Uzbekistan · 1 night, between Samarkand and Bukhara

Nurata and the Kyzylkum

The desert between Samarkand and Bukhara: a holy spring at Nurata, Bronze Age petroglyphs, and yurt camps by Aydarkul lake.

Felt yurts of a desert camp, patterned hangings above their doors, set below low sandy hills dotted with scrub

Why go

Why Nurata and the Kyzylkum

The road from Samarkand to Bukhara is a short train ride, but if you drive it by way of Nurata you get a night in the desert instead. The yurt camps near Aydarkul lake are run by Kazakh families, the sky is enormous, and dinner is by the fire.

It is the easiest way to see the Uzbekistan that is not cities, and it suits children.

See and do

What to see

Nurata
The Chashma spring, full of sacred fish, and the ruined hill fort above it.
Aydarkul lake
A long lake in the desert, formed when the Syr Darya overflowed in 1969. Swimming in summer.
Yurt camps
A night in a felt yurt, with a camel ride at sunset if you want it.
Sarmishsay
A gorge with thousands of petroglyphs, some four thousand years old.
Gijduvan
A village of potters on the road into Bukhara.

In pictures

Looking up through the bare frame of a yurt: red roof poles, a patterned canopy, tassels and hanging ornaments
Benjamin Goetzinger
Mosque of the Chashma complex in Nurata, with a great patterned brick dome and a porch on tall wooden columns
Wind-rippled sand dune in the Kyzylkum desert, with sparse shrubs under a wide, cloud-streaked sky
Dan&Arina

Practical

When and how

How long
1 night, between Samarkand and Bukhara
Best time
April to June and September to October. Summer nights are warm; spring nights can be cold.
Getting there
By car from Samarkand, about four hours to the camps with stops, and three hours on to Bukhara.

Tours

Trips that go to Nurata and the Kyzylkum

Plan a trip

Tell us your dates and we build a trip around Nurata and the Kyzylkum, with a firm price, within a working day.

We reply within one working day. [email protected]