10-Day Xinjiang Group Tour
Price Details: 6320 RMB P/P for 29th Sep (Special)
Group Size: 2 to 8 Pax
Highlights: Our 10 days Xinjiang group tour suitable for first time visitors to Xinjiang. It will take you to historically and strategically important cities along the Silk Road Xinjiang. You will also be riding camel in Taklamakan Desert, home staying in Kirgiz house and trekking around Karakul Lake.
| Tour Start Date | ||||
| Month | Start Date | Price Starting | Single Room | Enquiry |
| Apr . 2017 | 6th Apr 2017 | 8990 RMB | 1130 RMB |  |
| 20th Apr 2017 | 8990 RMB | 1130 RMB | ||
| May . 2017 | 4th May 2017 | 8990 RMB | 1130 RMB | |
| 18th May 2017 | 8990 RMB | 1130 RMB | ||
| Jun . 2017 | 8th Jun 2017 | 9840 RMB | 1750 RMB | |
| 22nd Jun 2017 | 9840 RMB | 1750 RMB | ||
| Jul . 2017 | 13th Jul 2017 | 9840 RMB | 1750 RMB | |
| 20th Jul 2017 | 9840 RMB | 1750 RMB | ||
| Aug . 2017 | 10th Aug 2017 | 9840 RMB | 1750 RMB | |
| 24th Aug 2017 | 9840 RMB | 1750 RMB | ||
| Sep . 2017 | 7th Sep 2017 | 9840 RMB | 1750 RMB | |
| 21th Sep 2017 | 9840 RMB | 1750 RMB | ||
| Oct . 2017 | 29th Sep 2017 | 6320 RMB | 1750 RMB | |
| 1st Oct 2017 | 9840 RMB | 1750 RMB | ||
| 19th Oct 2017 | 8990 RMB | 1310 RMB | ||
Day 1
Place & Transport: Arrival to Urumqi
Today’s Activities: Our guide and driver will meet you at Urumqi Airport before transferring you to your Hotel.
Day 2
Place & Transport: Urumqi to Turpan then Turpan Tour
Today’s Activities: Kariz Water System, Jiaohe Ancient City, Emin Minaret
After breakfast at the hotel, we will drive from Urumqi to Turpan which is 180 km away (about 2.5 hours’ drive). On the way, we will drive past Da Ban Cheng, one of the largest wind power stations in China. After arriving in Turpan, we will check in to our hotel before launching our Turpan tour. First we will inspect the Kariz underground water system, China’s third most important ancient engineering feat with a total length of 3100 miles and dating back more than 2000 years. We will take you to one of the natural, non-touristy Kariz spots in Turpan. Then we will visit Jiaohe Ancient City which is the world’s oldest, largest, and tallest ancient city built of mud. Many cultural relics have been unearthed, at Jiaoche, such as an antefix of the Tang Dynasty and early Buddhist scriptures. Emin Minaret was built in 1777, it is the largest extant old tower in Xinjiang and it is the only Islamic tower among the hundred most famous towers in China. After the tour, you will spend the night in Turpan.
Day 3
Place & Transport: Turpan Tour then Overnight Train to Kashgar
Today’s Activities: Gaochang Ancient City, Astana Ancient Tombs, Tuyuk Village, Flaming Mountain (non touristy)
After breakfast at the hotel, we will drive to Gaochang Ancient City, located 47 km east of Turpan. The city was built in the first century B.C. and was a key point on the ancient Silk Road. Afterwards, we head to Astana Ancient tombs, the royal tombs and the underground museum of Xinjiang where many important scriptures, paintings and mummies have been discovered. Then we will visit Tuyuk Village where we can observe traditional Uyghur life. Villagers live in traditional homes made of mud brick. We will also visit the non-touristy part of Flaming Mountains which extend 100 km from east to west and are about 10 km wide. In the summer, temperatures reach as high as 80 C and the air flow shimmers above the mountains like a fire. After lunch we head to the Turpan Railway Station to catch the train from Turpan to Kashgar. The train departs Turpan at 18:03 and arrives in Kashgar at 8:59 (duration is 14h56m).
