UZ · Khorezm Region · 41.38°N 60.36°E

khiva

A walled Silk Road town of sand-coloured lanes, blue tiles and carved wooden columns.

Best time
April–May and September–October are warm without being punishing. July–August is fiercely hot, and January is bitterly cold.
How long
2 days
Getting there
About 8 hours direct from KL to Tashkent on Uzbekistan Airways, then about 1.5 hours on to Urgench. Khiva is about 40 minutes' drive from Urgench airport.
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UZ · Khorezm Regionkhiva41.38°N 60.36°Egowherelah.com
Dear group chat,A walled Silk Road town of sand-coloured lanes, blue tiles and carved wooden columns.— gowherelahTo: whoever’s drivingKhivaUZ, Khorezm Region
KLkhiva
≈ 5,917 km from KL, as the crow flies
Panorama view of Khiva (Uzbekistan)

Photo: Fulvio Spada from Torino, Italy · CC BY-SA 2.0

1 / 5

Photos: Wikimedia Commons, credited on each.

Khiva's old town, Itchan Kala, sits whole inside thick mud-brick walls. The tiled minarets and madrasas fill with day groups, and the lanes go quiet again in the evening.

Makan

  1. Shivit oshiBright green dill noodles with a meat and vegetable stew and yoghurt, a Khorezm speciality.Map ↗
  2. Tukhum barakSoft dumplings filled with egg, served with sour cream.Map ↗
  3. Non and suzmaFresh bread with thick strained yoghurt, the usual breakfast.Map ↗

Things to do

  1. Itchan KalaThe walled inner town of courtyards, workshops and old houses, best walked early in the morning.Map ↗
  2. Kalta MinorA fat, unfinished minaret wrapped entirely in blue and green tiles, near the west gate.Map ↗
  3. Juma MosqueA dim prayer hall held up by more than 200 carved wooden columns, some about a thousand years old.Map ↗
  4. Tash HauliThe khans' palace, with blue-tiled courtyards and painted wooden ceilings.Map ↗
  5. Kunya ArkThe old citadel, whose watchtower is the place for sunset over the domes and minarets.Map ↗

Good to know

  • Sleep inside or just outside the walls, so you have the lanes to yourself early and late.
  • The Itchan Kala ticket covers most museums and madrasas; climbing a minaret costs extra.
  • As across Uzbekistan, meat in local restaurants is halal as a rule; pork turns up mainly in Russian and Korean places, and alcohol is widely sold.

Last checked October 2026. Things change, so check opening times, fees and transport before you go.