2 days

|

1 night

2 days

|

1 night

Aral Sea Tour in Uzbekistan

Journey to the Aral Sea provides a unique opportunity to explore the contrasting landscapes of the vanished sea and the new Aralkum desert.

Excursions to the Aral Sea start in Nukus, home to the Savitsky Art Museum, boasting one of the largest collections of Russian avant-garde art. Along the way, you can explore ancient ruins of a lighthouse on the Ustyurt Plateau and visit the former port town of Muynak with its ship graveyard.

Visiting Lake Sudochie reveals the richness of the local fauna, including over 200 species of birds. Your 4x4 off-road journey concludes with a tour of the Aralkum desert with its impressive salt fields and ravines reminiscent of the Grand Canyon. After completing the tour, you'll return to Nukus, where you can explore other historical cities of Uzbekistan such as Bukhara, Khiva, or Samarkand.

Trip Overview

Travel Style Adventure tours
Countries Uzbekistan
Route Nukus - Ustyurt Plateau - Aral Sea - Muynak - Nukus

Detailed Route

We start our Aral Sea adventure trip on SUV 4x4 cars (Toyota Land Cruiser) from your hotel in Nukus / Airport.

En-route you’ll visit the architectural complex of the XIV century Mizdakhan and the ruins of Gaur Kala fortress of Zoroastrian epoch.

Continue to Sudochie Lake, upon arrival sightseeing of surroundings: climb to the ruins of Lighthouse, visit abandoned fisherman’s village Urga.
Lunch at Urga Village

Continue to visit Kubla Ustyurt settlement a small town built during the Soviet times in the middle of Ustyurt Plateau, here we can taste fresh camel milk and visit to abandon runway. 

Arrival to Aral Sea shoreline, accommodation in yurt camp. 

Free at leisure time, discover the surroundings, swimming in the sea. 

Dinner.

Places to Visit

Ustyurt Plateau, Aral Sea


Breakfast

Visit the hidden fortress of Kurgancha Kala (XII-XIV), fortified trading center of the Great Silk Road in early medieval period and nomads cemetery of 13 century. 

Drive to Muynak (former fisherman town). The road will pass via dried bottom of the Aral Sea, well see & take pictures of Great Canyons of Ustyurt Plateau. 

In Muynak we'll visit the cemetery of ship, local history museum 
Lunch

Continue driving to Nukus. Arrival in the aftenoon.

Places to Visit

Muynak, Ustyurt Plateau.


Prices and Conditions

Included in the Cost

  • Accommodation in yurt camp
  • 4 Meals according to the programme
  • Transportation on 4WD SUV with AC

Not Included in the Cost

  • Airfare international and local
  • Escort guide service 120$ for 2 days
  • Medical insurance
  • Entrance fees
  • Lost, damaged, stolen luggage
  • Tips to driver, guides

Photo Gallery

Once one of the largest inland bodies of water in the world, the Aral Sea fell victim to human intervention. Soviet irrigation plans in the 60s took water from rivers to fill reservoirs and irrigation fields, leading to the sea shrinking by over 90 percent in size. As the water receded, the Aralkum Desert was left as a monument of an environmental tragedy on a grand scale.

An Aral Sea tour offers a truly unique adventure into a harsh, otherworldly landscape, unlike anywhere else. It is a trip that is certain to leave a lasting impression in your memories.

Your Aral Sea tour will begin in Nukus city, famous for the Savitsky Art Museum. It contains one of the largest and most valuable collections of Russian avant-garde art found anywhere in the world, 2nd only to the collection in the St. Petersburg Museum of Avant-Garde. The Savitsky Art Museum is a hidden treasure trove of artistic and historical importance.

On your way to the Aral Sea tour, you will have the chance to explore ancient ruins of a lighthouse on the former banks of the sea on the Ustyurt Plateau. The ghost port of Muynak will give you glimpses into the past, with the ship cemetery of an abandoned fishing fleet, left to rust away as they became stranded miles from the sea. They have a museum that explains what the area was like before the exploitation of the environment changed the way of life, forever.

A visit to Sudochie Lake will give you more insight into what has been lost, as it is home to over 200 species of birds. Some endangered species have even been discovered in the wetland among the reedbeds of the lake.

Your trip to explore the Aral Sea will be by 4x4 SUV, and what adventure would be complete without an overnight stay in a yurt, with dinner around the campfire. Your tour of the Aralkum Desert will allow you to experience huge salt fields, which appear in the distance as if they are snow-covered hills. There are ravines reminiscent of the Grand Canyon to discover among the sprawling desert landscape.

You will be returned to Nukus when your tour is complete, giving you the opportunity to visit other historic cities of Uzbekistan. Perhaps you'll choose to visit Bukhara, Khiva, or Samarkand, the oldest continuously inhabited city in Central Asia. Located on the ancient Silk Road trading route, these cities boast impressive mausoleums and mosques that are highly recommended to visit.

The history of the Aral Sea changed forever when large-scale construction of an irrigation system began in the 1960s. No one imagined the eventual fate of the area and the destruction caused by the change. The 4th largest inland sea in the world, covered an area of over 67,000 square kilometers before construction began, with a length of 427km or 265 miles.

Irrigation was needed to serve cotton plantations in the area. With the irrigation system in place, the plantations grew in size, greatly increasing the water from the Amudarya and the Syrdarya rivers used in irrigation. These were the main rivers flowing into the Aral, with the loss of water causing the unforeseen destruction of the sea.

The Aral Sea is a contradiction. On the one hand, a disaster to the environment and the lives of the people living in the region. And on the other, a uniquely beautiful and strange place of contrasts, which are difficult to find anywhere else.

Understandably, travel to the Aral Sea is attracting more tourists, for both its amazing scenery and the tragic appeal the region offers. Seemingly unending views across the newly created desert await, with unforgettable adventures into an environment unlike any other on offer, when you book a tour of the Aral Sea.


Tour Cost

Tours by Directions

Tour Cost
2 people
304$
3 people
243$
4 people
212$

For residents of Uzbekistan payment is made in the national currency at the rate on the day of payment

For groups of more than 10 people - price on request

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