Trip to Aydar Lake with overnight in yurt camp is the best when travelers travel between Samarkand and Bukhara and want to discover and see a diverse landscape of Uzbekistan, sleep in traditional yurt and experience nomadic culture firsthand. Travelers start the tour from Samarkand, see Alexander’s Fort in Nurata, drive to Lake Aidarkul and if the weather permits can swim and drive to yurt camp for overnight.
The highlights of this trip to Aydar Lake with overnight in yurt camp
All transfers, including hotel pick-up and drop-off
Camel ride in the desert and nomadic music around campfire
Experience the nomadic lifestyle staying in a yurt
Discover natural beauty of Uzbekistan at your own pace
Day 1: Meet your driver with the sign of your name in the hotel lobby and start the tour to Yurt Camp (Please contact us to let us know the exact pickup location for the tour) Drive to Nurata (150 km).
Route: Samarkand-Nurata-Lake Aydarkul-Yurt Camp
Nurata—this city is surrounded by the Nurata Mountains. Nurata (“Nur means Light or Holy and Ata means Father”), this ancient town held a strategic position on the frontier between the cultivated lands and the steppe. Population of the town is 32,000 people and renowned for marble and astrakhan for production, Nurata has retained some of the holy sites that attracted pilgrims from all over Central Asia.
Visiting sights in Nurata:
Chashma Spring—this Spring linked to Hazrati Ali (son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad). The centre of the complex is a pool where the faithful come to collect water as a good luck and health to relatives and friends. Regardless of the time of the year, the mineral-laden spring water is said to remain at consistent 19 °C. The population of Marinka fish in the pool is thriving as it is considered as a holy spot and hence no-one is allowed to catch them.
Alexander’s Fort—it is strategically located on the top of the hill to the south of the town, and Uzbek sources suggest that Alexander instructed one of his generals to build an impenetrable fortress here while he continued his conquest of Bactria and Sogdiana. When Alexander returned, his troops could neither break down the gates nor scale the walls, such was the strength of the construction.
Drive to Lake Aydarkul (60 km)
Lake Aydarkul was created in 1969, when catastrophic springfloods made people drain excess water from the Syrdarya River into the Arnasay depression. Since then Aydarkul has been steadily growing in size. Nowadays lake covers an area of 4,000 square kilometers.
After visiting Lake Aydarkul drive to Yangiganzan to yurt camp (40 minutes’ drive). Upon arrival, travelers check in to yurt. Travelers sleep in the bed it might be a bit hard and there is an electricity inside of the yurt. Activities to do in yurt camp: camel riding, watching the birds and after dinner live music by Kazakh musician around the campfire.
Overnight in a yurt.
Overnight in Yurt Camp (shared bathroom facilities)
Day 2: After camp-style breakfast, drive to Bukhara (200 km) Drop off travelers to their hotel in Bukhara
