Itchan Kala

Fortress town with beautifully restored architecture and fairytale atmosphere. Although usually I don't like souvenir stands, Khiva offers high-quality and traditional souvenirs. Sellers are very friendly and not intrusive, prices are cheap and imo not appropriate to bargain very hard. The city is not overcrowded yet (in terms of european standards) but it brights the most in the afternoon and evening when most of organised groups and one-day tours left the city. Khiva deserves at least 2-3 days imo.

Ichan‑Kala is an entire medieval city with more than 400 buildings. And this entire city has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. It is believed that Ichan‑Kala was founded in 1598 — precisely when the Amu Darya River changed its course (which happens from time to time), and it is from this date that the rise of Khiva is thought to have begun. The city is quite densely built up, but this very fact allows you to fully immerse yourself in the ancient Khiva ambience. Monuments of astonishing beauty stand alongside simple houses, and the streets are populated not only by tourists but clearly by local residents as well. A fascinating feature of Ichan‑Kala is that the city is still alive and thriving: people actually live here — and that is truly remarkable. Of course, when you travel to Khiva, you will undoubtedly research the key monuments you should visit. Or, if you prefer to have a guide, they will point these out to you. However, I would advise viewing Ichan‑Kala as a whole — as a single, indivisible entity. The city offers plenty of places to eat and to buy souvenirs, and of course there is plenty to see. It is a magnificent city, offering a complete immersive experience. If you see Khiva, you will never forget it. And for us travellers, Khiva is, above all, Ichan‑Kala — the Old Town.

Very historic, very impressive and very grand Silk Road City. We stay inside a Guesthouse in the City itself. What an incredible experience. No entrance tickets are necessary for guesthouses guests to enter the City. Only specific places with exhibits, etc requires entry tickets.

A Must Visit. I am so glad I started my trip in Uzbekistan in Khiva after I arrived in the capital city of Tashkent as it was a soft landing. Khiva is smaller and made it easier for me to start my trip. The mud-brick Fortress is a historic walled city that is well preserved. It is a UNESCO heritage. It was a major cioty on the silk Road route. I enjoyed it very much. Its small size made it easy for me to see all the attractions within a short walk of the walled city, it was easy to see everything in Khiva.

A MUST VISIT in Uzbekistan. Do it as a stay within the complex so that you can see the views both by day and night. An amazing stay to experience bygone era.

Mixed feelings about this place. On the one hand, it is excellently restored, unbelievabley photogenic, and well maintained but at the same time it feels like a theme park for tourists packed with souvenir shops and overpriced restaurants. The only life activity here is tourist trade. Since they evicted most of its residents, this place has somehow lost its soul and become just another tourist processing factory. Also, there is no mention of its slave trading past anywhere. That is rather unfair. By the way, despite what they might tell you, you don’t need to buy a ticket to enter the old town itself, you will only need it if you want to visit its museums.

Itchan Kala is a fortress walled city where you have mosque, madrassahs, houses during ancient times. It's still a protected place as world heritage site but you can see some parts of the walls and buildings are fragmented and damaged. Now there's lots of shops, museum, restaurants and people selling scarves and souvenirs. Nobody live in this place anymore. The tiles are very beautiful and most of them in blue colour. It's really a huge place. We did the tour in one day only. I wish we had stayed longer so that there's more time to explore this place. Worth the walk although it's really tiring.

Apart from the famous tourist attractions, there is much to learn from this medieval city in the middle of the desert. For instance, observe how the locals build their houses, using a mixture of mud and grass to finish their walls. Many of the famous attractions are under constant conservation, and there are little-known historical buildings sitting silently at the corners of the city, waiting to be found, such as this mosque in front of a hostel. The air is dry and the temperature is cold during the morning, typical desert weather.