Qo‘ng‘irot District

Setting and history

Formed on 24 July 1927, briefly merged into Khojeyli in 1963 and restored in 1964, Qo‘ng‘irot District borders Moynaq to the northeast, Bozatau across the Amu Darya to the east, Qanlikol and Shumanay to the southeast, Turkmenistan to the south and Kazakhstan’s Atyrau and Aktobe regions to the west and north. At 74,490 km² it is the largest district in Karakalpakstan, home to 138,400 people in 2026.

It includes the town of Kungrad and the settlements of Jaslyk, Oltinkol, Akchalak, Elobod, Karakalpakstan and South Ustyurt; Kungrad is a key station on the Tashkent–Nukus–Beyneu railway.

What to see

Most of the district is Ustyurt Plateau: sheer escarpments, desert landscapes, the ancient hunters’ “Ustyurt arrows” and the Beleuli caravanserai on the Khorezm–Volga road. The Saigachiy reserve and the South Ustyurt National Park, created in 2020, protect its wildlife.