Urgench
Uzbekistan · Khorezm Region · 91 m
Description
Urgench is a Soviet-built provincial capital thirty-five kilometres from Khiva and it exists in a traveller's plans mainly because the airport is here rather than there. The town itself is broad avenues and a canal, pleasant and unremarkable. What justifies a night is the ring of desert fortresses north of it, the Khorezm qalas, mud-walled circuits from the last centuries before Christ into the first ones after, standing empty on the plain, of which Ayaz Kala and Toprak Kala are the ones tours reach. The old capital of Kunya-Urgench lies over the Turkmen border and needs a visa rather than a detour.
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
- Ayaz Kala desert fortress(Day trip)
- Toprak Kala and its palace mound(Day trip)
- Yurt camp below the qala walls
- Khorezm regional history museum
- Al-Khwarizmi monument
- Kyzylkum plain around the fortresses
- Amu Darya bank and the irrigation canals
- Urgench bazaar and its melons
- Khiva half an hour down the road(Day trip)
Getting there
- Airports:
- UGC
- Train stations:
- Urgench