Travelling from Kashgar to Tashkurgan is a car journey to the borderlands of Xinjiang. The scenery is well worth the trouble of getting there. This trip is definitely more about the journey than the destination.
General Tips
Planning
Booking travel will be the least difficult part of your trip. We have heard of many people making the trip by bus for 100RMB. We chose to take a shared taxi for 400RMB per person, round trip, which is comfortable and makes multiple stops for photos.
The “Tourist Information” office in Kashgar, located just south of the Id Kah Mosque, can organize a shared taxi. The staff are very friendly. We were able to arrange a taxi for the next day, as two Japanese travellers were already planning on making the trip. The taxi leaves from the office at 10AM Beijing time.
Hotels and hostels in Tashkurgan are limited, so you may want to book a couple days ahead for peace of mind. The K2 Hostel is a popular and very satisfactory choice, featuring comfortable accommodation (including sit toilets) and a bar/restaurant selling Pakistani food (excellent chapatis).
The Journey
The car will likely be a Volkswagen Santana, the typical taxi in Xinjiang. It is reliable but not luxurious. The road has been recently paved, so the ride is quite smooth, and the journey to Tashkurgan takes about 7 hours. Your driver will probably stop for “lunch” a few hours outside of Kashgar where there is a local restaurant, but you should bring plenty of snacks and drinks for the road.
Along the way, your ID will be checked many times. In our experience, the checks were numerous (we lost count, less than 10 but more than 5 is what you should expect) but no questions were asked, and the driver handled the talking. Be prepared to show your passport many times, to many different officials. It is more tedious than stressful.
There are also much more pleasant stops along the way to admire the scenery. More can probably be arranged if all passengers agree. One of the major attractions along the way is the scenic Karakul Lake. It’s possible to arrange to stay in a yurt or do some horseback riding here, a good opportunity if you are not planning to visit Kyrgyzstan. If you will visit Kyrgyzstan, we recommend saving your yurts & horses for there as the experience will be cheaper and more peaceful.
Attractions in Tashkurgan
There are only a couple of streets in Tashkurgan, with most of the hostels and hotels clustered around a main square. The two big attractions are the Tashkurgan Fort (also called Stone Fort) and a scenic riverfront/pasture area. If you arrive early enough in the evening, you will be able to see these attractions on the day you arrive. Your driver might also take you to see them in the early morning before heading back to Kashgar.
Tashkurgan Fort
The Tashkurgan Fort has seen much better days since its construction in the Yuan Dynasty. It is located a 15 minute walk from the main lodging area. Entry costs 30RMB. In its current state, the fort is not much more than a large pile of rocks, but since you have come all this way, it is probably worth a stop. The elevated position it has relative to the rest of the town make it a very good vantage point.
Riverfront Scenic Area
A series of raised wooden footpaths above a marsh, a 5 minute walk from the fort, allows you to explore the pastures nestled between the Pamir mountains. It is free to enter and provides spectacular views.
Getting Out
Assuming you are not continuing on to Pakistan, you will probably want to head back to Kashgar. If you organized a shared taxi your driver will arrange to pick you up at your hotel in the morning. Before leaving the town, your driver will likely offer to take you to the main sights. This is a good opportunity to see them if you did not go the evening before.
In order to leave, your driver will take you to the immigration office in town to start the checkpoint process in reverse. The ride back to Kashgar proceeds much the same way as the ride up, with a similarly large number of checkpoints and much patience required. The view is still just as spectacular, so it is best to sit back and relax.
