Sea in the sand
Wide beaches.
Marat Nadjibaev — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Marat Nadjibaev — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Marat Nadjibaev — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Галиев Ярослав — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Arina Pan — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Мустафин М. — CC BY-SA 4.0 · FeruzaMurodova — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Marat Nadjibaev — CC BY-SA 4.0
A vast lake in the sands of the Kyzylkum Desert, nicknamed the «sea in the sand» for its wide sandy beaches and slightly salty water. It is part of the Aydar-Arnasay lake system, which covers about 4,000 km². The lake was born by accident: until the mid-20th century the Arnasay lowland was a dry salt pan most of the year, until the floodgates of the Shardara dam on the Syr Darya were opened during a great flood in 1969. Between February 1969 and February 1970 huge volumes of water poured into the basin, forming the lakes. Many fish live here, drawing anglers, and migrating birds such as white swans stop on the water, while desert tortoises roam the sand. The area around is sparsely inhabited and well suited to yurt stays and camel rides. Many visitors spend a night at a nearby yurt camp, with an Uzbek dinner under a sky full of stars, usually combined with Nurata on a trip from Samarkand or Bukhara. Reaching the lake is free; camps and activities charge.
Wide beaches.
Under the stars.
On the water.
Kyzylkum Desert, north of Nurata
When the Shardara dam's floodgates on the Syr Darya were opened in the 1969 flood, water poured into the dry Arnasay basin and formed the lakes.