossing' or 'fortress'. The ancient town of Pap is listed among Fergana's towns as early as the Arab conquest.

What it is known for

Balandtepa on the Syr Darya — ancient Pap — has been on UNESCO's Tentative List since 2008, and the neighbouring Munchoqtepa necropolis is famous for its finds of silk and beads. In 2022 the 10,000-hectare Pop National Nature Park was created in the mountains. The district has the Chodak gold deposit, and the underground thermal waters of Chust–Pop are rich in iodine and bromine. The Angren–Pop railway, opened in 2016, linked the valley with Tashkent through a tunnel under the Kamchik Pass.