3 Days Kyzyl-Kum Desert and Nuratau Mountains Tour: Experience Yurt Camp and Workshop
4.7
13 Ratings

Immerse yourself in the beauty of the Kyzyl-Kum Desert and Nuratau Mountains on this 3-day tour. Explore a ceramics workshop, visit ancient ruins, stay in a yurt camp, and experience a mountain homestay.

Duration: 3 days
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights

Bukhara- Gijduvan – Nurata - Yurt Camp

Bukhara - Depart from your hotel in Bukhara at 9:00 AM and head towards the Yurt Camp in the Kyzyl-Kum desert. En route, make stops in the cities of Gijduvan and Nurata.

Gijduvan - Located 46 km northeast of Bukhara, Gijduvan has been a significant trading town and crafts center from ancient times to the present. Visit the Narzullayev family ceramics workshop to observe the ceramics-making process, explore the ceramics museum, and purchase items crafted by Gijduvan artisans.

Nurata - After the ceramics tour, continue to Nurata city (a 2-hour drive). Arrive in Nurata by lunchtime and enjoy a meal at a small local family tea house. Post-lunch, embark on a sightseeing tour of Nurata, including the ruins of Alexander the Great’s fortress, the holy spring ‘Chashma,’ and a medieval mosque.

Yurt Camp “Sputnik Navoi” - After sightseeing in Nurata, proceed to the Yurt Camp (65 km / 1 hour). Arrive and settle into the camp. In the evening, you can ride a camel or stroll around the dunes. Depending on the season, you might spot steppe tortoises, hares, and desert agamas. Enjoy listening to local bard songs around the fire in the evening. Dinner and overnight stay at the Yurt Camp.

Yurt Camp – Sentob village

Yurt Camp “Sputnik Navoi” - After breakfast, drive via Lake Aydar to the Nuratau Mountains. Depending on the season, you can swim or walk along the lakeshore, observing the rich aquatic birdlife (cranes, pelicans, various duck and goose species, and numerous waders). Continue to Sentob village.

Sentob - Arrive at a homestay in Sentob village, where your host will welcome you and show you the facilities. Most houses in Sentob have large gardens with a river running through. Settle into the homestay. Have lunch with the local family. After lunch, explore the village to see the mosque, local school, village shop, and traditional building styles. Sentob is one of the few villages where almost all houses are built traditionally using local rocks. Wandering through the village offers a fantastic opportunity to observe villagers engaged in traditional activities. You’ll meet many friendly and curious locals eager to chat. In the afternoon, you have free time to converse with your host family. You may also watch or participate in preparing the traditional dish ‘Plov.’ Overnight stay in a local homestay.

Sentob village – Samarkand

Samarkand - After breakfast, depart for Samarkand (a 4-hour drive).

END OF THE GRAM

What's Included
  • Bottled water
  • 1 day mountain escort guide service in Sentob
  • Camel riding around the Yurt camp (30 min)
  • Lunch
  • 1 breakfast, 1 lunch, 1 dinner
  • Dinner
  • Breakfast
  • Tea and coffee
  • Transport throughout the tour (sedan car) (Drivers with elementary English)
  • 1 night homestay, 1 night Yurt Camp
What's Not Included
  • Tips
  • Items of personal nature
Additional Information

Explore famous ceramics workshop in Gijduvan, visit the ruins of Alexander the Great’s fortress in Nurata, and experience the stay in desert yurt camp and mountain homestay with this 3 days tour to Kyzyl-Kum desert and Nuratau Mountains. You will have a great opportunity to get to know about the life and activities of local people during your stay in the homestay in Nuratau Mountains. You may also join your hosts in the preparation of traditional dish

