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Short answer up front:
if you only have one week, take the 7 Days Exotic Xinjiang to Kashgar, Urumqi and Turpan;
if you have two weeks or more, the Grand Xinjiang Tour (16 days) is the definitive Xinjiang journey;
if you have 9–11 days, choose between the 9 Days South Xinjiang Tour (history and desert) and the 11 Days North Xinjiang Group Tour (mountains, lakes and grasslands).
All five packages below are run by Xinjiang Travel (xinjiangtravel.org), a Urumqi-based local operator with more than 20 years of experience serving overseas travelers, English-speaking guides throughout, 4-star hotels, small groups capped at 15 pax, and no shopping stops.
Xinjiang is enormous — roughly the size of Western Europe — and it holds two very different worlds in one region: the South, an ancient Silk Road land of desert oases, Uyghur old towns, Buddhist grottoes and the Pamir Plateau; and the North, a landscape of turquoise alpine lakes, Kazakh and Tuva grasslands, and birch forests that blaze gold in autumn. The five itineraries below are designed so you never have to plan a single transfer yourself.
7 Days Exotic Xinjiang to Kashgar, Urumqi and TurpanKashagar - Taxkorgan - Urumqi - Heavenly Lake - Turpan(20)200+ booked From US$ 1070 |
Best Xinjiang Tour to Kashgar and KanasKashgar - Taxkorgan - Turpan - Urumqi - Beitun - Hemu - Kanas - Burqin - Urho(20)200+ booked From US$ 1860 |
11 Days North Xinjiang Group TourUrumqi - Fuhai - Hemu - Kanas - Burqin - Dushanzi - Yining - Tekes - Naraty(20)200+ booked From US$ 1730 |
Local expertise since 2003 — based in Urumqi, guides who grew up in the places you’ll visit.
Small groups of 1–15 pax, with English-speaking guides on every departure.
4-star boutique hotels, private air-conditioned vehicles, listed internal flights and trains included.
5-No shopping stops, no hidden fees — prices cover entrance fees, daily bottled water, travel insurance and a 24/7 helpline.
Free tailor-made adjustments if you want to extend, shorten, or combine routes.
Tour | Days | Route | From (USD / person) | Best For | Theme |
7 Days Exotic Xinjiang | 7 | Kashgar · Taxkorgan · Urumqi · Turpan | $1,070 | First-timers on a short holiday | Culture + Scenery |
Best Xinjiang: Kashgar & Kanas | 11 | Kashgar · Taxkorgan · Turpan · Hemu · Kanas · Urho | $1,860 | Travelers who want both South and North | Balanced |
11 Days North Xinjiang | 11 | Urumqi · Hemu · Kanas · Urho · Yining · Naraty | $1,730 | Photographers and nature lovers | Scenery |
9 Days South Xinjiang | 9 | Urumqi · Turpan · Kuqa · Aksu · Kashgar · Pamir | $1,460 | History and Silk Road enthusiasts | History + Desert |
Grand Xinjiang Tour | 16 | Kashgar · Turpan · Kanas · Yili (full loop) | $2,670 | Travelers with time who want it all | All-in-one |
The best first taste of Xinjiang if you only have one week.
This compact loop is the operator’s signature short itinerary, combining the cultural heart of the South (Kashgar) with two must-see highlights around Urumqi — Heavenly Lake and the Turpan oasis. At $1,070 per person, it is also the most budget-friendly way to see Kashgar without sacrificing comfort. Weekly departures run from May through October.
Kashgar Sunday Market & Old City — a trading crossroads with more than 2,000 years of history, and the largest international bazaar in Northwest China.
Pamir Plateau & Karakul Lake — a dramatic drive along the Karakoram Highway to a mirror lake ringed by 7,000-meter peaks.
Tuyoq Village (Turpan) — a 1,700-year-old Uyghur village tucked into the grape valleys of the Flaming Mountains.
