Discover the best Moynaq and Aral Sea photography spots with this complete guide. With detailed tips on how to get there, where to stay and how to take amazing photos!
When looking at a map, the North of Uzbekistan appears to be an enormous desert. This wasn’t always like that. Not so many years ago, that area was covered by the Aral Sea, which was the fourth-largest freshwater lake in the world.
However, when the Soviets arrived in the country, they started using the water to grow cotton plantations, and the Aral Sea began to disappear. Nowadays, what was once an enormous body of water is a desert. Getting to the sea requires more than 1 day of off-road driving, and the coastal village of Moynaq is now a ship cemetery.
In this Aral Sea photography spots guide, you’ll find out how to get to the famous Moynaq Ship Cemetery, the best ways to explore the Aral Sea area, and how to take the best possible photos there. I also offer 1on1 Q&A sessions to plan your Uzbekistan (photography) tip, which you can schedule using the link below.
Aral Sea photography spots FAQs
There’s not a lot of information online on how to reach Moynaq. There’s even less info about how to photograph the Aral Sea and the Moynaq Ship Cemetery. Thus, before deep-diving into the best Aral Sea photography spots, these are some of the questions I was asking myself before getting there.
Is it worth visiting the Aral Sea in Uzbekistan?
Yes, it is worth it. However, it can be expensive and/or time-consuming, depending on how you get there and how you explore it. There are 2 ways to explore the Aral Sea: by yourself or in a tour group.
If you go by yourself, you will not get to see the water. You will make it to Moynaq, the Ship Cemetery, but that will be it. This is cheap, affordable, and relatively easy to do on one’s own, provided you have some travel experience.
If you take a tour, you’ll arrive in Moynaq faster, and then take the off-road to the seaside. This is usually a 2-day, 1-night trip, and it is expensive, very expensive if you compare it to the regular Uzbekistan prices.
As I was travelling solo, I opted for the first option. In this guide, you’ll not find how to get to the water, but you’ll find out exactly how I got to Moynaq, where I stayed, and what the best Aral Sea photography spots are, including the famous wrecked Ship Cemetery.
How to get to Moynaq and the Aral Sea Ship Cemetery?
Moynaq was once a coastal town. Now it’s a small village in the middle of nowhere. Getting there is not that difficult, but requires some time. The closest large city to Moynaq is Nukus, the capital of the Karakalpakstan area. There are 3 main ways to get to Moynaq.
The cheap and local one: from the bus terminal (here), there’s a bus leaving around 8:50 am to Moynaq. To return, ask in Moynaq. I took a bus at a similar time to return, which was even more packed than the one on my way to Moynaq.
The private taxi option: if you know how to bargain and you travel with 3-4 people, it could be an option. At the Nukus train station or at your hotel in Nukus, you’ll be able to find someone willing to drive you there. Remember to haggle.
The tour option: if you book a tour, you’ll get a private car either from Nukus, Urgench, Khiva, or Bukhara. This is the most expensive option.
How to get to Nukus?
Thus, the next question is how to get to Nukus? Getting to Nukus is easy. Nukus is connected by train to the rest of the country. However, it’s not the high-speed train that runs between Tashkent, Samarkand, or Bukhara. Instead is an older sleeper train, perfect for meeting some locals. I took it from Tashkent and crossed the country on a 15h journey. Slow, traditional, and very authentic.
How to get to the Nukus to Moynaq bus stop?
Once in Nukus, many people will offer you a taxi ride. You’ll have to take one of them to get to the bus station, but don’t accept their first offer. In many cases, their prices will be 10x what you should pay for that short drive.
Tips for the bus trip from Nukus to Moynaq
Be there early. It’s a 3.5-hour drive, and you do not want to be standing for the full ride. It’s the only public transportation option, and many locals take it. Be at the bus station 30-40′ before the bus leaves, and the sooner you can get on the bus, the better. Ask around which is the bus (if you know how to read Cyrillic or speak Russian, things will be much easier), and find a seat.
The route has stops in some villages, and we did one major stop at a gas station.
How expensive is the Nukus to Moynaq bus?
It’s 20.000 SUM. When you convert it to your currency, you’ll see how cheap it is, proving it’s the local means of transportation.
Where to stay in Moynaq to visit the Aral Sea?
If you want to explore the best Aral Sea photography spots, you’ll need to stay close to them. In this case, it means going near the Ship Cemetery. Moynaq doesn’t have an extensive tourist offering. When I was there, there was only one listing on Booking.com. If you check on Google Maps, you can find some local accommodations, which you’ll need to book once you are there or in Nukus, for example, by asking your hotel.
However, it won’t be difficult to find a place to stay if you don’t have a booking, ask around, and someone will know someone who has a room. The closer to the ship cemetery, the better. Moving within the village/town is also easy. You can stop any car, tell them where you are going, and if it’s on their way, they will drop you there for a good price.
How many days to visit Moynaq and the Aral Sea?
To photograph the best Aral Sea photography spots, you have 2 options. A day trip, or spending a night in Moynaq. I strongly recommend the second option. The trip there is long enough to only have a couple of hours to enjoy the area and then leave back to Nukus (if that’s where you come from). Take your time, if you are lucky, admire the sunset, and explore the village a bit.
