Capital of Khorezm · Turkmenistan
Minarets and mausoleums of the old Khorezm capital, close to Khiva.
Kunya-Urgench is the ruined medieval capital of Khorezm in northern Turkmenistan, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2005. Its highlights are the 60-metre Gutlug Timur minaret and the tiled Turabek Khanum mausoleum. From Khiva, cross at Shavat–Dashoguz, about an hour away. You need a Turkmen visa arranged in advance.
Kunya-Urgench ("old Urgench") was the capital of Khorezm when it was one of the most powerful states of medieval Central Asia, under the Khorezmshahs of the 12th and early 13th centuries. Genghis Khan’s armies destroyed it in 1221. It recovered, was ruined again by Timur in the 1370s and 1380s, and was finally abandoned when the Amu Darya changed course. Its people moved, and their capital eventually became Khiva.
That shared history is why Kunya-Urgench belongs on any Khiva trip if you can arrange the visa. It is close to the border: the drive from Khiva, plus the crossing, makes it the natural first day of a Turkmenistan journey.
Don’t miss
A slender brick minaret of the 14th century, about 60 m tall and one of the tallest in Central Asia. It leans slightly.
A 14th-century mausoleum whose dome has a tiled mosaic of 365 sections, said to represent the days of the year.
A small 12th-century mausoleum with a 12-sided conical roof of turquoise tiles, the oldest standing monument on the site.
The tomb of a great Khorezmshah, with a tall conical dome.
A Sufi shrine and a sacred hill still visited by pilgrims, especially women hoping for children.
Urgench was the capital of Khorezm for centuries and reached its peak under the Khorezmshahs (c. 1077–1231), whose empire briefly stretched from the Aral Sea to Iran. In 1219–1221 the Mongol invasion destroyed it, reportedly by breaking the river dams and flooding the city. Under the Golden Horde it was rebuilt and prospered again, and most of the surviving monuments date from this 14th-century revival. Timur sacked it in the late 14th century. When the Amu Darya shifted its course in the 16th century, the city lost its water and was abandoned. The capital of Khorezm moved, and eventually settled at Khiva.
The monuments are scattered over open ground, so plan two to four hours and come with a driver. Start at the Turabek Khanum mausoleum, the most beautiful building, then walk to the Gutlug Timur minaret, the Sultan Tekesh and Il-Arslan mausoleums, and the ruined caravanserai gate. The Najm ad-Din Kubra complex and the pilgrims’ hill of Kyrk Molla are on the edge of the modern town. Pilgrims often walk between shrines in a fixed order; respect their space.
Light is best in the morning and late afternoon. There is little shade.
Most travellers continue from Kunya-Urgench to the Darvaza gas crater for the night, then to Ashgabat. See our Khiva to Bukhara through Turkmenistan journey.
Tours
Ashgabat → Darvaza gas crater → Kunya-Urgench → Khiva → Bukhara → Samarkand → Seven Lakes (Haft Kul) → Tashkent → Margilan → Osh → Bishkek → Song-Kul → Issyk-Kul → Almaty
Khiva → Kunya-Urgench → Darvaza gas crater → Ashgabat → Ancient Merv → Bukhara
In principle yes, since the border is about an hour from Khiva and the site is about two hours beyond it. In practice the Turkmen visa, the border formalities and the requirement to travel with a Turkmen guide make it better as the first day of a longer Turkmenistan route.
Yes. Kunya-Urgench is in Turkmenistan. You need a tourist visa issued against a letter of invitation, which a licensed Turkmen agency applies for on your behalf in advance.
The Gutlug Timur minaret, about 60 m tall, and the Turabek Khanum mausoleum with its 365-part tiled dome. Both are from the 14th century, part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site inscribed in 2005.
Nearby
Darvaza Trip · Koshona street 75/1, Khiva, Uzbekistan · WhatsApp +998 91 920 94 20 · tours.uzbekistan@gmail.com · darvazatrip.com/destinations/turkmenistan/kunya-urgench/
