5-Day Xinjiang Private Tour of Kashgar includes Karakul Lake and Shipton Arh

Attractions: No
Meal: Not Included
Hotel: Overnight in Kashgar

Upon arrival at Kashgar Railway Station or Airport, our local driver will transfer you to the hotel for check-in. The rest time is free for you to explore Kashgar.

Attractions: China and Pakistan highway, Karakul Lake
Meal: Not included
Hotel: Overnight in Taxkrogan

In the morning, enjoy your nice buffet breakfast. Our guide will meet you at hotel lobby to start the adventure. We will drive on the China and Pakistan Highway where you can appreciate the beautiful scenaries for Pamirs Plateau – snow mountain, lake. Experience beautiful Karakul Lake where the herds of livestock around the lakeside are reflected in lake Kirghiz herdsmen usually settle down and graze their herds before shuttling you onward to Taxkorgan. The lake lies about 200 kilometers from Kashgar City, at the foot of Mt. Muztagata. At an altitude of 3,600 meters, it is the highest lake on the Pamir Plateau. The lake is 30 meters deep and covers an area of 10 square kilometers. “Karakul” means “black sea” in the local language as the lake looks dark when the clouds block the sun. Later we will drive to Taxkrogan County for overnight stay.     

Attractions: Shipton Arh
Meal: Not included
Hotel: Overnight in Kashgar

Enjoy your breakfast then to visit Shipton Arh, the first activated stone Museum of geological movement change in China and an excellent Global Geopark. It has a total length of about 30 kilometers, with high cliffs on both sides, just like a mountain torn apart by force. At the same time, the mountain changes in different periods of the Grand Canyon have recorded the whole process of the geological crustal movement in Xinjiang in the past 400 million years, which can be called the living fossil exhibition hall and Geological Museum of the geological crustal changes in China and even the world. 

Attractions: Kashgar Old Town, Ancient Tea House, Id Kah Mosque, Abakh Hoja Tomb
Meal: Not included
Hotel: Overnight in Kashgar

After breakfast, you will visit the Abakh Hoja Tomb first which is not a simple tomb but an exquisite architectural complex including chapels, gardens, archways, etc., as the best place in the region to admire Uygur people’s extraordinary aesthetics and skills of Islamic architecture. It also offers a rare opportunity to see and learn about funeral custom celebrated Uygur families because there is a large Islamic family of five generations whose name is Abakh Hoja buried here. The Abakh Hoja was a local Islam master who had strengthened the spread of Islam in Kashgar area, which later earned a great reputation for him and his family.

Next, you will visit the landmark of Kashgar – Id Kah Mosque which is regarded as the holy shrine for the Muslims. Every day, there are thousands of Muslims worshiping here. In the history, Id Kah Mosque used to be a school where Islam culture and history was taught. Many scholars and honored clergies graduated from here.

Only several minutes’ walking from the mosque is the exotic Kashgar Old Town where you can experience the authentic Uyghur living style. Explore the traditional earth buildings where local people are living in, walk through the famous Handicrafts Street where you can see how the local craftsman making handicrafts. It is a good place to buy some interesting souvenirs for your families and friends. You will also take a break and enjoy a cup of local tea at the Ancient Tea House which is more than 100 years old. The locals also like to spend some leisure time in the tea house with friends and families – drinking, chatting and playing music sometimes.

Today’s activities end. Have a good rest in your hotel.

Attractions: Kashgar Bazaar, Livestock Market
Meal: Not included
Hotel: Not included

After breakfast, go to visit the famous Kashgar Bazaar, which is huge, busy, crowded, amazing, chaotic, interesting and colorful. Bazaar, in Uygur, means a large market. Kashgar Bazaar has been the largest and busiest trading center of West and Central Asia since the origin and flourish of the Silk Road. Here you can buy anything from Muslim millinery to authentic Iranian saffron, from pashminas to carpets, from fruits to spices, from a cradle to a camel… or find a place to sit down to enjoy some local snacks, or just experience local culture.

If you happen to visit Kashgar on a Sunday, don’t miss the opportunity to experience the Livestock Market, which takes place once a week on Sunday. By lunchtime, numerous sheep, camels, horses, cows and donkeys will be driven by the Uyghur farmers and herders to squeeze through the gates of the bazaars for trade. It’s dusty, smelly and crowded, but most people find it very exotic.

After the tour, you will be escorted to catch your flight or train to the next destination, or be sent to the border if you want to exit China by land port.