BETCHART EXPEDITIONS Inc. Discover the Silk Road in Far Western China OVERVIEW 17050 Montebello Road, Cupertino, CA 95014-5435 Asia’s northern Silk Road has seen thousands of years of cultural interchange between Xinjiang &Hunza China, Europe and the Caucasus region of Central Asia. Deserts and mountains are FIRST CLASS Lofty Peaks, National Parks, and Villages of the Altai & Karakoram barren, but snowmelt streams that flow through the foothills support agricultural September 21–October 10, 2006 settlements that enable long distance travel and trade. As oases shift, towns are buried in sand, but people move on and cultures Dear Travelers: endure. This summer we are offering a journey to * On our journey along the Silk Road, explore the northern Silk Road, including the we will visit several important outposts oasis cities of northwest China, the Hunza Valley including the desert oases of Turpan and of far northern Pakistan, and the Altai Mountains along China’s frontier with Russia and Kazakhstan. Kashgar in Xinjiang Province of northwest (The Hunza Valley is in far northern Pakistan and is China. Our journey will also take us to well north of the area affected by the earthquake.) sublime Kanas Lake in the lush and The region where China meets Pakistan and spectacular Altai Mountains that lie along the Russian Republics is wild and scenic, with China’s frontier with Russia and Kazakhstan. contrasting landscapes and cultures. People of the The Altai is a moist, forested realm with arid valleys channel snowmelt from nearby moun- landscapes and cultures like the Tuwa tains to water apricot orchards and grape arbors. people that are unique in China. Then we Join Chris Carpenter!... Discover the Mountain people range highland meadows and spruce forests on horseback, spending summers in will follow the Karakoram Highway across ITINERARY Silk Road in Xinjiang & legendary Hunza! yurts of felt or canvas. We’ll meet groups of Uygher, Khunjerab Pass and the high valleys of the September 21–October 10,2006 Kazakh, and Tajik peoples in Western Xinjiang, Pamir for five memorable days in the Hunza Days 1/2 San Francisco to Beijing. the Mongolian Tuwa minority of the Altai Valley, surrounded by lofty peaks of the Depart San Francisco on a United Airlines flight to Mountains, and several Muslim groups in Hunza. Karakoram range. Beijing. On the afternoon of Day 2, arrive in Beijing. This The oasis towns of Turpan and Kashgar, in * evening we’ll enjoy a light but delicious welcome dinner and talk with local people. Food will include a varied Chinese China’s Xinjiang Province, are cultural centers for The only valley that cuts the Karakoram and a brief introduction to the coming adventure. Sino COSTS & CONDITIONS and Muslim menu. Elevations in Xinjiang will range from just the Uygher nationality, with colorful homes and Mountains is the beautiful Hunza Valley. Swiss Hotel (1 night). below sea level to 11,000 feet, with a drive over a 15,000 foot a rich history of folk art and scholarship. Early in The Hunza region appeared on the world's Trip Fee: pass to Hunza and back. In Hunza, we will primarily be Day 3 Beijing to Urumqi. the last century, Kashgar was a center of intrigue in stage when Hilton's Lost Horizon was Morning flight from Beijing to Urumqi, capital city of $3,695 per person (plus air fare of $1,195 + tax from San between 5,000 feet and 9,000 feet in elevation. This expedi- “The Great Game” for control by British and Russian Francisco to Beijing, round trip, and $1,095 in-tour flights). tion will be a tremendous experience for travelers with an published, followed by exaggerated tales Xinjiang-Uygher autonomous area. In the afternoon, colonialists. Long-distance trade has always been we’ll visit the Xinjiang Museum. Mummies, some Limited to 24 paying participants. appetite for adventure. Please be flexible concerning time integral to life in these places. The ongoing flow of of the people's longevity. The Hunza Valley, schedules, hotels, food, roads, and mechanical breakdowns. with its knife edged mountains, brilliant 4,000-years-old, have been recovered from cities that Questions: Please call Deborah Tostevin, people and ideas has engendered a strong sense vanished when the oases shifted. Some of these have Betchart Expeditions Inc. With this in mind, we’ll have a grand adventure of discovery. of hospitality and has given worldly perspectives (No smoking in vehicles, during lectures, or meals.) glaciers edging the road and protected beautiful clothing and Caucasian features. Vestiges of Telephone: (800) 252 4910 or (408) 252 4910 to otherwise isolated communities. valleys with multi-tiered crops are breath- Fax: (408) 252 1444 Air Fare & Airline Ticketing: old Urumqi—trading stalls and vibrant Uygher culture— The Altai Mountains rise far to the north of the Email: [email protected] Air fare quoted is based on a group fare with United Airlines takingly beautiful. Another legend is that survive at Erdaoqiao. Come evening, streets convert to Silk Road, across the broad Jungar Basin, and make soldiers of Alexander the Great settled in open air markets and