Khiva is a small, fortified town located in the middle of the Uzbek desert. The town is an open-air museum with an enormous number of Islamic religious monuments that are open to visitors.

Asia

Assalomu alaykum! Welcome to Uzbekistan, an epicentre for many civilisations, a place steeped in world history and tradition, and home to rare, untainted landscapes. Once a witness to the grandeur and decadence of the Mongol and Persian Empires and a privileged step of the Silk Road, Uzbekistan still has countless treasures from its multicultural past. From the Bukhara Madrasas to the gems of Timurid architecture, we come to the Khanate of Khiva in the heart of the desert, which seems almost timeless . You can feel the weight of history pervading the whole area. The country also offers great excursions, on foot and by camel, and the opportunity to discover wildlife which, despite the drought, remains as varied as it is exotic. During walks in the steppes and mountains, you will have the opportunity to observe gazelles, scorpions, lynx, mountain sheep and even snow leopards in their natural habitats.

Uzbekistan

Khiva

 Bukhara is considered to be the holiest city in Central Asia. It's a key stop on a  trip to Uzbekistan between mosques, madrassas (Islamic schools), and even mausoleums that have been here for thousands of years. 

Bukhara

Uzbekistan is Central Asia's most visited country, and Samarkand was a key staging post on the Silk Road with its celebrated Islamic monuments.

Samarkand

Tashkent is a nice city to visit - Uzbekistan has some economic development here, far from the traditions of the East and very touristy cities of the West.

Tashkent

 Urgench is a crossroads when traveling towards Khiva. Beyond this asset, the city has no particular appeal.

Urgench

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I stayed in Urgench for two hours and it was too long! By contrast, there are many buses leaving to Bustan in particular. There, I discovered half a dozen cities/castles/forts in ruins! (In the guides, they say there are 20 of them, but I only found 6.) I am a person who is really interested in history, so I really enjoyed these visits. Try to take advantage of a guided tour, because their explanations about the sites will only be the best. The best known of the ruins, Ayaz Qala, is made up of three fortresses located up high in a mostly desert area, where you can see the lake's shores. Getting closer to it, the pools of saltwater succeed one another and make the atmosphere particularly arid. On returning to the fortress, you can always spend the night in a yurt camp, set up only for tourists. The welcome is still rather nice!

Urgench is a crossroads when traveling towards Khiva. Beyond this asset, the city has no particular appeal.

Urgench Vacations

Urgench: How to get there?

Urgench: See when to go ?

Urgench: For how long?

Urgench: What to see nearby?