Day 4
Place & Transport: Kashgar City Tour
Today’s Activities: Apak Hoja tomb, Eid Kah Mosque, Kashgar Old Town, Sunday Market, Kashgar Live Stock Market
Your train arrives in Kashgar at 08:59 a.m. Upon arrival you will be transferred to your hotel. We will begin our Kashgar City Tour by visiting the Apak Hoja Tomb, also known as the “fragrant concubine tomb”. This is a very tranquil place and a beautiful example of Uyghur Islamic architecture. Next, we will head to the *famous live animal market, one of the biggest in the region where you will see livestock being traded. Then you will continue to the Sunday Market, renowned as the biggest in Central Asia. It is said you can buy anything you want at the Sunday Market except chicken milk or cow eggs. After the Sunday Market, you will have your lunch either in a Uyghur private home or in a Uyghur restaurant (note: the request for having lunch in a Uyghur home must be made in advance). After lunch we will wander through the winding narrow streets of the historic Kashgar Old Town rubbing shoulders with the friendly Uyghur residents. Located at the spiritual heart of the Old Town is Eid Kah Mosque, the largest mosque in China. We will go inside and learn about Islam in Kashgar and how it is practiced by the Uyghur people. After our visit to the Mosque, we will stroll down Handicraft Street, viewing pots being hammered, wood craftsmen at work and traditional musical instrument workshops.
Note: For entering the Mosque visitors should dress respectfully: no shorts or short sleeved shirts and women should cover their heads with a scarf.
Day 5
Place & Transport: Day Tour to Davakul Taklamakan Desert
Today’s Activities: Taklamakan Desert Camel riding
Dawakul Taklamakan Desert is 130 km from Kashgar, about a 2 hour drive. It is located on the southeastern tip of the Taklamakan desert. Dawakul in Uyghur language means “curing lake” and for many centuries people have visited the lake to swim in its waters seeking a cure for their ailments. Now it has been turned in to attraction where you can look out to the vast Taklamakan desert, do camel or dune buggy riding. At the lake shore locals oven bake delicious freshly caught fish, lamb and chicken which can be enjoyed for your lunch.
Taklimakan desert is the second largest shifting sands desert in the World, covering an area of 337,600 square km. The Taklamakan Desert is known as the “sea of death” by the ancient Silk Road traders. They use to have to cross it in their caravans in times gone by and many traders who entered the desert lost their way and were never seen again.
While in the desert, you can experience ancient desert transportation by riding a camel or alternatively for a more modern exhilarating ride you can choose to ride a buggy over the dunes. If weather permits, we can also trek through the desert for a couple of hours or days depending on which season and month of the year you are visiting. We will be returning to Kashgar early to late afternoon.
Day 6
Place & Transport: Day Tour to Shipton’s Arch
Today’s Activities: Shipton’s Arch
After breakfast at the hotel, we will start our tour. Shipton’s Arch is reached by a two-hour drive from Kashgar. This drive includes an hour on the road and an hour of exhilarating off-road riverbed driving followed by a 45 minute walk. On foot we will ascend through steeply walled canyons and over rocky riverbed terrain. This trek also involves climbing a series of ladders placed to make the scramble to the base of the arch easier.
Shipton’s Arch is the tallest natural arch in the world, towering 500 meters high and 100 meters wide, enabling a small airplane to pass through it! Shipton’s Arch is known to the local people as “Tushuk Tagh” which literally translates as “Hole Mountain.” It is among the least known twenty Natural
Wonders of the World, and was first documented in 1947 by English mountaineer Eric Shipton, who made it known to the West in his book Mountains of Tartary. Due to its remote, inaccessible location within the Kara Tagh (Black Mountain) Range, it was all but forgotten. Only as recently as May 2000, an expedition sponsored by The National Geographic Society rediscovered the arch, marking its position to enable foreign travelers to find it. After the visit to the arch we will return to Kashgar.