restaurants with kebabs and Expedition Fee Includes: to Beijing, round trip. In-tour flights are on Chinese airlines. All air bookings will be handled by Betchart Expeditions Inc. a spectacular addition to our journey. Adjoining the the area and today you can see descendants delicious melon for sale. Yindu Hotel (2 nights). Land transport; group airport transfers; accommodations expanses of Siberia, the Altai range supports China’s AIR FARES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE. Day 4 Heaven Lake. twin share; all meals; tips to drivers and local guides; only northern boreal forest habitat. Kanas, a glacial with blond hair and blue eyes. Today, we will take an excursion to Heaven Lake, at entrance fees; baggage handling; leadership, administration. Accommodations: “finger lake” more than 15 miles long, is spectacular Gilgit to the Chinese border, is geographically 6,000 feet in elevation amidst rolling meadows Expedition Fee Does Not Include: Are twin-share with private bath, comfortable, and among the with wildflower meadows and forests of spruce. Tuwa best available in the locations. Expect a good bed, showers, isolated from other parts of Pakistan and self- and spruce forests of the Tian Shan (Celestial International air fare and in-tour air fare (quoted separately); villagers live here in long cabins and raise caribou. contained. Residents of Hunza regret that Muslim China visa fee; gratuities to expedition leaders; personal Western toilets , and carefully prepared food. In non-tourist Mountains). Heaven Lake, near the foot of Hunza Valley societies have acquired a negative image in the items such as laundry, phone calls, alcoholic beverages, locations, only Asian toilets may be available between hotels Pakistan’s is encircled by peaks of 17,000 foot Bogda Peak, was carved by ice-age (some “clean” and some not). If you want a single, or do not the Karakoram range. Local residents are followers Western world and they try hard to dispel stereo- glacial activity. We’ll travel by boat two miles to sodas, snacks, personal insurance; or foreign airport types. In fact, the cohesive Ismaeli community of departure taxes. have a roommate, the single supplement is $485. of Ismaili, a moderate branch of Islam that places the upper end of the lake to enjoy a picnic lunch importance on openness, academic learning, and Hunza is not anti-Western in any sense. Moreover, prepared by Kazakh people who spend summers What to Expect: Reservations, Deposits, & Payments: Please mail a equal opportunity for men and women. It is one of the government of Pakistan is very security conscious. here. We can stroll near the lakeshore and look This expedition is planned for travelers who would enjoy deposit of $500 per person with the completed reservation form to: Xinjiang & Hunza, Betchart Expeditions Inc., the few places in Pakistan where women do not wear We will be well-looked after during this portion of for Tian Shan wildflowers before our afternoon exploring the Silk Road of far western China and legendary the veil. Under patronage of the Aga Khan, Hunza has the tour. Hunza, including the natural and cultural heritage of these 17050 Montebello Road, Cupertino, CA 95014- return to Urumqi. modern schools and numerous cultural restoration remote areas, seeing national parks, meeting ethnic people, 5435. The balance is due 60 days before departure. I hope you will join us on this unique adventure to programs are underway. The valley is preserving agri- explore the cultures, national parks, and extraor- Day 5 Nanshan & Turpan. discovering remote villages, and the cities of Urumqi, Turpan, Cancellations & Refunds: Foothill grasslands of Nanshan, south of Urumqi, and Kashgar. Leading the expedition will be an excellent The initial deposit is refundable up to 60 days before cultural land by encouraging residents to continue to dinary, scenic landscapes of Zinjiang and Hunza! live in the traditional, flat-roofed “cluster villages.” are settled by Kazakh people who live in yurts American biologist who is conversant in Chinese and who departure less a handling fee of $100 per person. There Sincerely, during the warm part of the year. This morning has explored and done research in China. Joining him will is no refund after the 60-day period unless your place is If the prospect of visiting northern Pakistan we will visit Nanshan to stroll and visit with a be local guides. The group will travel 4 to 6 hours by bus or resold, then only the $100 per person handling fee is concerns you, please know that all of the places Kazakh family. Afternoon drive to Turpan, an van on several days. On traveling days, we will take time for withheld. There are no refunds for unused meals or on our itinerary (which I scouted in July 2005) are Dr. Chris Carpenter, oasis in an arid basin below sea level and one both planned and spontaneous stops to walk, photograph, other expedition features. peaceful, friendly, and secure. Hunza valley, from Expedition Leader *** *B ETCHART E XPEDITIONS of China’s lowest (and warmest) places. Over millennia, Day 8 Kanas Lake National Park. Day 12 Lake Karakul