Nurata
Uzbekistan · Navoiy Region · 480 m
Description
Nurata sits where the Kyzylkum desert meets a low range of hills, and it is the place travellers break the drive between Samarkand and Khiva to sleep in a yurt. The camps stand an hour out on the shore of Aydarkul, a lake that did not exist before 1969 and was made by accident when the Syr Darya was let into a hollow. In the town itself a spring runs into a pool of sacred fish beside a mound said to be a fort of Alexander. Camel rides and Kazakh singers fill the evening, and the sky over the camps is as dark as it gets in the country.
Length of stay
Recommended length of stay: 1 to 2 days (optimal 1 day)
Travel season
Best time to visit: April – May or September – October
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
Highlights
- Yurt camps on the Aydarkul shore
- Camel riding into the Kyzylkum
- Chashma spring and its sacred fish
- Fortress mound above the spring
- Swimming in Aydarkul (June - September)
- Kazakh songs and dombra by the fire
- Night sky over the desert camps
- Petroglyphs of the Nurata hills(Day trip)
- Sentyab and the mountain villages(Day trip)