Komsomol'sk-na-Ustyurte · UZ

Ustyurt Plateau/Canyon

The Ustyurt Plateau & Canyons on the edge of Komsomol'sk-na-Ustyurt are a piece of raw, almost planetary desert country where the flat steppe suddenly falls away into a wall of cliffs the locals call chinks. Stacked in pale pink, white and bluish bands, these eroded escarpments drop from a plateau that is itself the dried bed of an ancient ocean, so a walk to the rim is really a walk across tens of millions of years of seabed. It is one of the most photogenic and least crowded landscapes in Karakalpakstan. There are no ticket booths, gates or scheduled attractions here: this is open desert wilderness, with a 4.8-rated reputation among the small number of visitors who make the long 4x4 run out from Nukus. Come for the layered canyons, the sweeping cliff-top views, the silence broken only by wind, and some of the darkest star skies in Uzbekistan.