Day 15 Hunza Valley ramparts behind Gulmit offer some of the most sublime snowmelt from the Celestial Mountains has been Our full day of activities in Kanas Lake National Park & Tashkurgan. to Gilgit. mountain scenery on the planet. Gulmit Silk Route RESERVATIONS #927 brought by tunnel to irrigate the grape arbors. Turpan will include exploring the taiga forest from a lakeshore Today we’ll ascend into high basins of the Pamir Today, we will follow the Hunza Valley to Gilgit, Lodge (1 night). is friendly and fascinating. Come evening, we will enjoy mountain range, following a corridor that has been passing villages with traditional stone houses and tidy nature trail and a boat excursion to the upper end of Day 17 Khunjerab National Park. Yes! I/we want to join the Xinjiang & Hunza a traditional Uygher cultural performance. used for centuries for trade between China, the apricot orchards. If the weather allows, we’ll enjoy Expedition, September 21–October 10, 2006, Turpan the lake. If time allows, you may choose to climb to Fish We’ll depart this morning on the Karakoram Highway. Caucasus, and Europe. En route, we’ll pass Muztagata, views of snowy Rakaposhi, the favorite mountain in offered by Betchart Expeditions Inc. Please reserve Hotel (1 night). Watching Pavilion, which overlooks the lake, or arrange After a picnic lunch near glaciers in Khunjerab National a majestic, snowy mountain that exceeds 24,000 feet Hunza. After lunch in Gilgit, we’ll check into Serena ______space(s). As a deposit, I/we enclose a check for Day 6 Jiaohe & Altai. a short and gentle float trip on the Kanas Lake outlet Park, we’ll cross the pass to re-enter China. Our after- in elevation. Clear blue Lake Karakul, at the foot of Hotel, in a great location overlooking the city. Later $______($500 per person) payable to Betchart Early morning visit to Jiaohe, an ancient city river. Dinner this evening will be a Kazakh barbecue noon arrival in Tashkurgan should permit time to walk Muztagata, is perfect for a picnic lunch and a stroll. we may have time to visit a rocky cleft where one Expeditions Inc. Trust Account. whose ruins spread across a river terrace just west in the national park. to the old fort, or venture out to meadows where Tajik The outpost of Tashkurgan, our destination today, is surviving Buddha image is carved into a cliff face, of Turpan. Later in the morning, return to Urumqi people have their summer encampments. Tashkurgan Day 9 Altai. an important town for people of the Tajik nationality, evoking the time, more than 1500 years ago, when Name(s) ______Age ______for early afternoon flight to Altai, set in the foothills of Stone City Hotel (1 night). Today, we will return to Altai, with stops to look at the kin to residents of the upper Hunza valley of Pakistan. this region was a point of origin for Tibetan Buddhism. China’s northwest frontier with Russia. From Altai, ecological transition from moist taiga forest to the dry In summer, they spread their yurts in the broad Those who want to stroll can walk down into Gilgit Day 18 Tashkurgan to Kashgar. ______Age ______we will drive on a good highway along the northern steppe vegetation of the Junggar Basin. We may stop to meadow that adjoins the town. At 11,000 feet elevation, to visit the lively marketplace. Today we’ll return to Kashgar, following the scenic margin of the Junggar Basin to Burqin town, set on Gilgit Serena Hotel visit a local family or for vistas en route. After dinner, Tashkurgan will be the highest place where we will route through the Pamir Mountains before descending Address ______the bank of the Ertish River. This is the only river in (1 night). we may stroll in Altai city where shops sell crystals, overnight on this journey. Tashkurgan Stone City to the Tarim Basin. This evening, we will enjoy a local China that drains into the Arctic Ocean. Burqin Yintai Day 16 Karakoram—Himalaya— City ______State ____ Zip ______medicinal herbs and other local products. Bird watchers Hotel (1 night). musical performance at the site of the old Russian Hotel (1 night). Hindu Kush & Gulmit. Inc. can walk to a nearby protected birch forest and look for Consulate. World Plaza Hotel (1 night). Day 13 Khunjerab Pass A morning excursion down valley will take us to the Phone: Home (______)______Day 7 Kanas Lake National Park. Siberian species. Altai Jinqiao Hotel (1 night). to Hunza Valley. Indus River confluence and the point of intersection Days 19/20 Kashgar to Beijing From Burqin, we’ll follow the Ertish River to its Day 10 Altai to Kashgar. Today, we will trace the Karakoram Highway over for three important mountain ranges: the Karakoram, & San Francisco. Work (______)______headwaters at Kanas Lake, a morning drive that passes Morning flight from Altai to Urumqi, connecting to Khunjerab Pass into the legendary Hunza Valley of Himalaya and Hindu Kush. Then we’ll return up valley Transfer to Kashgar airport for the return flight to wetlands, fields of blooming sunflowers, and spruce- Email Address______Kashgar, a city of legend along the Northern Silk Road. Pakistan. Khunjerab Pass, about 15,000 feet in