Discover 2000 years old Ancient Fortresses on the way from Khiva to Nukus
Daytrip Duration: 7-9 hours
Sightseeing time: 2-3 hours
Driving time: 4-5 hours
Driving Distance: 260 km.
Included: Hands-Free Brochures, a good drivers with new Cars with AC, pick up and drop off at your location and Mineral water (0.5l. per person)
Not Included: Entrance tickets, meals, camel riding, Yurt Camp stay & etc
Making Reservation of our trips we only need from your side to confirm and provide following details related to your reservation in order to check availability, book and organize it with our team:
1. Name of the Trip, Transfer or Service interested.
2. Date of the Trip, Transfer or Service interested.
3. Please state type of Transport and confirm the Price.
4. Number of Travelers (luggage if available) in your group.
5. Full names of all Travelers including info about Citizenship and Passport/ID Card numbers.
6. Pick up and starting time of the Trips or Transfers (contact us for recommendations).
7. Pick up and starting place of the Trips or Transfers (name of your hotel, Airport or Railway Station)
8. Drop off and ending place of the Trips or Transfers (name of your hotel, Airport or Railway Station)
9. Please state your contact information: Email, Mobile Phone or WhatsApp Numbers.
That is all we need to know from your side in advance to check availability, make a reservation or to organize the requested services.
We pick you up from Urgench Airport, Khiva / Urgench Train Station or from your hotel in Khiva or Urgench and start the Daytrip from there. You can start the Daytrip at any time of the day. It is recommended to start the trip in the morning after breakfast around 08:00 am. It takes about two hours to drive from Khiva to the first fortress.
First fortress is Jampik Kala. The earliest foundations are ancient (4th BCE – 1st CE) but the walls visible today date to the medieval period, in the 9th to 10th centuries CE. There are domestic and industrial areas within the fortress which date to the 12th to 14th centuries CE. On the Northwest side of the fortress is a palace building or citadel with walls that preserve the elegant fluted facade moldings indicative of medieval architecture in Khorezm (V.N.Yagodin & A.V.G.Betts (2006) Ancient Khorezm, UNESCO).
The second fortress Gyaur Kala – was founded in the Early Antique period and continued in use until the 4th Century CE. Today all that can be seen of the fortress is the north wall and a short section of the western one. The fortress originally had a trapezoidal plan, with typical Khorezmian double walls and double stores archer’s galleries, towers, and arrow slits. Only base of the eastern wall remains, while the southern side has disappeared completely, washed away by the river. The northern wall is about 200 meters long while the east and west walls were once over 400 meters long. Gyaur Kala remained in use into the Kushan period, around the 3rd century CE.
It is possible to stop at the Minimarket or Restaurant to have a lunch after visiting 2 fortresses. There are not much choices of restaurants on the way but it is nice to try local meals there. You can also find and use a washroom there.
Third and the last fortress is Chilpik Kala. It is a Dakhma or Tower of Silence which was used by people of the Zoroastrian faith for exposure of the dead. The bodies were laid out under the open sky for the birds to eat. When the bones were cleared, families collected them and placed them in clay or stone ossuaries for burial. The building was originally constructed in the first centuries CE but saw a phase of rebuilding in the 7th – 8th centuries and again in the 9th – 10th centuries.
After visiting all three fortresses, it is about 40 minutes to drive from Chilpik Kala to Nukus. Our driver may drop you off in Nukus Airport / Train Station or in your hotel in Nukus and end the Daytrip.