Heavenly Lake (Tianchi) — a half-moon alpine lake at about 1,910 meters, reflecting snow-capped Bogda Peak.
l Hassle-Free Traveler to China or Xinjiang with about one week of annual leave
l Travelers curious about Uyghur culture and Silk Road heritage without committing to a long overland journey
l Anyone who wants a balance of history (Kashgar, Tuyoq), scenery (Karakul, Heavenly Lake) and modern city life (Urumqi)
It distills everything Hassle-Free Travelerimagine when they hear “Xinjiang” — bazaars, desert oases, snow mountains and minority villages — into seven well-paced days with no shopping stops and no detours. If you can only take one tour on this list, this is the safest and most rewarding choice.
The most balanced North-and-South combination for an 11-day trip.
Purpose-built for travelers who cannot decide between the deserts of the South and the lakes of the North, this 11-day itinerary starts in Kashgar, crosses the Pamir Plateau, then flies north to the birch forests and turquoise waters of Kanas. Prices start at $1,860 per person, with departures from May through October.
Kashgar Sunday Market and the Pamir Plateau drive to Karakul Lake
Tuyoq Village and Heavenly Lake near Urumqi
Hemu Tuva Village — wooden cabins, morning mist and sunrise over grazing meadows
Kanas Lake — a finger-shaped turquoise alpine lake famous for its “lake monster” legends
Urho Ghost City — otherworldly wind-eroded yardang landforms
Travelers with roughly 11–12 days who want the greatest variety in a single trip
Couples or families who want both cultural immersion and photogenic landscapes
Repeat visitors to China who have already seen Beijing or Xi’an and are looking for something completely different
Out of all the packages, this one gives you the most “wow per day” — you wake up in a Uyghur old town one morning and in a Tuva log cabin by an alpine lake a few days later, without ever planning a single transfer yourself.
The ultimate scenery itinerary — grasslands, lakes and ghost cities of Northern Xinjiang.
If your priority is landscape over history, this 11-day loop from Urumqi is the strongest choice. It swings north to the Altai Mountains and Kanas, then south along the Duku Highway corridor to the Ili River Valley, finishing at Naraty Grassland. Prices start at $1,730 per person, with departures from August through October.
Kanas Lake — “the Last Fairyland on Earth” and its legendary water monster
Hemu Tuva Village — horse riding, yurt culture, wooden houses and Tuva food and traditions
Urho Ghost City (Wind City) — one of the world’s few classic wind-erosion landforms, famous for howling wind and surreal rock shapes
Naraty Grassland — one of the most beautiful subalpine meadows in the world and home to Kazakh nomads
Scenic drives through Dushanzi Grand Canyon and the Sayram Lake area en route to Yining
Landscape photographers chasing autumn birch forests — late September to mid-October is peak season in Kanas and Hemu, when the golden larch and birch turn the entire valley into one of the most photographed landscapes in Asia
Nature lovers, hikers and anyone tired of city travel
Travelers who have already visited Kashgar or the Silk Road and now want the “Switzerland of China”
Northern Xinjiang is the poster child of Chinese travel photography, and this itinerary hits every iconic viewpoint — Kanas, Hemu, Ghost City, Sayram, Naraty — in one logical loop with no backtracking. It also ends with a comfortable overnight train from Yining back to Urumqi, saving you a long drive.
The most immersive Silk Road and desert-culture journey.
This 9-day overland crossing of Southern Xinjiang follows the northern rim of the Taklamakan Desert from Urumqi all the way to Kashgar and the Pamir Plateau, tracing the exact route merchants took along the ancient Silk Road. Prices start at $1,460 per person, with departures from June through October.
Taklamakan Desert crossing — “sailing on a sea of sand,” the second-largest shifting-sand desert in the world
Kizil Grottoes — Buddhist cave murals that predate the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang
Kuqa Old Town — a living Uyghur quarter with mosques, bazaars and narrow alleyways
Luntai Poplar Forest — golden desert-poplar trees, spectacular in late October
Kashgar Sunday Bazaar & Taxkorgan (Pamir Plateau) — the classic Stone City and Karakul Lake finale
History buffs, archaeology enthusiasts and Silk Road devotees
Travelers fascinated by desert landscapes and Uyghur, Kyrgyz and Tajik minority cultures
Anyone who prefers slow overland travel and authentic small-town encounters over resort-style tourism
Most “Xinjiang itineraries” online are actually just Urumqi plus Kanas. This is one of the few English-language small-group products that crosses the entire Tarim Basin, and it does so in comfortable 4-star style with an English-speaking guide. It is also the best-value deep-South option on the market.
