Khiva Tours: Ichan Kala and the Desert Fortresses

Side by side

The table compares the three tours by price, length, what the price covers and what costs extra, from each tour's own listing terms. All three are rated 4.7. The walking tour is priced per person.

The two car trips are priced per group of up to 3, and the car seats just your group. All three start from Khiva, whose Ichan Kala became a UNESCO site in 1990.

A two-day split

Day one belongs to Ichan Kala, the walled inner city. The Khiva Historical Highlights Walking Tour takes 4 hours, with stops at Allakuli Khan Madrassah, the Islam Khoja Minaret, the Pahlavan Mahmoud Mausoleum and the Juma Mosque.

Day two goes beyond the walls. The Khiva Three Desert Fortresses Day Trip runs 6 hours: 1.5 hours by car from Khiva, 1 hour at Ayaz Kala, 40 minutes at Toprak Kala and 30 minutes at Kyzyl-Kala. If Bukhara is next, swap day two for the Khiva to Bukhara Transfer via Desert Fortresses, a 9-hour day that combines the fortresses and the move.

Why travellers rate it

Ichan Kala was inscribed in 1990 as Uzbekistan's first World Heritage site. Khiva has a history of more than 2,700 years and is described as an open-air museum city. It combines the outer Dishan-Kala with the inner Ichan Kala behind a defensive wall, and both are on the UNESCO list.

The sights sit close together, so a 4-hour guided walk covers the essentials. That leaves a second day for the desert fortresses, which set the Khorezm region apart from Samarkand and Bukhara.

The essentials in order

First, Ichan Kala itself. The Khiva Historical Highlights Walking Tour spends 20 minutes at Allakuli Khan Madrassah, 30 minutes at the Islam Khoja Minaret, 20 minutes at the Pahlavan Mahmoud Mausoleum, 20 minutes at the Juma Mosque and 40 minutes on the streets of Ichan Kala.

Second, the desert. Ayaz Kala, Toprak Kala and Kyzyl-Kala are the three fortresses on the Khiva Three Desert Fortresses Day Trip. The car takes 1.5 hours from Khiva, and an optional lunch stop at Akchakul Lake is paid separately.

Third, the onward road. The Khiva to Bukhara Transfer via Desert Fortresses turns the travel day into a fortress day over 9 hours.

Fortresses and beyond

The simplest outing is the Khiva Three Desert Fortresses Day Trip, 6 hours for $89 per group of up to 3, with pickup from your Khiva hotel, the airport or the train station. It includes car, driver and a 0.5 L bottle of water. Guide, entrance tickets, lunch and tips are extra.

For a longer day, the Khiva to Bukhara Transfer via Desert Fortresses visits the same three fortresses and ends at any address in Bukhara, 9 hours for $160 per group of up to 3. Guide and fortress tickets are extra here too. Tip-based walks also include a tour from Khiva to the ancient fortresses.

How the day runs

The Khiva Three Desert Fortresses Day Trip costs $89 per group of up to 3 for 6 hours, with free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead. The trip runs in English. No guide comes with the car, so read up before you go or book one separately, and pay fortress tickets on site in cash.

Pack a hat and water beyond the 0.5 L bottle supplied. Heat peaks from late June to early August. If you would rather not return to Khiva, the Khiva to Bukhara Transfer via Desert Fortresses makes the fortresses stops on a 9-hour drive to Bukhara.

Turn the transfer into a tour

The Khiva to Bukhara Transfer via Desert Fortresses covers the route in 9 hours for $160 per group of up to 3, rated 4.7 with free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead. It picks up at your Khiva hotel or the train station and drops you at any Bukhara address, having stopped at Ayaz Kala, Toprak Kala and Kyzyl Kala. Guide and fortress tickets are extra, lunch is optional.

The train is the other way. Trains connect Khiva with Bukhara, Samarkand and Tashkent, and the Khiva station is a 30-minute walk from Ichan Kala. The Uzbekistan 6-Day Private Tour with Khiva uses that train from Khiva to Bukhara, Samarkand and Tashkent for $800 per person. It adds $275 in extra charges, and the Tashkent-Urgench flight is not included.

What is on offer

Tip-based walks in Khiva include Ichan Kala history and legends tours, a Silk Road camel tour, a woodcarving masterclass and a tour to the ancient fortresses. The tip is the whole payment.

For a fixed price and a set route, the Khiva Historical Highlights Walking Tour costs $26 per person for 4 hours in a group of up to 10, rated 4.7. It runs in English, Uzbek and Russian, and a private option for up to 15 people is also sold.

How to decide

First, do you need a guide? The Khiva Historical Highlights Walking Tour includes one. The two car trips do not, so a guide is an extra booking.

Second, how many of you are there? The walk costs $26 per person. The Khiva Three Desert Fortresses Day Trip at $89 and the Bukhara transfer at $160 are priced per group of up to 3.

Third, where next? If Bukhara is the next stop, the transfer combines the fortresses with the move. Khiva also sits on two multi-day routes: the Uzbekistan Silk Road 8-Day Tour by Train at $1,230.77 per person, with no refunds, and the 6-day private tour with Khiva. Ichan Kala, inscribed by UNESCO in 1990, is the base for all of them.