• Chilpik Dakhma/Kala - This ancient Zoroastrian monument, known as Chilpyk (Shylpyk, Chilpak Kala), is over 2200 years old. Chilpyk is a circular, roofless tower standing 15 meters tall and 65 meters in diameter, situated atop a rounded natural hill, 43 km from Nukus. Zoroastrians used it for the burial of the dead, where remains were left for birds of prey. Later, the bones were collected in earthenware vessels called ossuaries and buried. This method aligned with Zoroastrian beliefs that prohibited contaminating the earth with decaying bodies.

Originally, the tower featured a 20-meter staircase carved directly into the hill. A passage from the base of the tower led to the river. Around and inside the tower, clay and stone ossuaries were discovered, some of which are now displayed in museums in Nukus and Tashkent.

• The Karakalpakstan State Museum of Art named after I.V. Savitsky - The Savitsky Art Museum in Nukus, the capital of Uzbekistan’s semi-autonomous Karakalpakstan Region, is one of the world’s most remarkable tourist spots. The museum’s creation is closely tied to the Khorezm Archaeological-Ethnographic Expedition, which in the 20th century excavated large areas in neighboring Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan’s ancient Khorezm and Karakalpakstan regions. The expedition’s leader, the renowned scientist Sergei Tolstov, likened the region’s grand fortresses and monuments to “Central Asia’s Egypt.” Savitsky, a member of this expedition, began his own studies, collecting local applied folk art.
• The Regional History and Aral Sea Museum - The Muynak Regional Studies Museum, also known as the Ecological Museum of Muynak, is one of Uzbekistan’s most unique museums. Though modest by metropolitan standards with fewer than two hundred exhibits, it tells the tragic story of a bygone era when the Aral Sea was vast and thriving. The museum houses paintings by Soviet artists, old photographs, flora and fauna specimens, canned goods from the local cannery, household items, and arts and crafts from the people who lived along the Aral Sea, creating a comprehensive picture of the Aral Sea’s past and present.
• Ships Cemetery - In one of the most remote corners of the former Soviet Union lies a dark secret: the disappearance of the Aral Sea (Orol Dengizi), once the world’s fourth-largest inland sea, within a single lifetime. Moynaq (population 12,000), located 210km north of Nukus, starkly illustrates the tragic absurdity of the Aral Sea’s demise. Once a major fishing port, it now stands about 180km from the water. The remnants of Moynaq’s fishing fleet rust on the former seabed.

Muynak (Moynoq in Uzbek Latin, Mojnak in Karakalpak) was once the largest port on the Aral, where a significant portion of the catch was processed and canned. In 1921, during a severe famine in the Volga region, Lenin appealed to the Aral fleet for help, and within days, 21,000 tonnes of fish were sent, saving thousands of Russian lives.

• Private transportation
• Hotel pick up and drop off
• Audio-guide materials for the trip
• In-vehicle air conditioning

• Lunch
• Dinner
• Savitsky Museum fee (USD 7/person); Muynak Museum fee (USD 3/person)

• Disclaimer: transportation time is included in the total duration
• Minimum age is 5 for this tour

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