Aral Sea - Extended trip (3 days), Khiva

About this activity

Two cars (one sedan and one 4x4) will serve during this round trip to Aral Sea shore and fortresses. Total, over 1`200 kms will be driven in three days. 19 important touristic destinations will be visited (: Chilpik kala fortress, Savitsky museum, Muynak ship cemetery, Muynak Museum, Aral Sea shore, Ustyurt Canyons, Kurgancha kala, Urga, Qibla Ustyurt, Sudoche lake, Mizdakhan Necrapolis, Amudarya river, Ayazkala, Tuprakkala, Kyzylkala, Duman kala, Guldursun kala, Koi Krylgan kala, Angka kala ). Experienced drivers drive smoothly in the desert conditions. Key visitable areas are included while the tour can start or finish in Khiva, Urgench or Nukus cities, upon the desire of the visitor. Customers benefit from immersive cultural experience in Karakalpakstan, insider knowledge to Aral Sea region, and memorable encounters with local traditions in western part of Uzbekistan.

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At a glance

Duration: 3 days
Confirmation: Instant confirmation
Ticket: Mobile or paper ticket accepted
Group: Your group only
People per booking: 1–15
Audio guide: English
Operated by: Oxus Travel

What is included

Included

Included: Private transportation
Included: Hotel pick up and drop off
Included: In-vehicle air conditioning: Air-conditioned vehicle
Included: Audio guide materials

Not included

Not included: Aral Sea Museum (in Muynak) - entrance ticket is USD 3/person
Not included: Savitsky museum (Nukus) entrance ticket is USD 7/person
Not included: Aral Sea yurt camp: USD 40; Ayazkala yurt camp USD 50. Total:
Not included: Lunch
Not included: Entrance fee for fortresses (each around USD 2)

Itinerary

Day 1 · Chilpik dakhma - Savitsky museum - Muynak ship cemetery - Aral Sea shore

Stop 1

30 min Admission not included

The age of this Zoroastrian ancient monument - dakhma Chilpyk (Shylpyk, Chilpak Kala) is more than 2200 years. Chilpyk is a round roofless tower, 15 meters high and 65 meters in diameter, built at the top of the rounded natural hill, 43 km away from Nukus. The Zoroastrians used it for burial of the dead. The remains of the deceased were thrown in the tower to the birds of prey. Later the bones were collected in earthenware vessels-ossuaries and dug into the ground. This way of disposal was connected with the Zoroastrian philosophy, which prohibited defiling the land with corrupted bodies.
State Museum of Art named after I.V. Savitsky

one hour Admission not included

The Nukus Museum of Art, or more properly the State Museum of Arts of the Republic of Karakalpakstan named after I.V. Savitsky, is located in Nukus, Karakalpakstan. It possesses the world’s second largest collection of Russian avant-garde artworks, as well as galleries of antiquities and Karakalpak folk art. The State Museum of Arts of Karakalpakstan was founded in 1966 at the initiative of Moscow artist Igor Vitalievich Savitsky (1915-1984). The museum holds the largest art collection in Central Asia, and its approximately 100,000 items provide chronological coverage of more than four millennia.
Stop 3

one hour

Aral Sea shore is a place to swim, to observe the local climate, environment from the hills , rocks which were previously part of the Aral Sea
Ships Cemetery

one hour

Hidden in one of the most obscure corners of the former Soviet Union lies one of its darkest secrets; the disappearance, in a single lifetime, of the Aral Sea (Orol Dengizi), once the fourth largest inland sea in the world. Moynaq (population 12,000), 210km north of Nukus, encapsulates more visibly than anywhere the absurd tragedy of the Aral Sea. Once one of the sea’s two major fishing ports, it now stands some 180km from the water. What remains of Moynaq’s fishing fleet lies rusting on the sand in the former seabed.

Muynak (Moynoq, in Uzbek Latin, Mojnak in Karakalpak) was once the largest port on the Aral, a finger of coast where a significant part of the Aral catch was processed and canned.
The Regional History and Aral Sea Museum

30 min

The Muynak Regional Studies Museum also known as Ecological Museum of Muynak can be called one of the most unique museums in Uzbekistan. This museum, modest by metropolitan standards, with less than two hundred exhibits, tells the visitors a tragic story of the bygone era, when things were humming in this region and the Aral Sea was so large and affluent that it was called as sea.

Day 2 · Kurgancha kala, Urga, Qibla Ustyurt, Sudoche lake, Mizdakhan Necrapolis, Amudarya river, Ayazkala,

Stop 1

one hour

Sudoche lake is a natural lake close to the Aral Sea rich with its flora and fauna. Urga village, Kibla Ustyurt village are remote areas worth to visit around
Mizdakhan Necropolis

30 min

Mizdakhan necropolis, ancient cemetery, located next to the remains of the Gyaur-Kala fortress, is one of the oldest and most visited pilgrimage sites of Karakalpakstan. The fortress received its name during the Arab conquest, and means “a fortress of disbelievers”, as scientists found that the inhabitants of the fortress used to be Zoroastrians before the Arab conquest.

