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Here’s an incredible, all-encompassing expedition combining the exotic culture and romance of the Silk Road with a challenging trek to K2 Base Camp from the north. This remote region is rarely explored, and few people pass this way other than Kyrgyz yak herders and climbing expeditions. After calling at Silk Road cities with their colorful bazaars and ancient monuments, you’ll head across the Taklimakan Desert (its name means “who goes in, does not come out”!) to the start of the trek. With Bactrian camels to carry the gear, you’ll walk through incredible gorges, cross the Aghil Pass (15,700'), with its views of the rock-and-ice peaks of the Karakoram, then ford rivers and streams en route to a base camp on K2. Here you’ll spend close to a week absorbing the grandeur of the scene and trekking to Advance Base Camp for spectacular views of the second highest mountain in the world, K2 (28,250'), described by mountaineer/explorer Eric Shipton as “a sight beyond my comprehension.”

TRIP HIGHLIGHTS

• Trek to the base camp of K2—the second highest mountain in the world!
  
• Visit the fabled ancient cities of China’s Silk Road, including Kashgar, with its renowned Sunday bazaar
  

Day 1 - Meet in Beijing, China.

Day 2 - Visit the Forbidden City and Lama Temple, then fly to Ürümqi.

Day 3 - Morning tour of Ürümqi, then fly to Kashgar, once the great pivot point of the Silk Road in China.

Day 4 - Experience Kashgar’s legendary Sunday bazaar, when thousands of Uygur farmers and tradesmen from the surrounding countryside converge to hawk their wares.

Day 5 - Drive across the Taklimakan Desert to Karghalik, passing through Yengisar, famous for its 400-year-old history of knife making, and Shache (Yarkand), once a great city on the Silk Road.

Day 6 - Drive to Mazar Dara (12,375') and meet the porters and pack camels for the trek.

Days 7-12 - Trek along the banks of the Yarkand River and over the Aghil Pass (crossed by Sir Francis Younghusband on his epic journey from Beijing to Delhi in 1887). Continue through the gorge of the Shaksgam River (fording the river and many swift streams along the way) and up to Suget Jangal (12,500'), a base camp on K2.

Days 13-19 - At base camp, with a multi-day hike to Advance Base Camp (15,000') and back.

Days 20-25 - Return trek to Mazar Dara.

Day 26 - Drive to Karghalik.

Day 27 - Drive to Kashgar, fly to Ürümqi.

Day 28 - Fly to Beijing. Time permitting, visit the summer palace.

Day 29 - Depart Beijing.

Photo Credits
©Susan Thiele (MTS guest); ©Sergio Fitch-Watkins (MTS guide)