Tashkurgan to Kashgar

Before leaving Tashkurgan, we visited the Stone City, or the Stone Fort. This area has a 2000 year history as it was a major caravan stop along the Silk Road. It served to control the traffic along these caravan routes and provide refuge for the merchants. For a fee of ¥30, we were allowed in to view this ancient monument. It has wooden pathways which lead upto the Stone Fort, where a magnificent view of the Golden Grasslands and the Pamir Mountains can be seen.

We left soon after and travelled down the Karakoram Highway making the same stops as we did yesterday but with one additional stop, which was where the trees formed sort of a dome/tunnel along the highway. We took some pictures in the middle of the highway when the road was empty.

The skies were clearer compared to yesterday, so the Muztagh Ata was more photogenic today. Because of this, the White Sand Lake and Karakul lake seem to be shimmering due to the unshielded sun rays.

It took us about 8 hours to get back to Kashgar as there were multiple security checks and traffic jams.
We checked back into the same hostel, the Kashgar Old Town Youth Hostel, and checked out at dawn the next day to catch a flight to Xi'an.Read more