Chilpik Dakhma

Chilpik stands on a conical hill above the Amu Darya, a ring of mud-brick wall around sixty five metres across built in the first centuries of the common era as a dakhma, a Zoroastrian tower where bodies were exposed to birds so that neither earth nor fire would be defiled. The bones were collected afterwards into ossuaries. A steep path climbs to the entrance, and from inside the ring the river and the desert run out in every direction.

Highlights

• The mud-brick ring - a wall around sixty five metres across on the hilltop.
• The exposure practice - the Zoroastrian rite the structure was built for.
• The hill climb - the steep path from the road to the entrance.
• The river view - the Amu Darya and the desert from inside the ring.

When to go

April to May and September to October are the comfortable months. Summer heat makes the climb dangerous. Early morning is best for light.

Good to know

The climb is steep with loose footing and no handrail. There is no shade at any point. Nothing is interpreted at the site.

Nearby

Nukus is north, and Ayaz-Kala is east.

Key facts