3-day Aral Sea and Barsa-Kelmes Tour

Depart Nukus in a 4WD vehicle for the Ustyurt Plateau, passing through the town of Kungrad on the way. We will follow a well-marked road before veering off onto a dirt path to get closer to Barsa-Kelmes Salt Marsh. Admire the surreal white surface as it stretches beyond the horizon, stopping for many amazing photographs along the way. After a picnic lunch we will pass by the ruins of a lighthouse and the abandoned village of Urga on the way to Sudochie Lake, a nesting place for a huge number of migratory birds. The next stop is the small village of Kubla-Ustyurt, built during the Soviet era. Here, you will learn about the region’s past. On the old runway, you can photograph an interesting building set against the rural landscape. Continue driving through the endless Ustyurt Plateau to reach the yurt camp near the shores of the Aral Sea, where you can relax over a hot meal and trace constellations in the clear, starry sky. Overnight in the yurt camp. Meals provided: picnic lunch, dinner

We recommend waking up at dawn, when the most gorgeous photographs of the Aral Sea landscape can be captured in the gleam of the rising sun. Depart for the Ustyurt Plateau after breakfast, stopping on the way to see the ruins of the 13th-century Kurgancha Kala Fortress. Continue driving several dozen kilometers through the salt flats, admiring many stunning, jagged cliffs along the way. Our excursion will end at the shores of the Aral Sea where, weather permitting, you can go for a swim before returning to the yurt camp. Dinner and overnight in the yurt camp. Meals provided: breakfast, lunch, dinner

After breakfast, begin the return drive to Nukus. On the way we will stop in Muynak to visit the "ship graveyard", a former port where the skeletons of abandoned ships now rust in the desert sands. You will also visit Muynak Regional Studies Museum (Muynak Aral Sea Museum) to discover some curious artifacts related to the history of the Aral Sea. Closer to Nukus we will visit Mizdakhan Necropolis and Gyaur-Kala Fortress, which are situated next to one another on several hills just 3-4 kilometers south of the town of Khojeyli. Stand amazed before the ten-meter-high fortress walls which continue to guard the ruins of two citadels, believed by archaeologists to have once been a palace and a Zoroastrian fire temple. Return to Nukus. End of Aral Sea and Barsa-Kelmes Tour. Meals provided: breakfast, lunch