Highlights of Northern Uzbekistan

Although one of the largest areas of Uzbekistan, comprising a large proportion of the west of the country, this is also one of the more sparsely populated regions, with vast swathes of desert and remote towns and cities. The main reason travellers make the journey to the north-west is to visit the stunningly preserved walled city at Khiva, entering which really feels like you have stepped back in time. The semi-autonomous Karakalpakstan Province is the largest in Uzbekistan, and feels a world away from the modern capital city. Notable points of interest here are the fast-disappearing Aral Sea, once the fourth-largest lake in the world but now shrunk to a fraction of its former size, and the Khorezm Desert Fortresses and Mizdarkhan Necropolis, sites which are arguably just as impressive as anything you will find in the more celebrated Bukhara and Samarkand.

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A true gem along the Silk Road, Khiva is well worth the long journey from the capital. The Ichan-Qola, the inner walled city, is so well preserved it is known as a ‘museum city’. The old town is particularly impressive at night, when the buildings are lit up beautifully, and in the early morning before the crowds arrive.

The remote city of Nukus may not have much to recommend itself on first glance, but there is plenty here to justify the journey. The Mizdakhan Necropolis has some beautifully preserved architecture, and the Savitsky Art Museum houses one of the finest collections of Soviet Art in the world.