Northern Uzbekistan

Northern Uzbekistan comprises nearly one half of Uzbekistan, dominated by the barren Kyzylkum Desert and the enormous semi-autonomous Republic of Karakalpakstan.

Photo: Wikimedia, CC0.

Essential Destinations

Top destinations include Nukus and Khiva.

Nukus

Photo: Fabienkhan, Public domain.

Nukus is a city in Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan. It is the capital of the region However, even by Uzbek standards the town is fairly decrepit and most travellers only stay one night in order to see the Savitsky gallery.

Khiva

Photo: Euyasik, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Khiva is a city of 93,000 people in the western province of Khorezm in the Republic of Uzbekistan. Along with Samarkand and Bukhara, Khiva is an important and often overlooked historical site on what was once the Great Silk Road.

Urgench

Photo: Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Urgench is a city in Khorezm, in Uzbekistan. It is a relatively new city, founded under the Russian Empire in the 19th century. An older city called Urgench was abandoned in the 18th century when a shift in a river course cut off its water supply.

Destinations to Discover

Explore places such as Moynoq and Ayaz-Kala.

Moynoq

Photo: infanticida, CC BY-SA 2.0.

Moynoq is a city in Karakalpakstan. This town used to be a prosperous fishing town, but since the Aral Sea disaster, it has become a poor town with lots of problems, not least health risks caused by pollution and unemployment, as fishery was the only resource.