Urumqi - Turpan - Kashgar - Talkamaran Desert - Kuqa - Urumqi - 3 weeks

An important Silk Road trading post at the junction of the Northern & Southern Routes in the extreme western fringes of China. Closer to the Middle East than it is to Beijing and a world away.

When you arrive you Kashgar make sure you arrive in the middle of the week not to miss the Sunday Animal market out.

This travel plan assumes you arrive on a Tuesday in Kashgar, hence the weekdays included in the plan but feel free to adjust your plan accordingly.

Day 1 (Friday) - Urumqi

Arrive to Urumuqi during the day, settle down at your accommodation and visit the Grand Bazaar that opens at around 5 pm.

Although the Grand Bazaar has little to do with Uyghur culture it is still a good place to stroll around and get some sense of Xinjiang.

Accommodation in Urumqi

Day 2 (Saturday) Heavenly Lake

Wake up early in the morning and rent a car with a driver to visit Heavenly Lake. You can alternatively take the tour (starts at the gate of Urumqi’s People’s Park with a two hour bus ride and tour guide) if you don’t want to spend the night up at the lake.

However I strongly recommend to make your own way up with local transport -your hotel can help with directions- to the lake and spend a night up there in a yurt.

Accommodation in a yurt at Heavenly Lake

Day 3 (Sunday) - Heavenly Lake to Turpan

After visited Heavenly lake travel back to Urumqi and catch a plane or train to Turpan in the afternoon - there are two ways to go to Turpan

By train: the train takes 4 hours rather comfortable

By plane: one hour flight.

Accommodation in Turpan

Day 4 (Monday) Turpan ancient cities

When it comes to traveling the Silk Road in China, there are three “must-see” cities: Kashgar, Dunhuang and Turpan.

Turpan with it’s 150m elevation below see level is the second hottest place in the world with temperatures above 40 Celsius, sometimes 50 (!) in the summer months.

Despite the heat, the fertile soil and the underground water made this place a special oasis in the desert and people have been inhabiting the basin for more than 2.000 years offering a massive concentration of significant sites.

Rent a car with a driver and visit Tuyoq village, Jiaohe Ancient city, Flaming Mountains and Gaocheng Ancient city

Accommodation in Turpan

Day 5 (Tuesday) - travel to Kashgar by plane

Kashgar is located in the far west of China in Xinjiang Province.

It’s is the home to Uyghur people, a suppressed ethnic minority within China, yet the majority in the Xinjiang Autonomous Uyghur Region.

I have spent only two months in the area, but this place is definitely one of the really really must ones to visit in China.

When you arrive you Kashgar make sure you arrive in the middle of the week not to miss out the Sunday Animal Market

This travel plan assumes you arrive on a Tuesday, but feel free to adjust your plan accordingly.Dinner at the night food market.

Day 6 - (Wednesday) - Karaokam Highway Kashgar to Karakul Lake

Located on the Western part of China, Kashgar is city-oasis sourrounded by yellow valleys.

One of the highlights of your Kashgar trip is a journey from the Karaokam Highway that connects the west of China with Pakistan.

This is the highest elevated highway in this World and its more than just a highway: along the way, you will pass through an endless number of regions, where a large number of ethnic and religious groups live: from the the Uyghurs in Xinjiang, the nomads around Karakul Lake or the Tajiks in Tashgurkan- this epic road trip travel will definitely be something you won’t forget for a while.

The highway goes through the big mountains of Muztahg Ata (7546 m) and Kongur (7719), while on the north-east a chain of red-brown mountains are visible.

Although the drive is only about 4 hours, if the weather permits you are going to stop along the way to take tons of pictures!

Accommodation in Kyrgiz Yurt by the Karakul Lake

Day 7 (Thursday) - Karaokam Highway Karakul Lake to Tashgurkan

The drive to Tashgurkan take only two hours, but again - you will want to stop along the road to enjoy the beauty of the changing landscape.

Tashgkurkan China’s most westward settlement and it isn’t always accessible to tourists.

Here, perhaps, the most curious and interesting fact is that most of the population are Tajiks, which should not be surprising at all, given the fact that this city is so close to Tajikistan.

Day 8 (Friday) -Karaokam Highway, Tashgurkan to Kashgar

This day is a whole day drive back to Kashgar with stops along the road.

You can also take the bus back from Tashgurkan, but I would not recommend as you would miss all the good stops out on the way.

Day 9 (Saturday) - Explore Kashgar

It’s never enough of Kashgar Old Town it’s the soul of Kashgar, if not the whole of Xinjiang.

A perfect place for strolling, peeking through gates, chatting to the locals and admiring the craftsmen between the houses in the age from 50-500 years old.