This is why I said that visiting the Aral Sea is worth it, but time-consuming. If you are on a 1-week trip to Uzbekistan, it might not be worth it to spend 2-3 days getting there, unless you go on an organised tour. Instead, on a 2-week itinerary, I recommend doing the trip to the north. The cultural differences, the landscape,… are really worth it.
Aral Sea photography spots: Moynaq and Ship Cemetery
Most of the Aral Sea photography spots are in the ship cemetery area. However, in this guide, I will add some other relevant photography spots in the town of Moynaq. While it’s not a typical beautiful place, it has many photo opportunities, which I will mention below.
Ship cemetery
The main photo opportunity in Moynaq is the ship cemetery. There are many angles, photos and ways to capture the ships that once were floating in the Aral Sea. I have divided the ship cemetery photo opportunities into 2 main categories: the ones of the repainted ships and the ones of the rusty ships.
Finding the ships is easy, as they are marked on Google Maps and are easy to spot. There are 3 ships closer to the road, and then a larger group of them just under the viewpoint over the Aral Sea (see below).
Rusty Ships
The rusty ships are great for detail photography. I had a blast looking for different angles and compositions of this amazing Aral Sea photography spot.
It’s possible to get inside some of the ships; a few of them have built-in ladders, and people get in (or on) them. The little details and the contrast between the ships and the desert are amazing and make for great photos.
Repainted ships
There are a few repainted ships, which can help visualise what the area looked like back in the day. They are great to add a touch of colour to your images, and especially during the golden hour. If you get great light conditions, their colours pop.
Sunset by the ship cemetery
The greatest of the Aral Sea photography spots, in my opinion, is the ship cemetery at sunset. It’s not a crowded spot during the day, but the moment the sun goes down, chances are you will be almost alone. Some of my favourite Uzbekistan photos were taken then, at sunset, by the ships.
Aral Sea viewpoint
You might wonder: why list the Aral Sea, if there’s no water? Because you can see where the water once was. The Aral Sea memorial (see below) is located at an elevated spot, from where you can see (and photograph) the “shore” of the sea. Houses follow a unique path, all of them at the exact same height, and if you draw an imaginary line, you can picture where the water level was.
Moreover, the view from the elevated area is great. Remember that what today is a viewpoint, it was once a cliff, overlooking the Aral Sea.
Aral Sea memorial
At the Aral Sea viewpoint, there’s also a memorial. It’s a monument with visual representations of the size of the Aral Sea at different points in time. It’s a great photography spot because you can capture it with the empty sea in the background, an image that has a very powerful meaning, and that is quite easy to take.
Daily life at Moynaq
The village of Moynaq feels silent. There’s not a lot of activity, even less in the outskirts where the Ship Cemetery is. However, there’s daily life. There are restaurants, children, people in the streets… and for me, these are one of the best Aral Sea photography spots or opportunities: the life after the sea is gone.
The village feels silent, especially during the winter months. Yet, it has something special or unique.
Moynaq: the village
From the dirt in the cars to the interactions between locals, Moynaq is a town of contrasts. Besides daily life, Moynaq has some interesting photography spots. The old buildings (and some surprising new ones, like the Moynaq Times building), the dirty cars, the playground areas,…
While Moynaq is not the most obvious of the Aral Sea photography spots, if you have some time, I encourage you to take your camera and get out there and roam the streets a bit. Locals might get curious and approach you, but mostly because they will be interested in what you are photographing.
Tourists
Moynaq and the Aral Sea are not very touristy locations. While I was there, I spotted 2 other Western tourists. However, there is internal tourism in Uzbekistan, and that’s why I list it as the last of the Aral Sea photography spots (although there’s a bonus one).
The local tourists, besides being very curious about why someone from the other side of the world would travel there, give some life to an otherwise empty space. Kids on top of the boats, people checking the wrecked ships,… If you are into people-watching, try to include some tourists in your ship cemetery photos.
Bonus Aral Sea photography spot: Nukus Mizdakhan Necropolis
Write down this place. It is one of the best photography spots in Uzbekistan. I list it here because, as I explained, chances are you will spend some time in Nukus, before or after going to Moynaq.
On the outskirts of Nukus, there is the Mizdakhan Necropolis. This is probably the place that surprised me the most and where I took unique photos that I have never seen online. Getting to the Necropolis requires a taxi, and remember to negotiate with the driver when he can come back to pick you up, as there’s no service there.
The Mizdakhan Necropolis is a hidden gem. It feels a bit like an Indiana Jones scene. Tombs everywhere, no one around, just a few locals and tourists scattered, and amazing photography opportunities wherever you look. Below you see a few of the photos I took there, but they only represent a fraction of what this place is. If you are in Nukus and have the chance to visit it, do it.
This concludes my best Moynaq and Aral Sea photography spots guide. If you have questions or want my help planning your trip to Nukus, Moynaq and the Aral Sea, you can schedule a call with me using the link below. Want to be updated on my most recent trips? Follow me on Instagram!
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