7-Day Xinjiang Himalaya Mountain Wild Landscape Tour
Activities: This 7 Days Trekking and Camping Tour is conducted on the Xinjiang side of the world famous Karakorum Highway(KKH). During the tour, trekking and camping done by accompanied with local Uyghur and Kirgiz guides. Meals will be either picnic in the wild or dining in local Kirgiz peoples Yurt or stone built houses deep inside the mountain.
Day 01
Place & Transport: Arrival to Kashgar
Day’s Activities:Kashgar Airport Pick Up
Place to Stay: Kashgar
You fly in kashgar with connected flight from Beijing or Shanghai via Urumqi
We will meet you at Kashgar Airport then transfer to Hotel.
Day 02
Place & Transport:Kashgar to Karakul Lake (200km)
Today’s Activities: Opal Village, KKH, Corner Lake, Karakul lake, Kyrgyz Family Visiting
Place to Stay: Karakul Lake
This trek 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.
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 (BulungKul) 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 overnight with Locals in their yurt but traditional Kyrgyz yurt near the lake.
Day 03
Place & Transport: Karakul Lake – Idara village (12km)
Today’s Activities: Subash Village, Muztagh Ata
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 situated15kmfrom 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 04
Place & Transport:Idara to Base Camp then Qaltumak (14km)
Today’s Activities: Opan Village
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 of7546m. 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.
Day 05
Place & Transport:Qaltumak Down to Idare (12km) then to Tashkurgan
Today’s Activities: Idare (204) Village
Place to Stay: Tashkurgan
The car will be waiting for us as we journey from Qaltumak to the plains below, descending 900mto 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 06
Place & Transport:Tashkorgan to Kashgar (300km)
Today’s Activities: Tashkorgan, Stone City, Tashkorgan Grassland, Subash Pass
Place to Stay: Kashgar
After breakfast we will visit the Stone City, 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 Tips
Good 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.
Day 07
Place & Transport:Kashgar Airport
Today’s Activities: Kashgar airport Transfer
After breakfast our guide and driver will take you to Kashgar airport and help you to check in your onward flights.
