After spending time in Khiva, it was time to head to Bukhara. While reading about how to get from Khiva to Bukhara we learned about the Khorezm fortresses, located in the middle of the Karalpak dessert, between Khiva and Bukhara. We learned that visiting the fortresses would only add a couple of hours to the 6-hour drive, so we thought, why not? and booked a private driver to take us on this adventure!
The Khorezm fortresses, also known as Ellie Qala (50 fortresses), are more than 2,000 years old! No wonder they are a UNESCO World Heritage Site! The Khorezm fortresses sit today in a barren desert, but back in the day the area had lush marshes and fertile agricultural lands. The current desolate landscape is a result of the Aral Sea environmental catastrophe.
During our trip, we visited three of the Khorezm fortresses, each one more impressive than the one before. These fortresses are not particularly frequented or known among tourists, so we mostly had them to ourselves. We only really found more people at the last, and most impressive, fortress. Pictures don’t do full justice to the wonder of visiting these ancient fortresses in the desert.
This is truly a great place to visit in Uzbekistan with kids, as their imagination will go on overdrive! Kids can run and explore freely here, which is wonderful! Just make sure you remind them that these constructions are thousands of years old and they should treat them with care and respect.
An hour after leaving Khiva we reached our first stop: Kizil Qala. This fortress is in the process of being restored. Legend has it that there’s a treasure buried in the lower levels of the fortress that is guarded by snakes and potentially a demon. It’s not hard to believe when you visit! While you walk around, you can see people have tried to dig in search of it. When we looked inside some of the holes, the only thing we found was wasps, so we tried to stay clear from those.
The view from Kizil Qala was excellent. It was easy to see why they put a fortress there.
After another 20 minutes in the car, we stopped at Toprak Qala. This fortress dates back to the 2nd century and used to be the administrative center of ancient Khorezm. The ruins show the complex urban layout, including palaces, temples, houses and more. Once again, the view was incredible from the top!
Toprak Qala is definitely one of the best-preserved ruins and has been restored in certain areas.
The last of the Khorezm fortresses we visited was Ayaz Qala. This is probably the most famous and the oldest, with construction taking place between 4th century BC until 7th century. There are three fortresses in this area. To reach the biggest one there’s a bit of a climb, but the view of the surrounding desert makes it all worth it! The walls in this fortress were in good condition, and there were even some cool arches still standing.
After exploring Ayaz Qala, we went back to the van. An elderly woman greeted us and offered to make lunch for our family. We gladly took her offer as we didn’t see any places to stop for food along the way. (Side note: if you undertake this trip, you should eat when the opportunity presents itself!) She was the oasis in the middle of the desert! We ate lunch inside a nearby yurt and the main dish was Plov (Uzbekistan’s national dish, which is a type of rice pilaf), and there were lots of side dishes and veggies too. I love the fact that nobody asked us what we wanted to eat. The lady just gave us the food she had cooked for that day’s customers. It tasted delicious, and left us ready for the final stretch of driving all the way to Bukhara (7 hours from the yurt camp!). She even sent us on our way with fresh fruit for the drive.
The drive from Khiva to Bukhara was a long one, and stopping at the fortresses made it even longer, but totally worth it! If you are thinking about doing it, I’d recommend you load up on snacks as we did not really see any places to stop for food along the way. You’re basically crossing a desert. Also know that there’s a long stretch of road that is quite rough and bumpy. We had a lot of snacks with us and went through most of them on that 7-hour stretch. Overall, seeing the fortresses absolutely outweighs any of the challenges that came with such a long day in the car.
After the long ride, we were excited about spending the next 3 days exploring Bukhara.
To read more about our travels in Uzbekistan, click here.
