Visiting the Aral Sea
The Aral Sea is a place where humanity is forced to confront its impact on the natural world. In the 1960s, this was the fourth largest inland sea in the world.
Today, it is less than a tenth of its original size, and it is still shrinking. Vast, inefficient irrigation channels built for cotton farming in Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan drained the water from the Amu Darya and Syr Darya, the two rivers which used to feed the sea. The sea is now too salty for fish and the water’s edge is far from former fishing ports. Where the Aral has retreated, you will now find the world’s newest desert, the Aralkum.
The story of the Republic of Karakalpakstan is intimately entwined with that of the Aral Sea. When the semi-nomadic Karakalpak people first settled here, they lived in yurts in the marshes, fished in the river, lakes, and sea, and raised their sheep and goats on the grass which grew in the fertile floodplains. Events at sea were fitting subjects for their epic poetry and folk songs. Karakalpak artists painted the Aral Sea, too.
Today, most journeys to the Aral Sea start in Nukus, the capital of Karakalpakstan. There’s a rough but serviceable road to the town of Muynak, which not so long ago was a fishing port. The canneries have been dismantled for scrap metal, but you can still see the rusting skeletons of fishing trawlers lying in the sand beneath the lighthouse. This eerie place is called the Ships Graveyard, and it feels apocalyptic.
For most of the year, tourists in Moynaq are few and far between, though there are a couple of small museums and a local handicrafts workshop.
The town bursts into life for the annual Stihia Festival, however, when DJs and other electronic music artists take to the stage. Moynaq is an unexpected location for a rave, but the combination of pulsing beats, eccentric personalities, and environmental activism draws big international crowds.
To see the actual Aral Sea, you need to drive for another half day north of Moynaq. Karakalpakstan’s first beach resort, Aral Plaza, has been built on the southwest shore of the sea, but most foreign visitors go further on to the BesQala yurt camp, just outside the Saigachy Reserve. Facilities here are more basic, but you don’t come to the Aral Sea for luxury accommodation: you come to find peace; to appreciate the beauty of the landscape, even in its scarred and fragile state; and to stargaze in some of the darkest night skies you can find anywhere on Earth.
The Saigachy Reserve runs up the western side of the Aral Sea, towards the border with Kazakhstan. It is on the edge of the Ustyurt Plateau, and takes its name from the saiga antelopes which live here. The likelihood of seeing a saiga is slight, but there are plenty of other kinds of desert wildlife, including Central Asian steppe tortoise, four-stripe snake, and five kinds of eagles. Within the reserve you will also find the old military port, 30 ancient cemeteries and stone circles, and, nearby, Kurgancha, the ruins of a 12th century fortress.
It is not advisable to drive your own vehicle to the Aral Sea: you need a 4×4 and local knowledge to navigate safely through the desert. Many of the sites in this article lie on unmarked trails, and there’s no phone signal to be found! Kalpak Travel uses the best drivers and vehicles so that you can travel comfortably in difficult terrain, and learn about these fragile, precious ecosystems from someone who calls this place home.
The blog is written by Sophie Ibbotson, tourism development consultant and writer specialising in Central Asia. She is the founder of Maximum Exposure Ltd., author of Bradt Travel Guides‘ Karakalpakstan, and Chairman of the Royal Society for Asian Affairs.