trip details for the chinese silk route & tibet (SRT)

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Map of The Chinese Silk Route & Tibet (SRT)

is this trip for me?

Route: Bishkek to Kathmandu or v.v.

Length of Section: 5 Weeks

Profile: Extreme altitude and vast variations in climate make this a trip for adventurous travellers. Do not expect the itinerary to run to plan as it may well vary. We will be crossing hot deserts, high cold plateaus and even higher passes. Unique cultural experiences, both human interaction and architecturally, fantastic scenery and off beaten track travel. Some limited trekking. You must be in good health as this trip encounters altitude from 500 metres below sea-level to 5300 above sea level.

Adventure Rating: Extreme

Crew: 2 Dragoman crew, 1 Chinese and 1 Tibetan crew.

Vehicle: Classic Dragoman truck.

Accommodation: Mixed hotels and hostels ranging from 4 star to local and wildcamps. (35% camping, 65% hotels)

what's included?

Week 1: Kyrgyzstan & China's Xinjiang Province:

Begin our journey in picturesque Bishkek
Overnight homestay at traditional rural Kyrgyz village
Journey through the Silk Route's Torugart Pass through the Tian Shan Mountains
Overland from Kashgar to Taxkorgan up the Karakoram Highway
Overnight at Karakoram's Karakul Lake

Week 2: Xinjiang & Taklimakan Desert:

2 or 3 nights to explore Kashgar's Sunday market
Journey along the Northern Silk Route around the Taklimakan Desert
Visit the Thousand Buddha Caves at Kizil
Guided exploration of the oasis and the Jaohe ruins at Turpan

Week 3: Qinghai Province & Tibet:

Stopover and time to explore historic Dunhuang
The ultimate overland journey from Golmud over the high passes of the Tibetan Plateau to Lhasa

Week 4: The Friendship Highway:

3 night stay and guided tour of the main sites in Lhasa
Overland via Himalayan passes and the Scorpion Lake between Lhasa and Gyantse
Visit to the stunning town of Gyantse and the Baiju Monastery
Stopover in Shigatse and visit to Tashihunpo Monastery

Week 5: Tibet's Himalaya & Nepal:

Side trip to the Rhongphuk Monastery, crossing passes of 5200 metres
Entrance to the national park, walk to Tibet's Everest Base Camp and stay overnight
Overland along the Friendship Highway between Kathmandu and Tingri, over passes of 5050 metres
Time in Nepal either at the beautiful mountain retreat, the Last Resort or en route acclimatising

notes:

General notes: This is a tough trip and should only be attempted by people who are prepared for cold, discomfort and itinerary alterations. Before we can confirm anyone on this trip, we will need to approve a completed "altitude" questionnaire.

Kitty does not cover food while staying in hotels or hostels.

Because of its nature, this itinerary may vary.

This overland adventure is not for the faint hearted but if you are after adventure travel this is the trip for you. We will travel overland along the Chinese Silk Route and through some of the remotest and harshest landscapes in the World. A word of warning, you must be fit and healthy for this trip, altitude is not something to be taken lightly and we will be travelling overland regularly above 5000 metres. Tibet travel is always at altitude and even when we are not passing over high passes we will be still well above 3000 metres. Adventure Travel in Tibet, Xinjiang and Kyrgyzstan is all about mountains. We will cross the high passes of Kyrgyzstan's Tian Shan, journey overland up the Karakoram highway from Kashgar to Taxkorgan and our Tibet tour will take us high over the Tibetan Plateau to the base of Mt. Everest. Everest trekking is generally done from the Nepal side and very few people see the mountain from the Tibetan side. This adventure tour takes us from the Friendship Highway over high passes virtually to Everest base camp. We overnight under Mount Everest and as long as the clouds stay away, you should have spectacular views. China tourism is generally about the major sites, but on this trip we will get you way, way off the beaten track. Overland travel is all about finding the other side of a country that the tourists generally miss and on this journey we travel the Silk Road from the Torugart Pass through to the edge of Tibet. In China adventure tours seldom cross the vast Taklimakan Desert but we will, either taking the northern or the southern Silk Road. The other side of this trip is meeting the local people, be they Tibetan, Han Chinese, Kazakh, Tadjic, Kyrkyz, or Uyghur. We will organise a yurt homestay and you will be travelling through areas where the local population seldom meet outsiders. The final stage in our overland adventure journey is real Himalayan travel, crossing very high passes through the Himalayas and then descending into the Indian Subcontinent and Nepal.