From
$1,495 USD
Aral Sea Extension
Tour overview
Ship graveyard, Ustyurt cliffs and a night in a yurt on the shore
- Trip code
- PT-ARAL3
- Days
- 3
- From
- Tashkent
- To
- Tashkent
- Country visited
- Uzbekistan
- Group size
- 2–12
- Min age
- 12+
- Physical
- Guide languages
- 18 languages
Three days into Karakalpakstan by 4x4: the rusting fleet at Muynak, the Ustyurt plateau, a night in a yurt on what is left of the Aral shore, and the Mizdakhan necropolis.
The Aral Sea is not a sight, it is an argument. Fifty years ago Muynak was a fishing port with a cannery; today the boats sit on sand a hundred and fifty kilometres from the water, and the museum in town has photographs of the harbour they were tied up in.
What makes the trip more than grim tourism is the drive. You cross the dried seabed itself, climb onto the Ustyurt plateau where the old shoreline is a cliff, and come down to a yurt camp on the water that is left — salt enough to float in, like the Dead Sea. Sunrise there is the photograph everyone takes.
On the way back: Sudochye lake, where flamingos nest, the trading town of Kungrad, and the Mizdakhan necropolis, a Zoroastrian-era hill of tombs where pilgrims still leave stones.
This is a three-day add-on from Tashkent, flying both ways.
Inclusions & activities
What’s included
Destinations
Tashkent · Aral Sea
Meals
Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner
Transport
Domestic flight · 4x4 vehicle · Private vehicle
Accommodation
Yurt camp on the Aral shore, 3–4 people per yurt · Hotel in Tashkent
Included in the price13
- Hotel accommodation on a twin/double sharing basis
- Breakfast every morning at the hotel
- Air-conditioned private vehicle with a professional driver
- Licensed English-speaking guide for all sightseeing
- Entrance fees to every monument named in the itinerary
- 1 litre of bottled water per person per day
- Hotel and city tourist taxes
- Arrival and departure transfers
- 24/7 support from our Samarkand office during the trip
- Return domestic flights Tashkent–Nukus–Tashkent, economy class
- 4x4 vehicles with driver in Karakalpakstan, 3–4 people per car
- One night in a yurt camp on the Aral shore
- Two lunches and one dinner
Not included10
- International flights to and from Uzbekistan
- Visa fees where a visa is required
- Travel and medical insurance
- Lunches and dinners unless listed as included
- Drinks, including bottled water at restaurants
- Photo and video permits at monuments
- Tips for the guide and driver
- Porterage at airports, stations and hotels
- Personal expenses and anything not listed as included
- Sleeping bag hire if you want your own bedding
Your contact for this trip
Muzaffar Shermamatov
Founder
“Write to me with any question. I reply within 24 hours and will adjust the route to you.”
Route & itinerary
Tashkent → Aral Sea
Aral Sea
Day 1 of 3
Flight
Day 1 Tashkent to Nukus, Muynak and the Aral shore
Morning flight to Nukus, then drive north to Muynak. The ship graveyard: a dozen trawlers rusting on sand where the harbour used to be, and the local history museum with photographs of the port in the 1960s. Lunch in a guest house, then the long crossing of the dried seabed onto the Ustyurt plateau and down to the yurt camp on the shore. Dinner around the fire.
Moderate
- Muynak ship graveyard
- Muynak local history museum
- Ustyurt plateau crossing
Stay
Yurt camp on the Aral shore, 3–4 people per yurt
Getting around
Flight · Flight 1h50, then 6–7 hours by 4x4
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner included
Flight
Day 2 Sunrise on the Aral, then back to Tashkent
Get up for the sunrise; it is the reason to sleep out here. After breakfast, the Kurgancha-Kala settlement, then the road south through the Kungrad district, past the ruined lighthouse and the abandoned village of Urga, with a stop at Sudochye lake where migrating flamingos nest. Picnic lunch on the road. Then the Mizdakhan necropolis and Gyaur-Kala fortress before the evening flight from Nukus back to Tashkent.
Moderate
- Kurgancha-Kala
- Sudochye lake
- Mizdakhan necropolis
- Gyaur-Kala fortress
Stay
Hotel in Tashkent
Getting around
Flight · 5–6 hours by 4x4, then a 1h50 flight
Breakfast, Lunch included
Flight
Day 3 Depart Tashkent
Breakfast, then a transfer to the airport or on to the next part of your trip.
Moderate
Getting around
Flight · Airport transfer, 30–40 minutes
Breakfast included
Aral Sea
Day 1 of 3
Read this first
Before you book
Yurt camps are shared: 3–4 people per yurt with washrooms and showers in a separate block, and men and women accommodated separately unless you book the whole yurt. Camps operate roughly from 15 April to 30 October and can close at short notice in bad weather.
Yurt nights on the Aral are usually possible from 15 April to 30 October and depend on the weather. Uzbekistan Airways changes the Nukus schedule at short notice; if the flight moves we adjust the road timings around it.
This is a rough-road trip. The 4x4 sections are long, there are no facilities between stops, and the camp has shared washrooms. Everything about it is worth it, but come prepared.
Before you book
Questions about this trip
Can you actually swim in the Aral?
Yes, when the weather allows. The salinity is now high enough that you float the way you do in the Dead Sea, and it stings any cut you have. Rinse off afterwards with the water you brought — there is no fresh water at the shore.
How comfortable is the yurt camp?
Basic and clean. Three or four people to a yurt on mattresses on the floor, shared washrooms and showers in a separate block, a generator for a few hours in the evening, and dinner cooked over a fire. Men and women are accommodated separately unless you book a whole yurt.
How big is the group?
Never more than twelve travellers. Group departures run from two people; if a date sells beyond twelve, we open a second group with its own guide rather than enlarge the first. On a private tour the group is just your own party.
When is the best time to do this trip?
April to early June and September to early November are the two sweet spots: 20–28°C, clear light on the tilework, and fruit in the bazaars. July and August regularly pass 40°C, so summer departures start earlier and keep the middle of the day for museums and lunch. Winter is cold but empty — Registan without a crowd is worth the coat.
Do I need a visa for Uzbekistan?
Citizens of most of Europe, the UK, Japan, South Korea, Israel, Turkey and much of Latin America enter visa-free for 30 days. Everyone else can apply online at e-visa.gov.uz, which takes two to three working days. Your passport must be valid for six months beyond the date you arrive. We will confirm what applies to your nationality when you book.
Can I join as a solo traveller?
Yes. Solo travellers pay a single supplement for their own room, which we quote with the trip. On group departures we do not pair strangers in a room unless both of you ask us to.
What if I am vegetarian or have allergies?
Tell us when you book. Uzbek cooking is meat-heavy but every restaurant we use can produce good vegetarian food — the salads, breads, pumpkin manti and vegetable stews are excellent — and we brief each restaurant ahead of your arrival. Gluten-free is harder because bread is central, but it is workable with notice.
Payment, date changes and cancellation
- Nothing to pay until 60 days before the start — the booking holds without a card.
- Change your dates free of charge up to 60 days ahead; from day 59, 20% of what you have paid.
- Cancel 60 days or more ahead and nothing is kept.
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Take the itinerary with you
We’ll email you the full day-by-day plan for Aral Sea Extension as a PDF — read it offline, print it, or share it with your travel companions.
One email with the PDF, no mailing list. We may follow up once about this trip — reply “no thanks” and that’s the end of it.
Reading for this trip
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