- Information
- Itinerary
- Gallery
- Trip Notes
Destinations
- Hotan
- Kuqa
- Xinjiang
Tour Price
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- Your Schedule
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- Your Hotel Preference
Tour Start and End
Hotan, Kuqa
Additional Information
Taklamakan desert is located in the center of Tarim Basin in the south of Xinjiang. It is the largest desert in China, the tenth largest desert in the world and the second largest shifting sand desert in the world. The whole desert is about 1000 kilometers long from east to west, 400 kilometers wide from north to south, and covers an area of 330000 square kilometers. The average annual precipitation is less than 100 mm, the lowest is only 45 mm, while the average evaporation is as high as 2500-3400 mm. Here, the pyramidal dunes stand 300 meters above the plain. The strong wind can blow the sand wall up to 3 times its height. Sand dunes stretch in the desert. Influenced by the wind, sand dunes often move. There are also a small number of plants in the desert. Their roots are extremely developed, dozens or hundreds of times more than those on the ground, so as to absorb water from the ground.
Price Includes
- All necessary permits
- Accommodation in the hotels(5 star or the best in the region)
- Transportation during the trip
- Camels for riding and carrying gear (each person will have 1 camel to ride)
- Camel Guides
- All meals and water during the city tour and trek
- English speaking tour guide
- 2 local cook
- All necessary sleeping tents (2-share tents)
- A big mess tent for kitchen
- A big dinning tent
- All necessary dining tables, chairs
- A set of cooking gears
- Entrance fees
- Insurance services specially against any sudden accidents caused by traffic during your staying in China
Price Excludes
- All flights (we can provide assistant with flight bookings)
- Any other insurance and medical evacuation charges
- sleeping bag and personal clothing/equipment
- Hard & soft drinks except water, laundry, postage, telephone calls, anything not specified above
- Any expenses caused by beyond control events.
- Tips for tour guide, camel guide, driver, cook etc.
Taklamakan has a splendid history and culture. The ancient silk road passes through the whole south end and north end of Taklamakan. Many archaeological materials show that the hinterland of the desert is silent and prosperous. In the Niya River, Keriya River and Andir River Basin, the ancient city sites of Jingjue kingdom, Mi Kingdom and Huo Kingdom, one of the thirty-six Kingdoms in the western region, are still few people have been or are barely known. On the Mazar-Tagh mountains by the Hotan River, the ancient garrisons built in the Tang Dynasty are still magnificent. All travelers will pay attention to the humanistic connotation and relevant social topics. For this reason, it is necessary to understand the ancient Silk Road culture through Taklamakan. To understand the ancient Silk Road culture, it is necessary to understand the history of ancient Kingdoms in the western regions closely related to it, and the changes in various aspects over the past thousand years. Why are a series of ancient country sites so far away from human society and silent in the desert without life ? This is a topic closely related to the natural environment and environmental protection.
This is one of the very high class trips in China. It is simply magnificent from the crossing of the desert to the visited sights and cultural monuments. The arrangement of the trip is extremely versatile and entertaining: from the impressive gentle expanse and silence of the desert, which is one of the main reasons for the trip, to the other sights. Truly an environment for relaxation and overwhelmed amazement. The desert’s clear nightly starry sky is also an experience of the special kind... For people interested in nature and culture, who would like to travel far away from the big tourist mass flows, this trip is simply ideal!
However, we can't hide the fact that for camel trekking a certain fitness is indispensable, as walking for many hours in the sand is quite demanding, but the effort is rewarded with fantastic impressions!
Itinerary
Day 1
Arrive in Hotan late afternoon/evening
Arrive at the Hotan Airport late afternoon/late evening. Upon arrival at airport, pick up and transfer to hotel for check in. Later on, enjoy a welcome dinner at a local restaurant in Hotan.
Meals: Dinner
Accommodation: 4 Star
Day 2
Hotan Tour
Over 2,000 years ago, the Kingdom of Hotan (Khotan) was founded and throughout the years played a very prominent role along the southern Silk Road. Many famous travelers and Buddhist monks like Marco Polo and Xuanzang traveled through this city. When Marco Polo traveled through Hotan in the 13th century, he reported that Hotan was also famous throughout history for its jade and was the principal supplier to the Chinese Emperor, who greatly cherished jade.
In the morning, visit a traditional paper-making family in a village just outside Hotan. Paper fragments have been found in Hotan as early as 260 A.D. and Hotan served as a paper production center for the kingdoms that were scattered around Hotan from the 8th century on. Fragments from this time period were written in Chinese, Tibetan, Sanskrit, and Khotanese. Locals in Hotan continue this tradition by making paper out of the bark of mulberry trees. Hotan is very famous for its textiles such as sweaving. Visit the local silk and carpet workshops found around Hotan. Enjoy dinner at the local Hotan Night Market.
