Uchkuduk road: Navoiy to Nukus?

[karenandmike]

hi all. does anybody have any info re this possible road.
navoi to uchkuduk and then on to nukus??
we will just be one vehicle though with 4 wheel drive.
any advice please. we will be driving to nukkus after one week

[karenandmike]

This route is NOT OPEN to unguided tourists.
we tried this route today and got as far as Zarafshan.
there we were held for nearly two hours and after that the chief of the police passport division informed us the area is closed to unguided tourists. they insisted we drive back to Navoi and route to Nukkus via Bukhara. That is the route for tourists they said.
Really annoyed at the time and driving wasted.
When we passed Navoi on way to Uchquduk we clearly explained our route to Nukkus and were told no problem but the boss man in Zarafshan did not care and said his rules and decision were final.
his explanation was that Zarafshan and Uchkuduk were industrial areas so not for tourists.

[steven]

Interesting! My friend went there a few years back by self-drive, seems like the rules have changed. Thank you for the update!!

[BackroadVagrants]

Hi guys.
Good news! We drove this nice road with our own car last week! We were stopped three times at the police check points. First was quick (they just warned us that there is no fuel nor water on the way to Nukus, and that the last guesthouse should be in Zarafshan). The second time was in Zarafshan. There, they interrogated us for around one hour (with a German speaking lady!) about our previous and planned route, our jobs etc. Third time was in Uchquduq, some questions and a quick look into the car. All in all, it was okay and everyone was very friendly! They just didn't seem to be used to tourists there. They couldn't understand that for us it's interesting in the steppe there ("It's boring here!").
The last 100 km are very bumpy, the rest quite good. It was well worth it!
Cheers from Bukhara, Anna and Henry

[siskadh]

Hi all, we drove this road with a rental car (sedan no 4x4) end of October this year.
We didn't see any manned checkpoints on the whole road (or in the whole of Uzbekistan for that matter )
Indeed the part between Navoi & Uchquduq is quite good, from Uchquduq to Nukus we found the whole road quite bumpy but doable in a sedan.
It will take you most of the day to drive.
Some parts almost completely covered in moving sand dunes.
We met more camels than cars/people.
Fill up before you leave Zarafshan.
There are 2-3 stations in Uchquduq but only one sold petrol 80.
Don't follow Google maps the whole time At the unmarked roundabout go left until you meet the A380 instead of straight, your car will be thankfull.
The route straight looked very bumpy.