Of all the sites in Uzbekistan I liked Itchan Kala in Xiva (Khiva) best. Samarkand is obviously the biggest and objectively best site in Uzbekistan, but it's fairly spread out. It's also modern Uzbekistan's second largest city with traffic and crowds. It didn't evoke much of an old town feeling in me and I would not have wanted to stay for longer.

Bukhara meanwhile has an old town flair and features the nicest Islamic buildings in Uzbekistan. But ... It's overpriced and overcrowded by (mostly French) tour groups.

Xiva/Khiva was noticeably calmer than the other two. I assume this is due to Xiva/Khiva being a way smaller than the other two cities. And several tourists not making the effort of getting there as it's really far off. While Bukhara has a bullet train connection, getting to Khiva requires either a flight or a 15h train ride.

Within the walls Xiva/Khiva has a compact and mostly consistent old town, free of cars and traffic. Els' description of an empty museum city does not really cover it. Streets are filled with street vendors and loads of tourists (but way less than in Bukhara). But she is spot on to this day about the tour groups' nationality: French.

To visit, you have to buy a ticket that covers all but two sites in the city wall. There are several great ones, the highlight to me being the wooden columns and roof of the Juma Mosque. And everywhere there are these sprinkles of blue. And great ornamental tiles.

In general, it was nice just strolling around town and exploring. I could have stayed longer drinking beers on roof top terraces overlooking town. It really felt like 1001 nights and still has me dreaming of desert castles in faraway countries.

Getting There

The main entry point to Uzbekistan is Tashkent. Xiva (Khiva) is 1000km by road. By overnight train it takes 15h.

Best option is to fly one way and go/return the other way by car via Bukhara and Samarkand. Closest airport is in modern Urgench.

To Bukhara, you can take a lengthy train ride. Or just hire a driver which has the added benefit of allowing for stops at the fabulous desert castles. I hired my driver via Islambek Travel (no hassle, good rates) in Khiva. In the end I got lazy and was too happy with their services, so they arranged all trips from Khiva to Samarkand for me.

While You Are There

In Xiva/Khiva you should get the green noodles. They were delicious. I had them on a roof top bar near Kuhna Ark with a great view of the city.

Around Xiva/Khiva are two Silk Routes sites. These are not part of the upcoming nomination. I only made it to the mausoleum which was nice.

If you are flying in from Tashkent, you may as well consider going further west to either Nukus or Muynaq for the Aral Sea and the Cold Deserts. The art museum in Nukus is worth a stop. Along the road from Nukus to Xiva/Khiva are the desert castles which are a must stop.

Crossing into nearby Turkmenistan where ancient Urgench is situated as well as a WHS is at the time of writing not possible. Visits require joining a tour group.