Day 1
Arrive in Hotan
- Activites: We pick you from Hotan airport
- Meals: not included
- Hotel: Western Lake Hotel or similar (4-star)
Details Fly to Hotan with short stop at Urumqi airport.
Day 2
Hotan to Taklamakan Desert Trekking
- Activites: Drive to Desert, pack up camels and start trekking
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and dinner
- Hotel: Camping in the Desert
Details Our tour guide and driver will collect you from your hotel at 8:00am local time to drive out into the Taklimakan Desert. Upon arrival, we pack up everything on the camel and immediately begin trekking. You’ll enjoy beautiful high sand dunes during the trek. During the course of the day, we’ll eat a picnic lunch amongst the dunes and select a place on the summit of another as the sun sets and we make camp. Our guide will make desert kebabs for you as shooting stars light the sky and the desert welcomes you to rest
Day 3
Into the Heart Heart of the
- Activites: Keep trekking through high sand duns one after another.
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and dinner
- Hotel: Camping in the Desert
Details Strike camp, and continue on through the towering dunes of the Taklimakan. We’ll make camp once more amongst the dunes.
Day 4
Desert to Hotan
- Activites: Out of the Desert drive to Hotan
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and dinner
- Hotel: Western Lake Hotel or similar (4-star)
Details Continue trekking out of the desert where our driver awaits to escort you back to your hotel. A welcome shower in the hotel is always nice to rid oneself of three days of sand and grit, but the experience and memories will remain with you forever. Camping in the desert is a rare experience that few people achieve. With years of experience at our fingertips, let us be the ones to help you achieve it.
Day 5
Hotan to kashgar
- Activites: drive to Kashgar along the Jade Road and stop in Kaghilik, Yarkant and Yingsar towns for local sight-seeing
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and dinner
- Hotel: Tianyuan International Hotel or similar (4-star)
Details Leave for Kashgar early in the morning. Stop in Kaghilik for lunch and see the Grand Mosque built in 17th Century. Then stopping in Yarkand for a few hours to enjoy the local culture and do some sightseeing. For example; Golden Mosque (built in 1533) and its graveyard including several hundred year old tombs. Yarkand became the capital of many Uighur Kingdoms in ancient times and was an important station on the old Silk Road. It has more than 2000 years of history. Please don't miss out on a visit to a knife factory in the "knife town" of Yengisar. Pull into Kashgar and check into the Hotel. Stay in Kashgar
Day 6
Kashgar to Tashkorgan
- Activites: Drive along the KKH, Stop at Opal Village, Oytagh Kunlunshan Colorful mountain range, Gaz Valley and check point, Ancient Caravan Saray, Bulungkol Valley (white sand mountain), Karakul lake, Tashkorgan Stone Fort, Tajik Family and Cultural Museum
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and dinner
- Hotel: Crown Inn (4 star standard)
Details Our experienced local guide and driver will pick you up from your Hotel at 7:00am local time or any desired time you wish, before we set out along the Sino Pakistan (Karakorum Highway) which is one of the most beautiful highways in the world. After an hour of driving we stop in Opal village to buy fresh fruit and Naan bread and finally enter into the surreal glaciated scenery of the Karakorum Highway. Entering the world of the Kunlun Shan is an opportunity to experience one of the last truly unexplored places on Earth. The hues and colours of some of the world’s highest mountain ranges dominate every horizon on your journey towards Karakul Lake – The Kunlun Shan is known to contain 148 different kinds of minerals. About 125Km from Kashgar City, we must stop to check passports at a check point before stopping at an ancient Caravan Sarai (former camping place of camping place for Silk Road Caravans). On the way keep a sharp look out for Kyrgyz Nomadic herds, small mountain and the hued mass of Sandy Mountain all accented by the high colorful peaks of the Kunlun mountain range. By lunch time we reach Karakul Lake and have lunch at a lake side restaurant there. Karakul Lake (which means great lake) sits at the feet of the notorious Muztagh Ata (7546m) and Kongur (7719m) mountains. ‘Muztagh Ata’ means Father of the Ice Mountain and is one the most beautiful and mysterious mountains in the world. After lunch at by the lake, we push on to Tashkorgan, itself once an important hub on the old Silk Road. This whole area around the Tajik town borders Pakistan and Afghanistan and is connected to them via the Khunjerab Pass. On the way into Tashkorgan there are many Tajik villages and nomadic herdsman by the roadside. In the town you’ll have an opportunity to see the town's ancient stone fort - still standing after 1800 years! Tashkurgan is actually a translation of ‘Stone Fort.’ While there we also recommend you also visit the Tashkurgan Historical and Cultural museum. Then we’ll take a walk around the local pastoral land and villages of this historic town. This is a fantastic opportunity to try traditional Tajik food and immerse yourself in the culture of the Tajik community. In addition, Tashkurgan is surrounded by mountains and grasslands providing a great backdrop to the matchless life of the highlands. Spend the night in Tashkorgan.
