← All destinations
Khorezm region · walled city of Ichan-Kala
Khiva
A complete walled city. Ichan-Kala is a UNESCO site you can walk end to end, best seen in the evening when the day groups leave.
Khiva is the far west of the Silk Road route and the most compact of the three great cities: everything sits inside the mud-brick walls of Ichan-Kala. Staying overnight inside the walls is the reason people remember Khiva.
What to see
Ichan-Kala walls
The inner town, still enclosed by its full circuit of walls and four gates.
Kalta Minor
The unfinished turquoise minaret that became the city's symbol.
Kunya-Ark & Juma Mosque
The khan's citadel and a mosque held up by 200 carved wooden columns.
Sunset from the walls
The rooftop and wall walk at golden hour — the best view in Khorezm.
Practical notes
- Best time to visit
- April–May and September–October. Khorezm summers are the hottest in Uzbekistan.
- Getting there
- Night train or flight from Tashkent to Urgench, then 35 km by car; or by road from Bukhara across the Kyzylkum desert.
- How long to stay
- One full day and one night inside the walls.
