Fortresses & the Aral

Karakalpakstan

Overview

Remote and starkly beautiful, the autonomous republic of Karakalpakstan in the far west is home to ancient desert fortresses, the world-class Savitsky art collection in Nukus, and the sobering, haunting remains of the Aral Sea.

Why Visit

The clay fortresses of ancient Khorezm rising from the desert
The Savitsky Museum, a treasure trove of Soviet avant-garde art
The ship graveyard at Moynaq on the former Aral seabed

Travel Tips

— Reaching the Aral Sea requires a 4x4 and an overnight stay
— Best explored as a dedicated adventure tour
— Pack for big temperature swings in the desert

Sights in Karakalpakstan

Museum · Founded 1966; current buildings from 2003

Savitsky Museum (State Museum of Arts of Karakalpakstan)

In Nukus, far from any art capital, stands one of the world’s great collections of Russian and Central Asian avant-garde painting, saved from Soviet censorship by one obsessive collector, Igor Savitsky. More than 100,000 items in all.

Monument · Fishing port until the 1980s; ships stranded from the 1970s–80s

Muynak Ship Cemetery and Aral Sea Museum

Rusting trawlers lying in the sand of a former seabed, in a town that was once the Aral Sea’s busiest fishing port. Muynak is the most direct way to understand one of the 20th century’s worst environmental disasters.

Fortress · 4th–3rd c. BC to 7th–8th c. AD

Ayaz-Kala Fortresses

Three mud-brick fortresses on desert hills above a salt lake, the most dramatic of the Elliq-Kala “fifty fortresses” of ancient Khorezm. Climb to the upper fort at sunset and stay in the yurt camp below.

Fortress · 1st–5th c. AD (palace 2nd–3rd c.)

Toprak-Kala

The ruined palace city of the kings of ancient Khorezm, laid out on a strict grid and dominated by a high palace mound. Its excavations yielded wall paintings, sculpture and the oldest written archive found in Khorezm.

Architectural ensemble · From the 4th c. BC; mausoleums mostly 12th–19th c.

Mizdakhan Necropolis

A hill of tombs west of Nukus that has been a burial ground for more than two thousand years, from Zoroastrian ossuaries to medieval mausoleums. Legend places the grave of Adam here and says the world will end when one tomb crumbles.

Nature

Aral Sea Shore

Reaching what remains of the Aral Sea takes a long 4x4 drive from Muynak over the old seabed and the Ustyurt plateau. The reward is a night in a yurt camp above the water, sunrise over the sea and a swim in water saltier than the ocean.

Fortress · 1st–4th c. AD; rebuilt 12th–13th c.

Kyzyl-Kala (Red Fortress)

A compact, square fortress of ancient Khorezm whose reddish walls have been partly restored, giving a clear idea of how these desert strongholds once looked. It stands a short drive from Toprak-Kala.

Monument · Late centuries BC – early centuries AD (dating debated)

Chilpik Dakhma

A ring of clay walls on a lone hill above the Amu Darya, used by the Zoroastrians of Khorezm for sky burial. Chilpik is one of the best-preserved towers of silence in Central Asia and appears on the emblem of Karakalpakstan.

Fortress · From the 4th c. BC; rebuilt 9th–12th c.

Gyaur-Kala at Mizdakhan

The ruined fortress of the ancient city of Mizdakhan, on a hill facing the necropolis near Khodjeyli. Crumbling walls, the outline of a citadel and wide views to the Turkmen border.