Daytrip to Nukus Museum and Four Fortresses

Daytrip Duration: 8-12 hours
Sightseeing time: 4-5 hours
Driving time: 8-9 hours
Driving Distance : 465 km.
Included: Hands-Free Brochures, a good drivers with new Cars with AC, pick up and drop off at your location and Mineral water (0.5l. per person)
Not Included: Entrance tickets, meals, camel riding, Yurt Camp stay & etc

Our driver will pick you up from your hotel, the train station, or the airport in either Khiva or Urgench to start the day trip. The best time to leave is early in the morning, around 6:00–7:00 a.m.

👉 Please note: the Nukus Art Museum is closed every Monday. For updated opening times, check here: http://museum.kr.uz/visiting/

It takes about 2–3 hours to reach the Nukus Art Museum. Plan to spend 1–2 hours exploring the Karakalpak State Museum of Art named after Igor Savitsky. This world-famous museum holds one of the largest collections of Russian and Soviet avant-garde paintings.

Lunch options in Nukus

After the museum, you can enjoy lunch in Nukus City. We recommend:

Cinnamon Café (just across from the museum)

Premier Lounge

Karakalpagim (for traditional local food)

Neo Restaurant

If you prefer, you can also have lunch later in one of the restaurants located between the fortresses.

Chilpik Kala

About 40 minutes from Nukus lies Chilpik Kala, an ancient Zoroastrian dakhma (Tower of Silence). Here, bodies were once placed under the open sky for birds to clean the bones. Families later collected the bones and placed them in clay or stone containers for burial. The site was built in the first centuries CE and rebuilt in the 7th–8th and again in the 9th–10th centuries.

Kizil Kala

Originally built in the 1st–4th centuries CE, Kizil Kala was later abandoned and rebuilt in the 12th–13th centuries, just before the Mongol invasions. Historians are still unsure of its original purpose: some think it was used as a military garrison, while others believe it was an early example of a fortified manor house.

Toprak Kala

Dating back to the 2nd–3rd centuries CE during the Kushan period, Toprak Kala was once the royal residence of Khorezm kings. The huge structure in the northwest corner is one of the best-preserved Kushan-era buildings in Central Asia. After serving as a royal palace, it was abandoned in the early 4th century, then later restored and used as the city’s main administrative fortress.

Akchakul Lake

Next, you’ll stop at Akchakul Lake, a beautiful natural spot with restaurants, a minimarket, and rest facilities. Yurt camps around the lake offer local meals, drinks, and even ice cream made from fresh local milk. In summer, visitors can swim in the lake or relax with a natural sand bath.

Ayaz Kala

Finally, you’ll visit Ayaz Kala, one of the most impressive fortresses in the region. In fact, it’s a complex of three fortresses built on a high hill at the eastern end of the Sultan-Uiz-dahg range. Founded during the Afrighid period (7th–8th centuries CE), the fortress was designed to protect the region from nomadic raids. Nearby, you’ll also find yurts and a rest area overlooking a scenic lake.

Return

After visiting all these sites, it takes about 90 minutes to drive back to Khiva or 60 minutes to Urgench. At the end of the day, the driver will drop you off at your hotel, the train station, or the airport in either city — free of charge.