Trip Highlights

  • You will be picked up for this tour from your hotel in Bukhara at 9:00. Please let us know the name of your hotel in Bukhara when you book the tour.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.7
(13 Ratings)
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
P2476zzannam
Jun 21, 2024
We loved it! - I have booked a tour with them twice and both experiences have been exceptional, thanks primarily to the staff. The first time, I stayed in Sentob for 3 days. Both the driver and the guide, Alibek (whose knowledge of the local fauna and flora was commendable), as well as Rahima's family, were very kind and generous to us. Rahima's food, in particular, was excellent. On this second trip, the experience has been amazing. We greatly enjoyed everything we visited and experienced over these two days in the desert: the villages, the ruins, the yurts, a stunning sunset from atop a dune, excellent food (with very good vegetarian options), Lake Aydarkul, among others. Ikrom, our guide, was the highlight of the trip. He is an exceptional professional with a friendly, cordial, and polite demeanor. We had a lot of fun with him and he was always attentive to all our needs. I highly recommend this experience and I am sure I will repeat it with them.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
743victoriaw
Jun 9, 2024
Desert and Nuratau Mountain trek in May - In May my husband and I did a wonderful four-day trek: 2 days in the desert (with yurt stay) and two days in the beautiful Nuratau mountains, with stays in guest houses. The desert and yurt stay were really fascinating, and the hikes in the Nuratau mountains were one of the highlights of our stay in Uzbekistan. Our guides Ikrom and Alibek were both excellent: they took excellent care of us and kept everything running smoothly. Nuratau Travel was utterly professional from beginning to end. Highly recommended.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Freedom57526042821
Jun 5, 2024
Uzbekistan well worth more than a week visit! - Most groups travel to Uzbekistan for only a week or so. We chose to spend two weeks because we wanted to see more of the country. Nuratau travel organized everything to perfection. From airport pick up to transfers throughout the country to the guides assistance. Two yurt camps, one family stay and excellent hotels. Amazing hospitality . In the cities we had the best guides to walk us through sites, museums and shops. We could not have done it on our own and , had we come with a large tour we would have missed the personal attention. Uzbekistan is a wonderful country, rich in history, culture, languages , natural products and landscapes.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Anna
Jun 5, 2024
Tour to Desert yurt camp and mountain village - We had a wonderful trip with Nurata Travel to a desert yurt camp and then a home stay in Sentob village. Our driver-guide Mr Ikrom took excellent care of us and made sure everything ran smoothly. We enjoyed getting away from the famous tourist sites and seeing another side of the country, with the opportunity to meet local people and see a little of rural Uzbeki life. Highly recommend using this travel agency.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
463farrukhs
May 5, 2024
Ecelentlocation and service - The SAyyod Yurt camp is an excellent place to have good time in the resort . Ikram and Sardor , SherAli and Gulli are excellent host and provided needed services . Even Mr. Sherzod , the owner came to visit us to ensure all the amenities are available and working . Bathrooms , tent cleanish is excellent . Restaurant food was superb . We also a campfire in night and enjoyed thoroughly besides hiking and tracking . Good resort to visit ! We will come back . Thanks
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Camper23494489100
Oct 11, 2023
Lovely stay and beautiful hikes at a scenic yurt camp - We had a lovely stay at the beautiful yurt camp in the Nuratau mountains. We were picked up at our hotel in Bukhara and brought to the camp by a very friendly driver. On the way, we did a couple of stops: an old Alexander the Great fortress, a scenic lake in the middle of nowhere, and a hearty lunch in a guest house. At the camp, we were met by our friendly host and mountain guide. We were late in season, so there were not that many other guests. Luckily, there were a loooot of animals (dogs, donkeys, cows, sheep, etc.) to keep us company :-) Our stay the yurt camps was a very welcome break from the city hopping we did in Uzbekistan. Very quiet, beautiful sceneries and challenging, but worthwile hikes. We met a lot of friendly people in Uzbekistan, but Sardar, our guide, really stood out! Just one thing, if you’re a light sleeper, take some earplugs, as the animal nightlife can be quite noisy.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
N2414mfmichaelp
Oct 5, 2023
Three days off the 4 M’s - For the trip from Bukhara to Samarkand we took three days and booked the "Desert Jurt Camp and Mountain Tour". A highlight of the first day was the stopover at Lake Aydarkul. Sandy beach, deep blue water - and all to ourselves. Luckily we had our bathing suits within reach! After the long drive and looking at the inviting Jurt Camp, we were glad to have booked two nights here. From a longer and rewarding hike up to 1700 m, led by our nice English speaking mountain guide Sardor, we recovered in the afternoon in the pool (!) of the camp. - Clean sanitary facilities, delicious food, friendly local people - here no wishes remain unfulfilled 🙂. On the third day our nice driver Ikrom brought us safely on to Samarkand. An all-round successful tour, which we gladly recommend to others!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Steffenflessa
Sep 23, 2023
Great experience - The yurt camp was a highlight of our tour to Uzbekistan. The driver was there just on time, he showed us all as promised. The camp is lovely, people are very friendly. it is rural - but we loved that after all the crowded towns. The tour on the mountain was great, but really demanding. There are no pathways – just stones and gras. But we had an excellent guide.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Robertlicun
Oct 16, 2019
Off the beaten track tour - We booked 3 days combined tour to the desert yurt camp and homestay in the Nuratau Mountains though Responsible Travel a week ago. Thanks to Sherzod and the team for organizing this amazing tour, we enjoyed it very much. The tour was a good change after seeing too many mosques and madrassas of the Silk Road cities. Our special thanks to the mountain guide Ali and the driver Jamal who was always caring and professional.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mollyrowan
Oct 14, 2019
Am I reviewing the same company?? - We booked a 2 night 3 day tour with this company, staying in Asraf village,Rahima homestay in sentyab,trip to the lake collection in Samarkand and dropped off in Burkara for 310dollars. Well where do I start? Collected by taxi by young driver who spent most of his time driving whilst on his mobile phone, at times at a fast speed, no rear seatbelts in car, had been cut out deposited at Yahshigul guest house in Asraf village, where we were left to our own devices after shown accomodation. It states on itinerary that you get to know local customs and traditions well we would not have seen anything had we not tagged onto a French group who were staying there,even though we understood nothing. Asraf village is not a village but a homestay that likes larger tour groups has no school,mosque,shop etc. See separate review,On second day picked up by another taxi accompanied by a another man to collect our money who spoke English, still no things of interest were pointed out after about 2.5 hours arrived at Aydarkul lake, nothing there no fisherman etc as told we would see on itinerary,infact what was worse was the part of the lake that we were taken to was surrounded by a smashed up log cabin that used to be a hotel,lots and lots of broken glass everwhere,no where for lakeside walks or swimming.Again no seatbelts in rear, we were told not to worry, we have a very careful driver!!!After the lake we were then deposited at Rahimas homestay .Sentyob in a village. This was a proper village had tour by owners son, no demonstration of learning to cook Plov even though it was served for evening meal outside in the cold. This homestay has other issues see my review separately.On the third day we were picked up by the only considerate good driver and even though no rear seatbelts were visible to begin with,he got out and sorted them out so they could be used. He attempted to point out things for us even though he had no English, and stopped at a pomegranate stall to show us how the juice was made and took us to a bank. We feel that this tour is way over priced,and doesn't deliver what it promises and costs.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Select Date and Tickets
up to 15 guests
1
Adult
September 2024
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Today
More activities from this operator
From $200
Yurt stay and Hiking in the Nurata Mountains tour - 2 days
4.9
20 Ratings
From $250
3-Day Sentob Hiking Tour
Bukhara