Mizdakhan arose near the city of the fire-worshipers in around II-IV centuries BC, then it turned into one of the most revered Muslim shrines of Central Asia. The name of the city of Khojali, located on the bank of the Amudarya near the capital of Karakalpakstan - Nukus, means "the land of pilgrims". Necropolis of Mizdakhan (IV century BC - XIV century AD) is a huge complex of age-diverse antiquities and includes one of the most ancient cemeteries in Central Asia.
Ayaz-Kala

30 min

At the end of the day, overnight is at Ayazkala yurt camp where you can sleep in the middle of the desert.
4
Stop 4

one hour
During traditional jeep tours to the Aral Sea, tourists typically visit nearly all the attractions of the Ustyurt Plateau in Uzbekistan:
- Kurgancha-Kala – a 13th-century fortress, also known as Karganshikala and Davlet-girey, served as an outpost on the caravan route along the Aral Sea coast. Today, a tourist yurt camp is located nearby.
- Kubla-Ustyurt – a settlement built in 1964 along the gas pipeline route. Currently, several hundred people live here, raising camels and selling genuine camel milk.
- Urga – a cape with an abandoned settlement and the ruins of a lighthouse above Sudochye Lake. Once home to Russian settlers engaged in fishing, the village gradually fell into disuse and decay, though fishermen still visit today.
- Barsakelmes – a salt marsh covering a thousand square kilometers. Today, salt is industrially harvested here. It is located 200 km from the city of Nukus.
Barsa-Kelmes

20 min

Barsakelmes – a salt marsh covering a thousand square kilometers. Today, salt is industrially harvested here. It is located 200 km from the city of Nukus. The meaning is that it is a non-returnable place, due to its remoteness

Day 3 · Visit to 7 fortresses

Ayaz-Kala

one hour

Ayaz-Kala is an archaeological site in Ellikqala District, Karakalpakstan, in northern Uzbekistan, built between the 4th century BCE and the 7th century CE. Situated on a hilltop overlooking the Kyzylkum Desert, the site encompasses the ruins of an ancient Khorezm fortress. At the southern end of the axis is a square gateway, which is a typical element of frontier fortresses of Khorezm. The enemies' approach lies parallel to the south east walls and invaders were vulnerable to attack from above. A massive gateway defended by two rectangular towers leads into a small rectangular chamber. This chamber was overlooked on all sides by high walls from which bowmen could shoot at the enemy in case the first gate was breached
Fortress Toprak Kala

30 min Admission not included

Toprak Kala is dated in the Kushan period, around the 2nd and 3rd centuries CE and was the royal residence of the kings of the Khorezm. The place, having first served as a Royal sanctuary, was briefly abandoned in the early 4th century and then after some restorations, was used as an administrative citadel for the city.
Stop 3

20 min

Guldursun Kala is a fortified town. The exterior walls and towers date to the 12th century CE. Much ancient and medieval pottery and many bronze items and coins were found within the site during archeological excavations. The coins indicate that the last period of occupation is related to the year 1220, during the rule of Muhammad Khorezmshah and the time of the Mongol invasion of Khorezm
Kyzyl Kala

20 min Admission not included

Guldursun Kala is a fortified town. The exterior walls and towers date to the 12th century CE. Much ancient and medieval pottery and many bronze items and coins were found within the site during archeological excavations. The coins indicate that the last period of occupation is related to the year 1220, during the rule of Muhammad Khorezmshah and the time of the Mongol invasion of Khorezm
Koi Krylgan Kala

20 min

Kizil Kala was originally constructed in the Late Antique period, 1st to 4th centuries CE, but was abandoned and then rebuilt in the 12th-13th centuries on the eve of the Mongol invasions. There is some debate about how this fortress may have been used in ancient times, with some scholars proposing that it was a garrison barracks for troops, whilst others suggest it was an early example of the many fortified manor houses that were typical of Khorezm in the early medieval periods
Stop 6

20 min

The Angka-kala settlement (I–III centuries, X–XII centuries A.D.) is situated 22 kilometres north of Turtkul city. The Fortress is well preserved and has an almost square form in the architectural plan. Here you can still see a corridor formed by the outer and inner walls, rectangular towers, loopholes shaped for shooting that are cut through the exterior wall, and towers in a single line. It is noteworthy that almost all the bricks overlapping the loopholes are marked with tamga – a sign of a master. An ancient Khorezm inscription found on one of the bricks consists of five characters engraved in a single line.

The monument belongs to the late antiquity culture of Khorezm (I–III centuries A.D.). The extant ceramics found in the Fortress date back to this period. However, the well-preserved fortified constructions were probably used during the Middle Ages (X–XII centuries).
Itchan Kala

20 min

Duman Kala composed of three adjacent sections – a square-shaped western enclosure with corner towers; a smaller square-shaped citadel; and an irregular four-sided northern enclosure, the remains of which can no longer been seen. The western citadel is the best-preserved section, especially along its northern side, but only small section of the eastern enclosure remains

Meeting point and pickup

You can be picked up from your accommodation or go straight to the meeting point.

Meeting point

We can meet the visitor at Ota Darvoza, Western gate in Ichan Qala, Khiva

End point

We can meet the visitor at Ota Darvoza, Western gate in Ichan Qala, Khiva

Pickup points

Ancient Khiva
Deshon Qala Guest House
Zarafshon Boutique Hotel
Khiva Boyjon Ota
Hotel Sarbon Khiva

We can pick up from hotel, airport or train station in Khiva (Urgench or Nukus).

Cancellation

Free cancellation

If you cancel at least 3 full day(s) before the scheduled departure time, you will receive a full refund.<br>If you cancel within 3 day(s) of the scheduled departure, you will receive a 0% refund.