Note: This walk is moderately challenging and will require good walking shoes and a moderate level of physical fitness. It is advisable to bring water, snacks, sunscreen, and warm clothes as it can be cooler at the arch due to the high altitude (2000m).
Day 7
Place & Tansport: Kashgar to Karakul Lake then to Tashkurgan
Today’s Activities: Karakoram Highway, Opal Village, Red Mountain, Corner Lake, Karakul Lake
The Karakorum Highway is renowned as the highest paved border crossing in the world and regarded as one of the most beautiful highways. Our scenic drive will bring us first to Opal Village, a 1-hour drive from Kashgar. Here you may photograph village life and traditional activities like bread making, and
Uyghur food stalls. Half an hour‘s drive beyond will bring us to Oytagh Red Mountain, to a valley framed by multi-colored mountains topped by snow-capped peaks. Corner Lake (BulungKul) is next, a tranquil shallow lake affording spectacular photographic opportunities with stunning reflections of the sand mountains. Before continuing our road trip to Tashkurgan, where we will spend the night, we will pause at Karakul Lake, 3600 meters above sea level, located between Mt. Muztagh Ata (7546 meters) and Mt. Kongur (7719 meters). These are reputed to be 2 of the 6 most beautiful mountains in the world. During our time at Karakul Lake, you can have your lunch in a Kirgiz yurt or picnic by the lake if you have purchased fruit, kebab and bread from Opal village. Then you can either ride a horse or camel around the lake or trek around the Karakul Lake which takes approximately 4 hours on average. Then we will continue to Tashkurgan that is where we will spend the night.
Day 8
Place & Transport: Tashkurgan Tour
Today’s Activities: Tashkurgan Stone Fort, Tashkurgan Grassland, Tashkurgan Museum
Tashkurgan is a small town on the Pamir Plateau, that was once extremely isolated until the rebuilding of the Karakorum Highway in 1987. Even today, the local community, reached by this single road from Kashgar, continues to live a traditional way of life. This region is known to be part of the primary route of the “Old Silk Road” connecting China and Western Asia. The prime attraction here is the Stone Fort, with a history of more than 2000 years. The fort had once served as the central palace of the Tajik Kingdom. Our visit here will be followed by the Tashkurgan grassland which is next to the Stone Fort. Tashkurgan Grassland is where you can visit free grazing sheep, goat, yak, and horses. In summer, locals put up tents and serve lunch and dinner for tourists. Last but not least, you will visit Tashkurgan cultural and custom museum that is where you can learn about Tajik culture and customs.
Day 9
Place & Transport: Karakorum Highway to Kashgar
Today’s Activities: Karakul Lake, Karakorum Highway, Kashgar
After breakfast at the hotel, we will head down to Kashgar. On the way, we will stop at Karakul Lake one more time to enjoy the view and take some more memories back home. Whatever you missed on our previous visit, as the weather is very changeable at Karakul Lake, you can make up for before heading down to Kashgar. Once you are done with your visit, then we will head down to Kashgar and you are more than welcome to make many photo stops on the return leg of the journey.
Day 10
Place & Transport: Kashgar Airport See Off
Today’s Activities: After breakfast at the hotel, our guide and driver will take you to Kashgar Airport and help you to check in for your flight to your next destination.
Price includes:
Air conditioned vehicle as per the group size and program
Uyghur English Speaking tour guide
4 star hotels with breakfast
Entrance fee as per the program
Turpan to Kashgar train (soft sleeper bed)
All the expenses of guide and driver
- meal at Karakul Lake and 1 farewell dinner
- bottle of water per person per day
Price doesn’t include:
Meals unless speficified
Tip for the guide and driver
Travel insurance
