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Places to see

Monuments, bazaars and landscapes across the country, with what each one is and how to visit it.

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24 places

Karakalpakstan

  • South Ustyurt National ParkNature

    Kungrad district, KarakalpakstanUNESCO World Heritage

    South Ustyurt National Park

    A national nature park created in 2020 on the Ustyurt plateau in the far west of Karakalpakstan, in the Kungrad district.

  • Ayaz-KalaArchaeology

    Ellikkala district

    Ayaz-Kala

    Three ancient fortresses on and below a desert hill in the Kyzylkum, with a view over a salt lake; a yurt camp nearby offers overnight stays.

  • Toprak-KalaArchaeology

    Ellikkala district

    Toprak-Kala

    The remains of a walled town and royal palace of ancient Khorezm, with a high citadel rising above a rectangular grid of streets.

  • Kyzyl-KalaArchaeology

    Ellikkala district

    Kyzyl-Kala

    A small square fortress of ancient Khorezm near Toprak-Kala, whose thick walls have been partly restored, giving a clear idea of their original form.

  • ChilpikArchaeology

    Between Nukus and Beruniy

    Chilpik

    A round Zoroastrian tower of silence on a lone hill by the Amu Darya, south of Nukus, where the dead were once exposed to the elements.

  • Moynaq and the ship cemeteryNature

    Moynaq

    Moynaq and the ship cemetery

    A former fishing port on the Aral Sea, now far from the water, where rusting boats lie on the old seabed and a local museum tells the town's story.

  • Sudochye LakeNature

    Amu Darya delta

    Sudochye Lake

    A system of shallow lakes and reed beds in the delta of the Amu Darya, near the former Aral shore, important as a stopover for migrating birds.

  • Aral SeaNature

    Moynaq district, Karakalpakstan

    Aral Sea

    Once the world's fourth-largest lake, the Aral has shrunk to a fraction of its size since the 1960s, leaving the Aralkum desert behind.

  • Saigachy State ReserveNature

    Kungrad District

    Saigachy State Reserve

    A vast protected area on the north-western Ustyurt plateau, set up in 1991 to protect the saiga antelope and its breeding grounds.

  • Akchakhan-KalaArchaeology

    Beruniy district, Karakalpakstan

    Akchakhan-Kala

    Ruins of an ancient Khorezmian fortress in the desert of Beruniy district, built in the 4th–3rd century BCE and known for its painted ceremonial halls.

  • Moynaq Aral Sea MuseumMuseums

    Moynaq

    Moynaq Aral Sea Museum

    The local museum of Moynaq, a former Aral Sea port, telling the story of its fishing past, with paintings of the old coast.

  • Savitsky MuseumMuseums

    Nukus

    Savitsky Museum

    The State Museum of Arts of Karakalpakstan in Nukus, known for its collection of Soviet-era avant-garde painting alongside Karakalpak crafts and Khorezm archaeology.

  • Koy-Krylgan-KalaArchaeology

    Ellikkala district

    Koy-Krylgan-Kala

    An unusual circular building of ancient Khorezm, a round central tower inside a ring wall, thought to have served religious and funerary purposes.

  • Ustyurt Plateau and the Aral shoreNature

    North-west Karakalpakstan

    Ustyurt Plateau and the Aral shore

    A flat desert plateau that ends in tall pale cliffs above the remaining waters of the Aral Sea, reached on multi-day trips by four-wheel drive.

  • MizdakhanMausoleums

    Khodjeyli

    Mizdakhan

    A vast hilltop necropolis near Khodjeyli, west of Nukus, with mausoleums, old graves and the ruins of a town, still visited by pilgrims.

  • Sultan Uvays Bobo ShrineMausoleums

    Beruniy District

    Sultan Uvays Bobo Shrine

    A pilgrimage complex on the slope of the Sultan Uvays hills in Karakalpakstan, about 35 km from Beruniy, with tombs, a holy spring and a fish pool.

  • Janbas-KalaFortresses

    Turtkul district

    Janbas-Kala

    A rectangular Khorezmian fortress of the 4th century BC to 2nd century AD in Turtkul district, with 10–11 m walls and a fire temple.

  • Fortresses

    Khojeyli

    Gyaur Kala (Mizdakhan)

    Ruined fortress on the south side of the Mizdakhan site near Khojeyli, occupied from the 4th century BC until the Mongols destroyed it in 1221.

  • Fortresses

    Karauzyak district

    Jampyk Kala

    Ruined walled town of about 12 ha on the right bank of the Amu Darya below the Sultan Uvays range, occupied from the 4th century BC to the 14th century.

  • Nature

    Muynak district

    Aralkum National Nature Park

    National park created in 2022 on the dried bed of the Aral Sea in Muynak district, covering about 1 million hectares including the former Vozrozhdeniya island.

  • Archaeology

    Qoʻngʻirot district

    Beleuli Caravanserai

    Ruined 14th-century caravanserai on the Ustyurt plateau, on the old route from Khorezm to the Volga, with 14 rooms and a carved relief of two lions.

  • Archaeology

    Ellikqala

    Guldursun Qala

    Massive mud-brick fortress near Ellikqala, occupied from the 2nd century BC until the Mongols destroyed it in the early 13th century.