Dinner at the night market.

Day 10 (Sunday) - Kashgar Animal Market and Sunday Market

Early morning:

Head out to the livestock market, where locals from all the surrounding villages come to town to buy and sell animals. This market only takes place on Sundays, so plan your Kashgar visit around that!

Roam around the animals, farmer and food stalls.

Afternoon:

Head into new town and explore the Sunday Bazaar.

Day 11 (Monday) - Visit Shipton’s Arch near Kashgar

This single rock formation is one of the tallest ones in the world and located about 1 hour drive from Kashgar.

The hike up to the top is a moderate level hike, going through the valley and rocks.

You can use a local driver organise by the Tourist Office in Kashgar (located next to the Ida Mosque on the main square in Kashgar’s Old Town.

The trip is a half day trip, but in case you take picture that can last longer.

Accommodation in Kashgar.

Day 12 (Tuesday) Travel to Hotan

Time to say - goodbye to Kashgar and head towards the southern part of the Taklamakan Desert, Hotan.

The easiest way to get to Hotan is to take the train from Kashgar’s train station. The train station in Kashgar can be reachable by the bus leaving from the main square in Kashgar.

There’re five trains a day (between 4.45am and 6.30pm) and the trip takes between 5-6 hours dependant on the train you choose and costs between 70 yuan and 130 yuan (seat).

Accommodation in Hotan

Day 13 (Wednesday) - Explore Hotan

Day 14 (Thursday) - Take a Camel trip to the Taklamaran Desert

No trip to Hotan is complete to experience the Taklamaran desert, the second largest

The name of the desert in Uyghur means "to leave alone/out/behind, relinquish, abandon" which can be translated such as "once you get in, you'll never get out" or similar.

Accommodation in Hotan

Day 15 (Friday)- Travel to Kuqa

Take the overnight bus leaving from the Bus Terminal in Hotan towards Kuqa. The bus is a sleeping bus with proper beds and crosses the Taklamaran Desert. The ride takes 8-9 hours and costs 170 yuan.

Day 16 (Saturday) - Explore Kuqa

Kuqa is not a place for everyone. First it is not an easy place to reach, its located in the middle of Xinjiang Province, one of the most remote provinces in China. The hotel options are not that great either, but obviously this is not the reason why we would visit a place like this. But as you are having an in depth Xinjiang Province trip now, I think you should definitely spend three days in this small city - as you would be surprised whats up here!

You might be tired after your whole night travel, so i would suggest just roam around this city, visit old town, talk to locals (super friendly!!) and eat in the local shops.

Accommodation in Kuqa

Day 17 (Sunday) - Day Around Kuqa, Tianshan Canyon, Dragon Pond and Subashi Ruins

You will need a driver with a car for this day. It’s very common in Xinjiang to rent locals to drive you around so don’t be scared about it! The places you visit today are so worth and as you are already in the South of Xinjiang why would you skip these places?

The accommodation can arrange a driver for you or alternatively just bargain a car for yourself. As this place is not touristy you don’t need to worry too much about being “ripped” off. Just make sure you find locals like uyghurs or tajiks to drive you around.

Day 18 (Monday) - Travel to Urumqi

It takes 9 hours for the train to take you back to Urumqi. You can either choose one of the morning trains (4 trains between 2 am an 8am) on of the night trains (10 pm and 11pm) to take you back to Urumqi. The tickets (hard seat) starts from 15USD.

Alternatively you can take a flight (daily 3 flights, 1 hour) but again, I love traveling by train so much better! Locals always approach me and I get to learn so much from them.

I actually picked most of my destinations in China through people who approached me on the trains - they gave me ideas where to go.

Day 19 -20 - Explore Urumqi

Alright, Urumqi to me after Kashgar and the south was not that exciting any more. I did this exact route when I was travelling there, thats why this itinerary is put together like thisl But when I arrived back to Urumqi I already regretted not having spent more time in Kashgar…

Anyways there are still a lot to see in the capital city of Xinjiang - which is the farthest city from the sea.

Day 21 (Thursday) - Leave Urumqi

Would you like to get more information about the area?

Hello

My name is Katalin and I have been traveling in China (on and off) for three years now. I mainly focus on border provinces as I am more fascinated by exploring the life of minorities. I can’t stand travel agencies - totally disagree with their principle of keeping the “secret of how to travel” to themselves.

My favourite way of traveling is by public transport, I do it usually with minimal planning and just let the locals “drive” me to the spots.

This site is my experience of how to travel with no agency, by yourself taking local transport to these majestic places in China.

If I am not exploring you can find me hiking somewhere in the mountains / bushes or taking photos. Oops, wait a second that’s exploring too!