elevation, past Gilgit and Karimabad to the scenic mountain village Beijing, via Urumqi. Enjoy a festive farewell dinner in dotted grasslands. At the entrance to Kanas Lake Kashgar, isolated by deserts from the rest of China, marks the highest point on our journey. Here we will of Gulmit where glaciers extend to the edges of the fields Beijing. International Hotel (1 night). Next day, transfer Membership: AAAS Sigma Xi ACS Other ______National Park, we’ll check into our hotel. After lunch, has a large Uygher population and (unusual for China) enter Karakoram National Park, sanctuary for elusive and produce a refreshing breeze. We’ll stroll in the to the Beijing airport for return flights to San Francisco we’ll enjoy an afternoon excursion to a village of the Accommodations Preference: an extensive old town where local merchants still endangered mammals like snow leopard and Marco village, visit an idiosyncratic little museum, and perhaps and home. Tuwa minority people. Kanas National Park Hongfu follow traditional ways, selling fried bread, carpets and Polo sheep, and thousands of Himalayan marmots. We have cups of tea with locals. The cathedral-like mountain ___ Twin ___ Single ___ Share (with a friend) Hotel (2 nights). traditional knives. Though remote from the Western will descend, passing near glaciers, as lofty, arid spires ___ Share (assign a roommate) cultural experience, Kashgar is a personable, of the Karakoram rise on both sides of the road. Among RESPONSIBILITY ___ Nonsmoker ___ Smoker friendly city. World Plaza Hotel (2 nights). the steepest mountains on earth, the Karakoram are a **Day 11 Kashgar Market. backdrop to small mountain villages. After green tea in Betchart Expeditions Inc., the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society, and ACS (the American Chemical Signature ______Date ______Our hotel, centrally located near the old British Passu village, we’ll reach Karimabad, cultural center of Society), act only as agents for the passenger with respect to transportation and hotels, upper Hunza. Karimabad Baltit Inn (2 nights). and exercise every care possible. However, we can assume no liability for injury, damage, Consul, enables us to see Kashgar the best way. We delay, loss, accident or irregularity in connection with the services of any airplane, ship, Signature ______Date ______can meander on foot through the narrow streets of Day 14 Eagle’s Nest motorcoach, or any other conveyance used in carrying out the arrangements of the tour. We cannot accept any responsibility for losses or additional expenses due to delay or Please Mail To: the old city. Our main focus today will be the famous & Karimabad. changes in air or other services, sickness, weather, strike, war, quarantine, terrorism, acts of God, or other causes beyond our control. All such losses or expenses will have to Xinjiang & Hunza Expedition Kashgar market and livestock fair. Here families from In the morning, we’ll take a short jeep excursion be borne by the passenger, as tour rates provide for arrangements only for the time outlying communities come to buy and sell donkeys, stated. We reserve the right to substitute another leader of similar expertise or reserve Betchart Expeditions Inc. uphill to Eagle’s Nest, where settlements perch at the the right to cancel any tour prior to departure, in which case the entire payment will be 17050 Montebello Road camels and other livestock. This is a very festive refunded with no further obligation on our part. The right is also reserved to decline to foot of a great escarpment, high above the valley. Canals, accept or retain any person as a member of the tour. No refund will be made for the Cupertino, CA 95014-5345 event, great for photography, with horse races. built over centuries to divert snowmelt for farming, unused portion of any tour unless arrangements are made in sufficient time to avoid Our visit in late summer will show us markets with penalties. The price of the program is based on current tariffs and rates, and is subject offer access for scenic walks. Descending from Eagle’s to change. Any tariff, exchange rate, or fuel increases will be passed on to participants. some of the best produce, and the season’s fattest, Baggage is carried at the owner’s risk entirely. It is understood that the air ticket when nest after lunch, we’ll take time to explore Karimabad’s issued shall constitute the sole contract between the passenger and the airline most colorful melons. In the afternoon, we will small bazaar and meet local people. Fresh coffee is concerned. The airlines concerned are not to be held responsible for any act, omission, or event during the time passengers are not on board their plane or conveyance. visit the Idakh Mosque, a regional center of Muslim available and English is spoken in Hunza. Later, we ©2006 Betchart Expeditions Inc. All rights reserved. culture with a tranquil garden; nearby tombs are will tour the Baltit Fort, beautifully restored with renowned for their fine inlay work. Map & illustration by April Milne funding from the Aga Khan Foundation. *Photos by Dennis Schmitt. CST# 2036304-40