Visiting Karakalpakstan/Aral Sea with the current situation

[rbt]

Hello - We're a group of travelers planning a trip around Uzbekistan in early August. We were planning to do a 2-day Aral Sea tour, setting off from Nukus, on the 7th and 8th of August.

However, today's headlines state that there were [protests][/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/2 ... eform-plan] in Karakalpakstan, and that Uzbekistan has declared a state of [emergency][https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/2 ... k-autonomy] in the region. According to the Reuter's article, " the state of emergency in the Republic of Karakalpakstan would run from just after midnight on Sunday (19:00 GMT Saturday) to August 2"

We are aiming to travel to the region on the 7th. Does it seem likely that the state of emergency will be lifted? Would travel be safe given the circumstances? Would it be advisable to not make any tour/hotel bookings in the region?

Thank you!=

[bwv812]

The government backed down and are rolling back some of the planned changes, so it should probably be fine.

[Rums]

How far is this from Khiva?

[sebhoff]

What do you mean by "this"? The "border" with Karakalpakstan (there is no border...): about 50km. Nukus? about 170km.

[TeamCornet]

Hi,

Is the border between Kazakhstan and Ouzbekistan in Tazhen close due to the current situation in Karakapalstan ?
Or can we still enter the country outside the curfew hours ?

Thank you

[himbel]

Hi,

for me it would also be really interesting, if its possible to cross the landboarder currently in Tazhen.

Has anybody tried recently?

Thanks

[sah10406]

Thanks for asking this question @rbt. I have been thinking about it too, in the light of last week's news. Curfew I can cope with, but it doesn't feel right (and maybe not even safe) to breeze in as a tourist when things are so tense for the locals.

UK FCO is currently advising against non-essential travel to Karakalpakstan:
https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advic ... d-security

My plan is to spend 4 or 5 days in the Nukus and Moynaq area in mid-September, at the end of a longer trip to Uzbekistan. For now I will keep that part of my visit flexible I guess.

[sah10406]

The state of emergency has now been formally lifted, earlier than the planned end date, and the FCO link in my last post has been updated.