Aral Sea Tour: 3 days

Tour itinerary: Tashkent – Nukus – Aral Sea – Muynak – Ayaz-kala – Khiva

Season: all year round

Days: 3 | Nights: 2

Welcome to Aral Sea! This land in Uzbekistan is full of mystery and salt is being constantly visited since 2010x. We providing this safe and comfortable 3-days tour on SUV from Nukus to Muynak, going by circle around present Aral Sea.

The tour program will lead you through Aral Sea territory, visiting ancient Khorazm sights, Muynak and old sea coast, abandoned settlements nearby Kyzylkum desert with necropolis.

Day 1

Tashkent – Nukus – Aral Sea

Meet the driver at the hotel in Tashkent.

06:00 Transfer to the local airport.

07:25 Flight Tashkent - Nukus HY 11.

09:05 Arrival in Nukus.

Come out of the terminal and meet the driver.

Transfer to Aral Sea lake shore with sightseeing and photo stops en-route.

The Aral Sea is the former fourth largest lake in the world bordering on Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. In 1960-s the construction of melioration canals for cotton irrigation from the Amu Darya River began, the Aral Sea began to shallow. The area of the Aral Sea is rapidly decreasing, towns and villages that once the seaports are now far away from the present sea line.

The same is with Muynak, once located on the shore of the Aral Sea, now it is separated from the sea by 200 kilometers.

Photo stop in Ustyurt Plateau to enjoy unusual landscapes.

Arrival in the yurt camp, located the nearby Aral Sea.

Resting time in the afternoon.

BBQ dinner and overnight in a yurt.

Day 2

Aral Sea – Muynak – Nukus

Camp-style breakfast.

09:00 Transfer to Muynak via beautiful Red Canyons with the beautiful and unusual Martian landscape. Arrival in Muynak city that used to be one of the richest cities in the delta of Amu-Darya,” the gates to Uzbekistan from the sea”. Nowadays there is only the cemetery of the Aral Sea.

- Visit Mizdakhan necropolis on the way back to Nukus (about 20 km from Nukus), an ancient cemetery, and located next to the remains of the Gyaur-Kala fortress (4-3 Century BC).

- Gaur Kala (translated as the fortress of pagans) was a Zoroastrian town with the citadel, the fire altar, and a large cemetery nearby. Even after the Arab invasion and Islam expansion, the town was inhabited until 14th Century and people continued to bury their relatives in Mizdakhan as they believed the place was a sacred place.

Arrival in Nukus.

Resting time in the afternoon. Overnight at the hotel.

Day 3

Nukus – Ayaz-kala – Khiva

Breakfast at the hotel.

09:00 Meet the driver in the lobby.

- Visit Savitsky Museum exhibiting a unique collection of antiques of Khorezm and Karakalpak, Uzbek fine arts, and second-largest collection of Russian avant-garde works after the Russian Museum in Saint Petersburg.

The founder of the museum, Igor Savitsky devoted his life to piece-by-piece collecting of the finest works of modern artists of Uzbekistan and Russian avant-gardists. In 70 s it was quite risky to become an anti-Soviet propagandist. During perestroika and first years since Uzbekistan independence, the museum earned world recognition and deserved rightfully the must-see site status in Central Asia.

Transfer to Khiva (180 km, ~ 3,5 hours) en-route photo stops at the ruins of fortresses of ancient Khorezm.

- Ayaz-Kala and Toprak-Kala, the fortresses of the Kushan period of Ancient Khorezm that used to be mighty border forts protecting the residents from raids of nomadic tribes. The forts were built in ~4-7th century BCE, during the ages when Khorezm achieved its independence. The fortresses are located on the hills quite close to each other and visitors are welcome to have a short overview tour in the monumental forts that currently are drowning in sands.

Arrival in Khiva. Check-in the hotel.

End of the tour.

Tour Price (PER PERSON):

Person in group	Standart
1	$855
2-3	$515
4-5	$460
Single supplement	$25

Book it!

- Accommodation in standard twin- shared rooms in Nukus;

- Accommodation in shared yurts in the yurt camp near the Aral Sea;

- Local English-speaking guide ( 2 standard excursions);

- All transfers as per program by comfortable tourist class/SUV transport as per road conditions;

- Meals: breakfasts in hotels; camp style breakfast, 2 lunches and dinner during Aral Sea trip (fixed menu, alcohol excluding);

- Single entry tickets to the sites, museums, mausoleums and nature fees as per program;

- Tourist tax per person;

- Bottled water 1 l per person per day.

- International flights, internal flight Tashkent - Nukus (economy class, price subject to change);

- Accommodation in Tashkent and Khiva (can be added by request);

- Photo/video fees (professional camera);

- E/visa to Uzbekistan (if required);

- Meals: lunches and dinners except those specified in “Tour Price Includes”;

- VAT, personal travel/medical insurance, portage, tips, personal expenses, and other services not specified under “Tour Price Includes”.

- Check-in 14.00, check-out time 11.00. No early check-in/ late check-out is included unless indicated;

- Please note that the tour price does not include seasonal VAT 15 %, VAT can be added to the basic tour price.

- Please note that the drivers do not speak English or can speak only basic English;

- All the changes in the basic itinerary, the timing for transfers depending on the international flight departure/arrival time are to be discussed and pre-agreed;

- Please note that the guesthouses and yurt camps provide basic shower and toilet conditions;

- Please note that the train trip/s can be replaced for transfer/s by car depending on train tickets availability and trains schedule;

- After the date of publication, any changes in the hotels, air/train ticket prices, tax increase, and exchange rate fluctuation may influence the tour prices;

- Anur Tour is not responsible for the force majeure occasions (weather conditions during the tour, repairing-reconstructing works at some parts of roads, government restrictions).

Accommodation: