Activities: This 5 days Karakul Lake and Muztagh Ata Trekking Tour takes you to the remote, untouristed base camp of Muztgata (4500m), the snow-capped peak of which, at 7546m, is one of the most beautiful mountain tops in the world. Glaciers flank the base camp, which sits at the foot of the trail to the summit. It is a high-altitude and adventurous trek which can be tailored to suit the abilities of the trekkers.

 

Day 01

Place & Transport:Kashgar to Karakul lake (200km)

Today’s Activities: Opal village, KKH, Corner Lake, Karakul lake, Kyrgyz family visit

Meals: Picnic Lunch

Place to stay: Karakul lake

Today we take a drive on Karakoram highway, renowned as the highest paved border crossing in the World and regarded as one of the World’s most beautiful highways). We will see the following on

our drive: Opal village is a 1 hour drive from Kashgar. It is a good location to take photos of village life and traditional activities like bread making and Uyghur food stalls. Half an hour drive from the village we will arrive in Oytagh Red Mountain. The mountain valley is surrounded by a beautiful backdrop of multi-colored mountains topped by snowcapped peaks. Corner Lake (Bulung Kul) is a tranquil shallow lake where you can take very nice photographs of the lake with stunning reflections of the sand mountains. Karakul Lake is 3600 meters above sea level. It is located between Mt. Muztagata  (7546 meters) and Mt. Gonger (7719 meters), which are said to be 2 of the 6 most beautiful mountains in the World. We will trek around the lake for about 4 Hours then visit the local Kyrgyz Yurts and listen to their stories about traditional ways of nomadic mountain life.  We will arrange for you to spend the evening with a local Kyrgyz family in their Yurt, where you will be able to experience the different culture and language of this traditionally nomadic people. you will be staying in a traditional Kyrgyz yurt,.

Note: you are not allowed to stay over night with Locals in their yurt but traditional Kyrgyz yurt near the lake.
 

Days 02

Place & Transport:Karakul Lake – Idara village (15km)

Today’s Activities: Subash village, Muztaga, Kyrgyz family dinner

Meals: Picnic Lunch

Place to stay: Idare village

The day begins with breakfast after which our luggage will be packed onto camels ready to begin our trek at 9:00am. Our guide and camel men will lead you toward Idare village, and due to the high altitude we aim to trek for an achievable four to five hours. Idare village, a settlement comprised of 25-30 stone houses occupied by Kyrgyz people, is situated 15km from Lake Karakul. We’ll arrive at Idare in the early afternoon, and you will then have the opportunity to explore the village and meet with the local children. After a nomadic-style dinner with the families we aim to go to bed early, ready for the next day’s trekking.
 

 Day 03

Place & Transport:Idara to Base Camp, then Qaltumak, (14km)

Today’s Activities: Opan village, KKH, Corner Lake, Karakul lake, Kyrgyz family visit

Meals: Picnic Lunch

Place to stay: Qaltumak

The destination for the third day of trekking is the very small summer village of Kyrghyz nomads, Qaltumak. During winter the people move to lower altitudes to avoid the freezing temperatures, but during summer the weather in Qaltumak is warm enough for them to stay for 4 months to feed their animals – yaks, camels and donkeys – up higher. Muztagh Ata is known by locals as The Father of Ice mountain, and towers at a height of 7546m. We will be able to see the spectacular views of these great mountains while trying to count the hundreds of Marmeds who appear to be playing hide and seek on the slopes. You will also be given the opportunity to meet local Hayde shepherds.
 

Days 04

Place & Transport:From Qaltumak down to Idare (12km)

Today’s Activities: Opan village, KKH, Corner Lake, Karakul lake, Kyrgyz family visit

Meals: Picnic Lunch

Place to stay: Karakul lake

The car will be waiting for us as we journey from Qaltumak to the plains below, descending 900m to Idare. We will take a 1.5 hour drive from Karakul lake to Tashkorgan, an small town located high up on the Pamir Plateau. This area was extremely isolated until the rebuilding of the Karakoram highway in 1987 and even today the local community still lives in a very traditional fashion with only a single road reaching here from Kashgar, so it has retained a certain uniqueness. This region is commonly known as the main branch of the “Old Silk Road” the main route leading from China to West Asia. The average elevation is 4000 meters.
 

Day 05

Place & Transport:Tashkorgan to Kashgar (300Km)

Today’s activities include: Tashkorgan, Stone fort, Tashkorgan grassland, Subash pass

Meals included:B/ L

Place to stay: Kashgar

After breakfast we will visit the Stone fort, located in downtown Tashkorgan. It has a history of more than 2000 years, when in times gone by it was the home of the King of the Tajik kingdom. We will hike across the Tashkorgan grassland under the watchful gaze of Mt. Mutztah Ata and Mt. Pamir. We’ll take the Karakorum Highway back to Kashgar, arriving in the late afternoon.

Trekking TipsGood trekking shoes are required.Long sleeved T-shirts are highly recommended as the sun is very strong at these high altitudes.Medicine to treat the symptoms of high altitude is advised. Headache is the most common side effect from the altitude, so bringing some paracetamol is a good idea. There is a smaller risk of more severe altitude sickness, however we aim to ascend slowly to minimize the effects.

Testimonial

We recommend the tour and the travel agency specially. Imam, the person in charge of the agenfucy, made us everything very easy. He is very professional and honest and really helpfull in other services not connected with the trekk (he us with our Tibet permits).According to the trekk, it really worths because the landscapes are really gorgeous and breatheless. We could visit the base camp of Muztagh Ata and stay with the climbers.The trekk is very interesting too, because we could stay, have dinner and breakfast with the local people, sleeping in their houses as well.So, for other those reasons, we highly recommend the trekk and the service of Kasghar Guide.

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Recomendamos sin duda el trekk que hemos realizado al igual que el servicio de la Agencia Kasghar Guide. La persona encargada de la agencia, Imam, nos ha ayudado muchisimo. Nos ayudo desde Espana a resevar varios vuelos, asi como el hotel en Kasghar. Ademas, estuvo en contacto con nuesto guia de Tibet para hacernos llegar los permisos necesarios para poder volar alli. Y todo ello lo hizo de manera desintersada.

En cuanto al trekk, realmente merece la pena. Los paisajes de la Karakoram Highway son impresionantes, y el recorrido del trekk hasta el campo base del Muztagh Ata es sobrecogedor. Ademas, tienes la oportunidad de convivir con los locales de alli, durmiendo en sus casas y cenando y desayunando con ellos.

Por todo lo anterior, recomendamos absolutamente los servicios de la agencia por su profesionalidad, y el trekk por lo espectacular de los paisajes que se observan.

Jesus y Pablo (Zamora y Burgos) Espana