Silk Road tailor made holiday
| country: | China |
| location: | Silk Road |
| departures: | This trip can be tailor made throughout the year and can be adapted to suit your interests, budget and requirements as necessary |
| price: | From US $2339 (12 days) excluding flights based on 4 people travelling. From US $2829 ex flights based on 2 people travelling. Price includes activities, accommodation at 4+ star hotel twin sharing, all meals, transport, airport transfers and English-speaking guide |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
the amazing things you'll be doing
The Silk Road was a braided array of trade routes that for centuries was the primary link between Western and Eastern cultures.
Throughout its long history, and even now, the Silk Road has cultivated exotic images of long caravan lines stretching across vast sand dunes. It’s time to see them for yourself!
This journey begins in China’s capital and continues through central and western China, across the endless Taklimakan Desert, and on to the desert oasis of Kashgar in the very west of China. We’ll meet Uyghur, Tajiks, and other ethnic groups along the route. We will also have a chance to ride camels and enjoy the amazing sunset over the Gobi Desert, in addition to learning the traditional Uyghur dance, and exploring the legendary desert cave arts.
Best time to go:
Early Spring (April to May) and Autumn (Sep to Nov) are the best times to travel along the Silk Route.
Throughout its long history, and even now, the Silk Road has cultivated exotic images of long caravan lines stretching across vast sand dunes. It’s time to see them for yourself!
This journey begins in China’s capital and continues through central and western China, across the endless Taklimakan Desert, and on to the desert oasis of Kashgar in the very west of China. We’ll meet Uyghur, Tajiks, and other ethnic groups along the route. We will also have a chance to ride camels and enjoy the amazing sunset over the Gobi Desert, in addition to learning the traditional Uyghur dance, and exploring the legendary desert cave arts.
Best time to go:
Early Spring (April to May) and Autumn (Sep to Nov) are the best times to travel along the Silk Route.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Beijing: Arrive in Beijing. Start your exploration by attending the sacred flag-lowering ceremony at Tian’anmen Square. Night exploration of the newly renovated Qianmen Street. |
| Day 2: | Beijing: We start the day from at the very heart of Beijing: the Forbidden City. The Forbidden City contains the imperial palace that housed 24 emperors over a period of 500 years. Afterwards we’ll continue on to the Lama Temple, where we’ll wind down with some afternoon tea at a famous tea shop hidden in a neighbouring Hutong. In the evening, we’ll visit a local handicraft workshop nearby. |
| Day 3: | Beijing: We head to the Great Wall today. A lunch at a local farmer’s house is an opportunity to learn about rural life in China. We’ll spend the last part of the day on the Kunming Lake at the Summer Palace. |
| Day 4: | Beijing to Xi’an: We’ll get up early to join the morning community gathering at Temple of Heaven, where the Emperor would make sacrifices to the God of Heaven in ancient times. More recently, the Temple of Heaven has morphed into a place where retired elders like to start their day with morning Tai Chi. This afternoon, we’ll have a chance to go shopping or take a leisurely stroll before taking overnight train to Xi’an. |
| Day 5: | Xi’an: Visit the Terracotta Army, created to guard the tomb of the first emperor to unite China. After lunch, we’ll return to the city to visit the Forest of Stone Tablets, which contains China's finest collection of calligraphy by famous ancient masters. As sunset approaches, we bike along the Ming Dynasty City Walls that still encircle the old city. |
| Day 6: | Xi’an to Dunhuang: In the morning, we visit the Shaanxi History Museum to get a better understanding of the history of Xi’an. After a lunch of the traditional noodles for which Xi'an is famous, we’ll visit the Great Mosque and walk around the Muslim quarter, where we can find a way of life greatly influenced by Central Asia. We’ll catch a late afternoon flight tonight from Xi’an to Dunhuang. Upon arrival, we’ll transfer to our hotel and rest. |
| Day 7: | Dunhuang to Turpan: From Dunhuang to Turpan, we’ll head to the magnificent Mogao Grottos; and then spend the afternoon at Singing Sand Dunes and the Crescent Moon Springs. We’ll visit Dunhuang Museum if time permits, and then take the overnight train to Turpan. |
| Day 8: | Turpan: Our morning program starts with a visit of Imin Ta Mosque and Karez Irrigation Site, followed by a tour in the ancient city of Yarkhoto, which is near Turpan. We’ll have lunch at a Uygur family’s house and learn a traditional Uygur dance after lunch. |
| Day 9: | Turpan to Urumqi: This morning we’ll visit the Bezeklik Caves, followed by an exploration of the Flaming Mountain and Gaochang Ancient City Ruins that are near Bezeklik Caves. We’ll drive to Urumqi in the afternoon. |
| Day 10: | Urumqi to Kashgar: In the morning we’ll fly to Kashgar: the last trade town in China along the Silk Road. First, we’ll visit the Abakh Khoja Mausoleum, a peaceful memorial to one of Xinjiang’s early Muslim leaders. Afterwards, we’ll visit the Id Kah Mosque, the largest in China. Finally, in the early evening, we’ll visit the local handicrafts street to pick up some souvenirs. |
| Day 11: | Kashgar: We’ll rise early for the Sunday Bazaar. The colourful and lively bazaar provides a great opportunity to pick up some of the Silk Road’s most interesting souvenirs. In the afternoon, we stroll around the old city. |
| Day 12: | Kashgar to Urumqi: Early flight to Urumqi, and onward flight home. |
how this holiday makes a difference
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We hire local guides and drivers in each destination we travel to, especially local minority people, and we stay at local-run hotels at each stop. In Beijing, we will visit a local handicrafts workshop which is sticking on developing traditional toys. We will learn a simple traditional toy making here.
During this trip, we will have plenty of opportunities to visit local families and understand their local customs or tradition. We encourage our clients to bring some meaningful gifts to thank the hosts, like books and stationeries. Our tour managers will give detailed briefings to our clients, as well as our local staff on our policy of respecting the local culture; the different practices in each destination, so that clients will be able to adjust their behaviour accordingly. Due to the difficulty of transportation in many of the remote areas, a lot of schools do not have libraries. We work with 1kg.org, a grass-root NGO in China, which encourages travellers to carry one more kilogram of stationary and books to those school kids. We will prepare reusable forks or chopsticks instead of using throwaway chopsticks. Our tour manager will bring along trash bags to make sure no littering on the journey. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |