Details
Arrival in Kashgar
Arrive at Kashgar Airport. Your driver will meet you at arrivals with a welcome sign and transfer you to your hotel for check-in. The rest of the day is free to rest, stroll the nearby bazaars or visit a local teahouse to absorb the local Uyghur atmosphere.
Traffic: Private car; Hotel: Overnight in Kashgar; Altitude: 1,289 m
Meals: Customized to your needs
Accommodation: Hotels will be arranged according to demand
Drive on the Karakoram Highway to Karakul Lake
After breakfast your guide and driver meet you at the hotel. Start the morning with a visit to Kashgar’s famous Sunday Bazaar – a lively market split into covered and open sections selling textiles, spices, nuts and handicrafts where bargaining is part of the experience. Then drive along the China–Pakistan Highway (Karakoram Highway) toward the Pamir Plateau. On the way you’ll stop for views of high-altitude lakes and plateau scenery before reaching Karakul Lake, a sapphire alpine lake framed by towering Pamir peaks — a dramatic spot where yaks and local herds dot the shore. Continue to Taxkorgan for overnight.
Distance: ~320 km by car; Hotel: Overnight in Taxkorgan; Altitude: ~3,100 m.
Meals: Customized to your needs
Accommodation: Hotels will be arranged according to demand
Karakoram Highway
Karakul Lake
Taxkorgan Stone Fortress & the Golden Grasslands, Return to Kashgar
Leave Taxkorgan after breakfast and visit the historic Stone Fortress – an ancient, oval-walled settlement built of sun-dried bricks on a stone base. Nearby expanses of pasture – sometimes called the “Golden Grasslands” – offer scenic walks, traditional Tajik yurts and opportunities to learn about Tajik customs. Return drive to Kashgar for the night.
Distance: ~320 km by car; Hotel: Overnight in Kashgar
Meals: Customized to your needs
Accommodation: Hotels will be arranged according to demand
Taxkorgan Stone Fortress
Taxkorgan Golden Grasslands
Kashgar City Tour – Flight to Urumqi
Meet your guide at the hotel for a full-day Kashgar city tour. Highlights include Id Kah Mosque , Kashgar’s landmark mosque and one of China’s largest mosques – a focal point for local cultural and religious life. Explore Kashgar Old Town where a daily cultural program and performances often welcome visitors; visit a local Uyghur family to see traditional home life; then wander Handicraft Street with its jewelry, pottery and musical instruments. Enjoy a relaxed break in a tea house before transfer to the airport for your flight to Urumqi.
Transport: Car + domestic flight; Hotel: Overnight in Urumqi; Altitude at Urumqi: ~836 m.
Meals: Customized to your needs
Accommodation: Hotels will be arranged according to demand
Id Kah Mosque
Kashgar City
Heavenly Lake & Urumqi Grand Bazaar
Drive from Urumqi to Heavenly Lake at the foothills of the Tianshan range. The lake sits in an amphitheatre of snow-capped peaks, evergreen forests and alpine meadows – perfect for lakeside walks or taking the cable car up to viewpoints on Bogda Peak. Return to Urumqi and visit the Xinjiang International (Grand) Bazaar – a vibrant market full of fruits, carpets, knives, souvenirs and local snacks.
Distance: ~120 km round trip; Hotel: Overnight in Urumqi; Altitude at Tianchi: ~1,920 m.
Meals: Customized to your needs
Accommodation: Hotels will be arranged according to demand
Heavenly Lake
Urumqi Grand Bazaar
Turpan: Tuyoq Village & Jiaohe Ruins
Drive to the Turpan area. Visit Tuyoq Village, a long-lived Uyghur settlement tucked in a canyon of the Flaming Mountains, where you can see cave dwellings, local shrines, and Thousand Buddha grottoes. Then explore the remarkable Jiaohe Ruins — an ancient earthen city carved from loess and one of the best-preserved Silk Road settlements; its ruins form a powerful, photogenic reminder of Turpan’s ancient role in trans-Eurasian trade. Overnight in Turpan.
Distance: ~200 km by car; Hotel: Overnight in Turpan; Altitude: ~36 m.
Meals: Customized to your needs
Accommodation: Hotels will be arranged according to demand
Tuyoq Village
Jiaohe Ruins
Jiaohe Ruins
Turpan Karez & Sugong Minaret – Return to Urumqi and Depart
Start at the Karez system — an ingenious underground irrigation network that brings groundwater to the surface through a series of vertical shafts and tunnels; it transformed an arid region into fertile oases. Continue to the Sugong Minaret, one of the tallest and most famous minarets in the area (dating from the 18th century), before driving back to Urumqi for your onward flight. End of services — we wish you a pleasant journey home.
Transport: Car (Turpan → Urumqi); Altitude: ~836 m.
Meals: Customized to your needs
Accommodation: Hotels will be arranged according to demand
Turpan Karez
Sugong Minaret
Fee Description
Private Tour
Tour Type: Private tour with an English-speaking guide, flexible and customizable
Transportation: Air-conditioned private car with an experienced driver
Hotels: 5-star luxury or 4-star comfortable hotels, open to your choice
Meals: Customized to your needs
