Daytrip to Ten Fortresses

Details

Daytrip Duration: 10-12 hours
Sightseeing time: 5-6 hours
Driving time: 5-6 hours
Driving Distance : 355 km.
Included: Hands-Free Brochures, a good drivers with new Cars with AC, pick up and drop off at your location and Mineral water (0.5l. per person)
Not Included: Entrance tickets, meals, camel riding, Yurt Camp stay & etc

We offer pick-up services from the Airport, Train Station, or your hotel in both Khiva and Urgench to start our day trip. It is recommended to begin the excursion in the morning after breakfast. The journey to the first castle, Duman Kala, takes approximately 90 minutes.

  1. **Duman Kala:** Comprising three adjacent sections — a square-shaped western enclosure with corner towers (150 by 170 meters), a smaller square-shaped citadel on the eastern side (about 100 meters in size), and an irregular northern enclosure.
  2. **Guldursun Kala:** A fortified town dating back to the 12th century CE. Excavations have uncovered ancient and medieval pottery, bronze items, and coins dating to around 1220 CE, during the Mongol invasion of Khorezm under Muhammad Khorezmshah.
  3. **Koykirilgan Kala:** Though little visible today, it originally featured a rounded, two-story building (45 meters in diameter) fortified by a double ring wall with arrow slits and towers.
  4. **Angka Kala:** Dating from the Late Antique period (1st to 3rd centuries AD) of Khorezm, Angka Kala guarded the main caravan trade route to the east.
  5. **Janbas Kala:** Known for its archaic fortification system from the Early Antique period. Its flanking walls, up to 20 meters in height, lack outer towers but include steeply inclined loopholes for archers.
  6. **Big Kirkkiz Kala:** This fortress spans from the 4th century BCE to the 7th-8th centuries CE. It features a rectangular plan with double walls and a double-story archer’s gallery with arrow-shaped embrasures. During the Afrighid period, it served as a pottery production center.
  7. **Ayaz Kala:** One of the most spectacular fortresses in the area, consisting of three clustered fortresses on and around a prominent hill at the Eastern end of the Sultan-Uiz-dahg range. Dating back to the Afrighid period (7th to 8th centuries CE), it provided defense against nomadic raids.
  8. **Kavat Kala:** With a history spanning 2400 years, Kavat Kala served as the center of a complex irrigation system, surrounded by flourishing settlements, particularly from the 11th to 13th centuries.

En route to the next fortress, you’ll pass **Akcha-kul Lake**, where visitors can swim and enjoy lunch at the yurt camp restaurants.

  1. **Toprak Kala:** Dating to the Kushan period (2nd-3rd centuries CE), Toprak Kala was initially a royal sanctuary and later an administrative citadel after restoration in the early 4th century.
  2. **Kizil Kala:** Originally constructed in the Late Antique period (1st to 4th centuries CE), Kizil Kala was rebuilt before the Mongol invasions in the 12th-13th centuries. Its purpose remains debated among scholars, whether as a garrison barracks or a fortified manor house typical of early medieval Khorezm.

After visiting all the fortresses, the return journey to Khiva takes about 90 minutes. Our driver will drop you off at Urgench Airport, Urgench/Khiva Train Station, or your hotel in Khiva or Urgench at the end of the trip without any extra charge.