Samarkand Group Day Tour: Five Monuments with a Local Guide
Five monuments in a day with a licensed guide: the Registan, Gur-e-Amir, Bibi-Khanym, Shah-i-Zinda and Ulugh Beg's observatory. Transport included. From $20.
Aral Sea Day Trip from Nukus: Moynaq Ship Cemetery and the Savitsky Museum
The story of the Aral Sea in one day from Nukus: the Savitsky Museum's famous collection of Russian avant-garde art, the ancient necropolis of Mizdakhan, and the rusting ships on the old sea bed at Moynaq. Private car and English-speaking guide.
About this trip
Nukus and Moynaq tell one of the great stories of the 20th century. Moynaq was a busy fishing port on the Aral Sea until the rivers that fed the sea were diverted for cotton. The water has retreated more than 100 km, and the fishing boats now lie on the sand below the town. In Nukus, the Savitsky Museum holds one of the world's largest collections of Russian avant-garde art, saved from the Soviet censors by one determined man.
What you see
- The Savitsky Museum in Nukus, with its avant-garde paintings and the archaeology of ancient Khorezm
- Mizdakhan, a vast hilltop necropolis used for more than two thousand years
- The ship cemetery at Moynaq, below the memorial on the old shoreline
- The Aral Sea museum in Moynaq, with photographs of the town when the sea was still there
How the day goes
About 10–11 hours. The museum first, while it is quiet, then about 3 hours' drive north to Moynaq with a stop at Mizdakhan, and back to Nukus in the evening. The Savitsky Museum is closed on some days; we plan the order around its opening hours.
Good to know
To see the shore of the Aral Sea itself, you need a 4×4 and a night in a yurt camp on the Ustyurt plateau: ask us for the 2-day version. Coming from Khiva? Our Khiva → Nukus transfer gets you there the day before.
Day by day
- Savitsky Museum
Pickup at your hotel and about two hours in the museum with your guide: the avant-garde collection and the finds from ancient Khorezm.
- Mizdakhan necropolis
A hill of tombs and mausoleums near Khojeyli, used from before Islam to the present day, with views over the Amu Darya delta.
- Moynaq ship cemetery
About 3 hours north to Moynaq. Walk among the rusting boats on the old sea bed, below the memorial on the former shoreline.
- Aral Sea museum and lunch
The small museum of Moynaq's fishing past, and a late lunch in town (paid on the spot).
- Back to Nukus
The drive back south to your hotel in Nukus, arriving in the evening.
What's included
- Private car with driver for the day
- Your own English-speaking guide (other languages: see the options)
- Pickup and drop-off at your hotel in Nukus
- Bottled water
Not included
- Museum tickets (Savitsky Museum, Aral Sea museum)
- Lunch and drinks
- Tips for guide and driver
- Travel insurance — required for every traveller
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