Ensemble · Khiva
Itchan Kala
A walled museum-city where people still live
Itineraries · Classic
Khiva and Khorezm in 3 days
Walled Itchan Kala, Khorezm's craftspeople and two-thousand-year-old fortresses in the desert — three days around Khiva.
Best time to go
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3 days
Day by day
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Day 1
From Urgench to Khiva (about 35 km). Itchan Kala: Kalta Minor and the Muhammad Amin Khan Madrasa, Kunya-Ark, the carved wooden columns of the Juma Mosque, Tash-Hauli Palace and the Pahlavan Mahmud Mausoleum. Sunset from the city wall.
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Day 2
Day trip to the Ellikkala oasis: the palace city of Toprak-Kala, hilltop Ayaz-Kala and Kyzyl-Kala — or stay the night in the yurt camp below Ayaz-Kala.
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Day 3
Dishan Kala and the Nurullabay Palace; carpet-weaving and wood-carving workshops; the view from the Islam Khodja Minaret. Evening flight from Urgench.
About the route
Khiva's inner town, Itchan Kala, became Uzbekistan's first World Heritage Site in 1990. Its mosques, madrasas, palaces and minarets, enclosed by walls some ten metres high, still share space with everyday neighbourhood life.
Across the Amu Darya, in Karakalpakstan, stand the fortresses of Ancient Khorezm — an easy day trip from Khiva.
Getting around
Fly from Tashkent to Urgench or take the overnight train to Khiva. You'll need a car with driver for the Ellikkala fortresses — there is no public transport.
From Khiva you can continue to Bukhara across the Kyzylkum by car or train.
When to go
April–May and September–October. Khorezm is scorching in summer and bitterly cold in winter; explore Itchan Kala early in the morning, before the tour groups arrive.
Khiva and Khorezm in 3 days
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