Meals: B,L,D
Accommodation: 4 Star
Day 3
Hotan to Keriya
After breakfast, drive to Keriya, on the way visit Rawak Buddhist temple, it is located in the Taklamakan desert, 50 kilometers northwest of Lop County, Hotan. It is a temple building site centered on the pagoda. Built in the 2nd-3rd century, the relic of the Rawak Buddhist temple is the historical site of the introduction of early Buddhism into China. It played an important role in the economic and cultural exchanges between the East and the West and the spread of Buddhism in the western regions. In particular, its unique architectural style of the Buddhist temple and the shape of the Buddha all retain the original Gandhara style, which provides archaeological help for the study of the age when Buddhism was introduced into the western regions and the ancient sculpture art.
Meals: B,L,D
Accommodation: best hotes in the city
Day 4
Keriya to Darya Boyi village
Today, we will set out into the desert to begin our journey through the Taklamakan Desert. After breakfast at the hotel, we drive to the Darya-boyi village along the Keriya river, the road is not good, all sand and stone, we use 4WD SUV for transportation, The village is only discovered by outside people in the 1980, it was a isolated place from the outside world from generations to generations, a small oasis in the deep desert.
Meals: B,L,D
Accommodation: Camp in the Village
Day 5-10
Camel Trekking to Mazar - Tagh direction.
The fist day will be a little bit longer waiting. The camel man have to balance the bags, they need to remember which bags should be together and on which camel everyday.
Everyday we trek about 7-8 hours, it is about 14-18kms, for each one hour trekking we stop for 5 minutes, for drink water, for toilet etc, the temperature is very different between day and night, which is about 15 Celsius.
In the desert, sometimes not like in the city, we sit on the sands, eat like local nomad ,I know it is a little bit difficult, after first few days you will love this.
At night, it is very quite with lots of stars in the sky, we can see the Milky Way very clearly.We can pick up some dry wood, and make fire at night, we often talk about the ancient myths, joke with camel man, drink local tea, a little bit wine.
The sand dunes get higher and higher, it need more power to trekking, sitting on the top of sand hill, you can enjoy fantastic sand views! Relax your mind during stay far away from city.
Meals: B,L,D
Accommodation: Camp in the Taklamakan Desert
Day 11
Arrival to the final end Mazar -Tagh
Mazar Tagh, an ancient military fort and Buddhist pilgrimage site, which kept watch over the trade route. Mazar-Tagh means” Tomb Mountain” in the local language, The fort is located on a bluff overlooking the Hotan River and the Taklamakan Desert, which allows for great views of the area.
Meals: B,L,D
Accommodation: Camp in the Taklamakan Desert
Day 12
Finish camel trek and drive to Kuche
Finish camel trek in the morning, then cross the Hotan River in a shallow area. Meet up with our driver and bus along highway G217 and then drive to Kuche. G217 cuts right through the heart of the desert. The desert highway G217 was completed in 2007, but it follows an ancient trade route that has been used for thousands of years. Constant maintenance, plastic mats, and vegetation is required along the highway to keep the desert sands at bay. Arrive in Kuche late afternoon/evening. Check into hotel and enjoy a celebratory dinner!
Meals: B,L,D
Accommodation: 5 Star
Day 13
Kuche Tour
Today, Kuqa is a small town in Xinjiang, but it was once home to the Kingdom of Qiuci and a very important center for trade and Indo-European culture. The famous Buddhist linguist and scholar, Kumarajiva is from here and played a very important role in translating Buddhist transcripts from Sanskrit to Chinese and spreading Buddhism from Central Asia into China proper. Kuchean music also heavily influenced Chinese music and was often played at the court in Chang’an (Xi’an).
After breakfast, being your exploration of Kuqa by visiting the Kizil 1000 Buddha Caves which were built between the 3rd and 10th centuries. The caves were a melting pot of the different cultures found during that time in Kuqa with influences from India, Greece, Rome, and Persia. Sadly, many of the best-preserved sculptures and murals were taken back to Europe by the early European explorers. After that, we drive to Tianshan Mysterious Grand Canyon，you will be astonished by the mountain landscapes, it is far more beautiful and reddish different, it is one of the 10 most beautiful Canyons in China. late afternoon, explore the local Bazaar in Kuqa, Enjoy a farewell dinner in a local restaurant.
Meals: B,L,D
Accommodation: 5 Star
Day 14
Depart Kuqa to fly back home
Our guide and driver will take you to airport, here we say goodbye with best wishes.
Meals: B
Accommodation: 5 Star
Client’s passports and other personal information should be provided 60 days prior to the tour departure in order to work out the special permits for the trekking.
The best season to do this tour is May, and between the end of September and the end of November.
Sleeping bags, Pad or air mattress, boots, wind proof cost and pants, necessary clothing including down jacket, sun glasses, wind glasses, hats, water bottles, sun cream, warm gloves, necessary medical staff, enough socks.
You can add or delete days or especial activities from the itinerary, services can be adjusted to your own interests, Please contact us via email and let us know your plan, we are ready to offer you the best customized tour!
Please tell us your hotel requests, we will book hotels accordingly, we have 5 star international hotels at bigger cities, 4 star hotels and 3 star hotels, our hotels include breakfast.
We offer you private transportation, we have all kinds of comfortable vehicles which are suitable for your journey, please feel free to let us know if you have especial requests for the vehicles.
