Kashgar Tours

Next to the Golden Graveyard is the Tomb of Aman Nisahan, the wife of the second King of  Yarkand Kingdom.

Aman Nisahan is a famous Uyghur poet, musician and composer. She is most renound for her transcription of the Twelve Mukam of famous traditional Uyghur music. She brought together local musicians, the majority of which were farmers, from the region and put their music to paper and also composed one of the Mukams herself.

Here it is possible to see wood and metal craftsmen in action and sample tradtional food which is sold on small carts along the street. Yarkand was once the capital of the Uyghur Kingdom in ancient times, and it was an important station on the Ancient Silk Road. It has a history of more than 2000 years.

Before leaving Yarkant we can visit a local teahouse where we will enjoy a delicious traditional Uyghur lunch, of corn noodles and kebabs. Alternatively we can have a picnic lunch of fruit and bread in the desert.

After lunch we will drive for around an hour to reach the oasis village of Karasu on the edge of the Taklamakan Desert. From the village you can look out onto endless sand dunes stretching away before you.

Taklamakan Desert is the second largest shifting sands desert in the World, covering an area of 337,600 square km.

From the lake you can look out to the vast Taklimakan desert and the sand dunes stretching away before you. At the lake shore locals oven bake delicious freshly caught fish, lamb and chicken which you can enjoy for your lunch. We will take a walk around the lake and enter into the desert.

There is the option to experience ancient desert transportation by riding a camel or alternatively for a more modern exhilarating ride you have the opportunity to drive one of our dune buggies over the dunes.

We can also trek through the desert for a couple of hours.

Taklimakan desert is the second largest shifting sands desert in the World, covering an area of 337,600 square km.Taklimakan Desert is known as the “sea of death” by the silk road traders that used to have to cross it in their caravans in times gone by, many traders entered the desert lost their way and were never to be seen again.

Shipton’s Arch is the tallest natural arch in the World at a towering 500m high and 100m wide, meaning that a small aeroplane can pass through!It is one of the least well known top twenty natural wonders of the World.It was first documented after a visit in 1947 by English mountaineer Eric Shipton, who made the arch known to the West in his book Mountains of Tartary.

It stayed forgotten for many years due to its remote inaccessible location within the Kara Tagh (Black Mountain) range. It was only as recently as May 2000 that an expedition sponsored by National Geographic rediscovered the arch marking its position so that foreigners can now find it.

Shipton’s Arch is known to the local people as “Tushuk Tagh” which literally translates to “Hole Mountain” Shiptons Arch was recently used as a stage, called The Gobi March 2008, in the international stage event ‘Racing the Planet’.

Our Day Tour of Kashgar City gives you the opportunity to learn about Kashgar’s past and present with the help of professional and knowledgeable Uyghur guides. Our Uyghur guides from Kashgar know their hometown best.

Places to visit today:  Id Kah Mosque , Tomb of Apak Hoja ,  Sunday Bazaar, Kashgar Old Town, Tomb of Yusup Has Hajip

One of our local born guides can take you on a magical tour through the city of Kashgar bringing to life everything you come across on your way.Below is an outline of the highlights of what we will see on a days city tour.

Within the Sunday Market you can find sections selling headscarfs, Pakistani goods, textiles, dried fruits, shoes for men and shoes for women, spices and medicines, tradional Kashgar and hotan carpets, handicrafts, sweets, stationary, Uyghur knives, Uyghur hats, bags, musical instruments, clothes, building materials, honey, kitchen utensils and so on……..

A few years ago the Government extended and rebuilt the market, at that time they moved the livestock section of the market to a suburb of kashgar. Today the animal market can be found 6kms Southeast of Kashgar City. The animal market is also divided into areas specialising in particular animals including sheep, cattle, donkeys, goat and horses. If you are lucky sometimes you also can see camels and yak being traded, but not every Sunday. In the market you will have free time to take photographs and haggle for some souvenirs.

Yusup Has Hajip Tomb is located in the southern newer part of Kashgar city. Yusup Has Hajip is one of the most famous poet, scholar and thinkers of the Uyghur people. One of his most famous publications was the book titled “Wisdom of Happiness”. He was born in 1018 in Balasagun (today located somewhere in Kyrgyzstan) of Karahanilar Dynasty, and later immigrated to Kashgar. Yusup Has Hajip is highly respected by the Uyghur people who visit his tomb to pay their respects. The book “Wisdom of Happiness” is one of the first choices for Uyghur people when giving a gift of a book to their friends.