Safari

"Safari" yurt camp is situated in 5 kms from the western coast of Aydarkul lake, near the Dongelek settlement being lost in the most central place of Kyzyl-Kum desert sands, in 60 kms from the center of Navoiy region– Nurata small town. At present time this is one of the biggest and most comfortable yurt camp in Uzbekistan.

10 stationary festive Kazakh yurts, richly decorated with carpets and "sherducks", hand-made by local craftsmen, are installed in yurt camp. (There is a possibility to install 6 more yurts). Coloured woven patterns and even chandeliers create extraordinary cosy atmosphere in yurts. Yurt is the traditional nomads' house in Central Asia and has more than three thousand year history. The design was improved all the time and has reached an excellence. Yurt can be assembled and disassembled within one hour by one family efforts and it can be carried on two camel or horse backs. It is warm in winter and it is cool in summer inside the yurt. Yurt is ecologically pure, because it is made of simple natural materials of wood, poles and felt rolled from the sheep wool.

The yurt camp is also equipped with stationary toilets with sanitary equipment, shower, canteen yurt where dinners and suppers take place. There is also an electricity supply in camp. Tourists spend their evenings around fire place listening to local akyn's (performer of national songs) recital, in extraordinary quiet and pacific atmosphere, admiring incredibly by huge oriental night stars and the Milky Way.

In the afternoon tourists experience a walking around the camp, denying stereotypes about lifelessness of desert. One can meet up to 25 kinds of plants here. The fauna is also various: turtles, lizards, pigeons, deserted partridges, hares. Often one can see a huge monitor lizard and, certainly, camels. Camels are cultivated and trained for riding here. They have two humps and are called "bactrians". This kind of camels dwells in Central Asia, China and Mongolia . While their close relatives, one-humped camels, "dromaders" are spread in Middle Asia, Africa, and Australia deserts.

The yurt camp is a starting point for adventure and educational tours in the region.
Tourists can make 1-2 hour camel safari to the unique Aydarkul lake, stretched on 250 kms along the desert. Here they can prepare a dinner from just caught fish, have a rest, swim for a while in its warm, slightly salty waters and sunbathe on picturesque beach. There are unique lakes near to camp, where local people mine food salt manually till now.

The visit to Dongelek settlement, being lost in sands, where the local population has kept ancient traditions and way of life will leave unforgettable impressions.

On road to yurt camp one can visit the "stone picture gallery" of ancient man in natural boundary Sarmysh. More than 3.500 "petroglyphs", representing animals, people, stages of hunting, life and even sex have been revealed on black basalt rocks here. In the small town, on border of Nurata mountains and desert, tourists will be interested to visit "Chashma" sacred source, the place of pilgrimage, in which more than thousand sacred fishes float. Here one can see ancient "kyariz" irrigation system, delivering underground waters to the valley from Nurata ridge till now, and also the ruins of the ancient fortress.

Every year the yurt camp becomes more and more popular, accommodating not only the tourists from whole the world, coming to see the world famous monuments of Uzbekistan . Personnel of embassies and international organizations, joint ventures and their customers come here with pleasure to have a rest and spend weekends far from bustling cities. Many of them bring here their children, who personally open for themselves another unknown world.