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Itineraries · Expedition

Karakalpakstan and the Aral Sea: a 4-day expedition

The Savitsky Museum in Nukus, Muynak's ship graveyard, a night on the Aral shore and the fortresses of Ancient Khorezm — a journey into the desert and deep history.

4 daysKarakalpakstan → KhorezmMay, June, September, October

Best time to go

Karakalpakstan and the Aral Sea: a 4-day expedition
Photo: Koshkinhome · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

4 days

Day by day

  1. Day 1

    Karakalpakstan

    Nukus: the Savitsky Museum of Art, with its remarkable collection of Russian avant-garde and Karakalpak folk art. In the afternoon, the ancient necropolis of Mizdakhan near Khodjeyli.

    Savitsky Museum (State Museum of Arts of Karakalpakstan)Museum · Karakalpakstan

  2. Day 2

    Karakalpakstan

    To Muynak (about 200 km) for the ship graveyard of this former port and the Aral Sea museum. Then by 4×4 along the edge of the Ustyurt Plateau to the Aral shore, with a night in a yurt camp by the water.

    Moynaq Ship CemeteryMuseum · Karakalpakstan

  3. Day 3

    Karakalpakstan

    Sunrise over the Aral and views of the Ustyurt escarpments (chinks); back to Nukus in the evening.

  4. Day 4

    Karakalpakstan

    The Ellikkala oasis: the Ancient Khorezm fortresses of Toprak-Kala, Ayaz-Kala and Kyzyl-Kala, with Chilpik, a Zoroastrian «tower of silence», on the way.

    Ayaz KalaArchaeology · Karakalpakstan

    Khorezm

    Evening arrival in Khiva or Urgench, from where you can join the classic route or fly to Tashkent.

About the route

Karakalpakstan is Uzbekistan's largest and least populated region. It bears the marks of one of the 20th century's worst environmental disasters, the shrinking of the Aral Sea: Muynak was once a fishing port, and the water now lies tens of kilometres away.

It is also the land of the Ancient Khorezm fortresses, some founded before the Common Era, and home to the Savitsky Museum in Nukus, known to art lovers around the world.

Logistics and conditions

Fly or take the train from Tashkent to Nukus. There is no paved road from Muynak to the Aral shore — only a 4×4 with an experienced driver will do. Camp facilities are basic and mobile coverage patchy.

Bring drinking water, a hat, warm layers (desert nights are cold) and cash.

When to go

May to June and September to October. Summer days are scorching and winters bitterly cold.

Karakalpakstan and the Aral Sea: a 4-day expedition

Sights along the way

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