Day 7
Tashkorgan to Kashgar
- Activites: Visit Stone Fort, Tajik Village, Grassland and Museum, then drive back Kashgar
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and dinner
- Hotel: Tianyuan International Hotel or similar (4-star)
Details After breakfast, you'll have an opportunity to see the town's ancient stone fort - still standing after 1800 years! 'Tashkurgan' is a translation of 'Stone Fort.' Walking around Tajik neighborhoods and grassland, if you desire pay a visit to Local Tajik families live around this historic town, then visit Tashkorgan Cultural museum where you will have better understanding of Tajik history, lifestyle and culture. After lunch drive back Kashgar and review the beautiful and spectacular scenery of Karakoram highway again.
Day 8
Explore Kashgar City
- Activites: Visit Livstock Market, Sunday Market, Apak Hoja Tomb, Idkah Mosque, Old city and local Family
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and dinner
- Hotel: Tianyuan International Hotel or similar (4-star)
Details Explore the rich, endless culture of the Uighurs in Kashgar. First visit Livestock market which is the most interesting and traditional part of the Sunday market, then push to the largest bazaar in Central Asia at the Kashgar Sunday Main Bazaar, then spend time by the Id Kah mosque, the largest mosque in China and marvel at the intricate architecture of Kashgar’s historic Apak hoja tomb. We ’ll also spend time today in the Kashgar old town and have dinner with a local Uighur family.
Day 9
Kashgar to Urumqi
- Activites: Our guide see you off at Kashgar airport and Urumqi guide and driver will pick up you from Urumqi airport, then drive to Heavenly lake
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and dinner
- Hotel: Mirage Hotel or similar (4-star)
Details Your stay at the heavenly lake is your time to ride horses, go boating, take photos or simply trek around the lake for as long as you like. You can eat lunch together with a local Kazak family or just pay them a visit! This is certainly the easiest way to understand the life style of the Kazak people in such a short time.
Day 10
Urumqi to Turpan
- Activites: visit Idikut (Gaochang) ancient city, Astana tombs, Toyup village, Bizeklik Thousand Buddha caves and Flaming Mountains.
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and dinner
- Hotel: Huozhou Hotel or similar (4-star)
Details After breakfast, drive to Turpan on the first class highway for about 2.5 hour. Once you arrive in Turpan first check into the hotel, then we start our wonderful day in Turpan beginning with a visit the ancient city of Idikut (Gaochang). The city was first built in the first Century BC and later became capital of the Idikut (Gaochang) Uighur Kingdom in the 8th Century. You can take a donkey cart to visit the site if you like. We’ll stop in the city for about 40 minutes and then drive to Karakhoja Astana tombs, a Tang-dynasty burial ground which also known as the "Underground Museum". Astana means "capital" in the Uighur language and Karakhoja is the name of a legendary hero of the ancient Uighur Kingdom who conquered by killing a vicious dragon. Moving on, we journey to Toyup village, an old, beautiful and timeless village with a friendly Uighur community. Here we visit several local families and eat lunch with a local family in their home. This could quite likely be the highlight of your tour. After lunch we visit Bizeklik Thousand Buddha caves which used to be an important center for Buddhist worship under the Xizhou Huigu government of the Idikut (Gaochang) Kingdom. Finally, on the way back to the hotel we will stop at the Flaming Mountains which people claim are so hot and dry that "flying birds even a thousand miles away dare not to come”. Later, we’ll eat dinner in the Oasis hotel restaurant and the round the day off with an atmospheric song and dance festival in the famous grape valley
Day 11
Turpan to Urumqi
- Activites: visit Yargul (Jiaohe) Ancient city, Karez underground Irrigations system and Emin Minaret, after lunch drive to Urumqi
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and dinner
- Hotel: Mirage Hotel or similar (4-star)
Details Following a hearty western breakfast at the Hotel we start our anotherwonderful day in Turpan. Our special itinerary today includes sightseeing in Turpan and drive back to Urumqi after Lunch. First we visit Yargul (Jiaohe) Ancient city which is one of the best preserved ancient cities in China. The ruins of the buildings are divided into temples, civilian dwellings and government offices. Workshops and residential houses in the streets are still visible and time there is time spent in a world long disappeared. After an hour of walking around the city area, we’ll push on to see the world famous Karez irrigation system, unique to this part of the world. The system is considered as one of the three great projects in China with the other two being the Great Wall and the Grand Canal. Then visit the Emin Suliman minaret which is a magnificent combination of ancient Uighur and Islamic architecture. It is the tallest ancient pagoda in Xinjiang and the only Islamic ancient pagoda in the country. Locals call it “pure tower.” After lunch drive back to Urumqi Stay in Urumqi
Day 12
Departure
- Activites: see you of at urumqi airport
- Meals: not included
- Hotel: not included
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