A note on the title: the product name references Yarkand (Shache), a historic Silk Road town between Aksu and Kashgar; the printed day-by-day itinerary follows the northern desert route through Korla, Kuqa and Aksu. If Yarkand is a must-see for you, the operator specializes in tailor-made adjustments and can add a stop there on request.
The “see everything” itinerary — 16 days covering North, South and everything in between.
This is the operator’s flagship long-haul itinerary: a 16-day grand loop that combines the complete South Xinjiang Silk Road experience with the full Northern Xinjiang scenery circuit, linked by domestic flights and the famous Duku Highway. Prices start at $2,670 per person, with departures from April through October.
Everything from the shorter tours, plus:
Duku Highway — “four seasons in a single day” along one of China’s most scenic roads
Sayram Lake — the largest alpine lake in Xinjiang, nicknamed “the Last Tear of the Atlantic”
Naraty Grassland — Kazakh nomad culture in the Ili River Valley
Full Pamir Plateau excursion from Kashgar to Taxkorgan and Karakul Lake
Kanas, Hemu, Turpan, Tuyoq and Heavenly Lake — all included
Travelers with two or more weeks of holiday who want one definitive Xinjiang journey
Repeat China visitors who have “done” the Golden Triangle and now want the ultimate frontier experience
Photographers and slow travelers who don’t want to choose between culture and scenery
No other single group tour for foreign passport holders stitches Kashgar, the Pamirs, Kanas and the Ili grasslands together in one small-group, English-guided, shopping-free itinerary. If you are only going to visit Xinjiang once in your life, this is the trip to take.
The general window is mid-March to late October, with May, June and October offering the best balance of comfortable temperatures and smaller crowds. For Northern Xinjiang specifically, late September to mid-October delivers peak autumn colors in Kanas and Hemu. For Southern Xinjiang, May, September and October avoid the summer desert heat.
Xinjiang is part of mainland China, so standard Chinese visa rules apply — no special Xinjiang permit is needed for regular tourists, and traveling the Silk Road during Ramadan is not a problem. Citizens of many countries can also use China’s 30-days visa-free policies to enter.
Taxkorgan sits at around 3,100 meters and Karakul Lake at about 3,600 meters. Oxygen bags are prepared on every itinerary that includes Taxkorgan County, and most travelers acclimatize fine within a day. Travelers with concerns are guided through the plateau by local guides.
Group sizes are capped at 15 pax with a 4-pax minimum, and every departure is escorted by a professional English-speaking local guide.
All five packages include 4-star hotels, daily Western breakfast, all listed transportation (private vehicle, internal flights, high-speed trains), entrance fees, shuttle buses inside scenic areas, travel accident insurance, a 24/7 helpline, and two bottles of water per person per day. Lunch, dinner, tips and international flights are excluded. Tips for the guide and driver are suggested at 7–10 USD per person per day.
A full refund is offered at least 30 days before departure (minus any third-party fees for trains, hotels and transport already purchased), and a full refund is provided if the trip is cancelled due to extreme weather or government restrictions.
The five itineraries above cover the most popular combinations, but Xinjiang is far bigger than any single group tour can hold. If none of these routes matches your dates, interests, pace or budget, Xinjiang Travel offers many more departures, seasonal specials and fully private tailor-made journeys across both Northern and Southern Xinjiang — from Silk Road photography expeditions and Pamir treks to Kazakh homestays, autumn foliage charters, and cross-border Central Asia connections.
Tell us your travel dates, the places you dream of, and how many people are coming, and our local experts will build a custom itinerary for free.
Email: info@xinjiangtravel.org
WhatsApp: +86 189 9923 3079
Your Xinjiang adventure starts with one message — reach out and we’ll take care of the rest.
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