Xinjiang&Hunza

The American Association for the Advancement of Science Discover the Silk Road in Far Western China OVERVIEW & Sigma Xi,The Scientific Research Society Asia’s northern Silk Road has seen AAAS Travels & Sigma Xi Expeditions thousands of years of cultural interchange PRSRT-STD Xinjiang &Hunza between China, Europe and the Caucasus U.S. Postage Betchart Expeditions Inc. region of Central Asia. Deserts and moun- P A I D 17050 Montebello Road, Cupertino, CA 95014-5435 Lofty Peaks, National Parks, and Villages of the Silk Road & Karakoram tains are barren, but snowmelt streams Staten Island, NY Permit No. 169 September 7-24, 2008 that flow through the foothills support agricultural settlements that enable long TIME VALUE distance travel and trade. As oases shift, towns are buried in sand, but people Dear Travelers: move on and cultures endure. This fall we are offering a journey to explore * On our journey along the Silk Road, the northern Silk Road, including the oasis we will visit several important outposts cities of Urumqi and Kashgar in northwest China and the Hunza Valley of far northern including the desert oases of Turpan and Pakistan. Kashgar in Xinjiang Province of northwest The region where China meets Pakistan is wild China, where we will see the famous and scenic, with contrasting landscapes and livestock market. We will then follow the cultures. People of the arid valleys channel snow- spectacular Karakoram Highway across melt from nearby mountains to water apricot Khunjerab Pass and the high valleys of orchards and grape arbors. Mountain people the Pamir for six memorable days in the range highland meadows and spruce forests on Hunza Valley, surrounded by lofty peaks Discover the Silk Road in Xinjiang horseback, spending summers in yurts of felt or canvas. We’ll meet groups of Uygher, Kazakh, of the Karakoram range. ITINERARY & legendary Hunza! and Tajik peoples in Western Xinjiang, and The only valley that cuts the Karakoram September 7-24, 2008 several other cultural groups in Hunza. Mountains is the beautiful Hunza Valley. Days 1/2 San Francisco to Beijing. The oasis towns of Turpan and Kashgar, in The Hunza region appeared on the world's Depart San Francisco on a United Airlines flight to China’s Xinjiang Province, are cultural centers stage when Hilton's Lost Horizon was Beijing. On the afternoon of Day 2, arrive in Beijing. This evening we’ll enjoy a light but delicious for the Uygher nationality, with colorful homes * published, followed by exaggerated tales 5,000 feet and 9,000 feet in elevation. This expedition will and a rich history of folk art and scholarship. welcome dinner and a brief introduction to the COSTS & CONDITIONS be a tremendous experience for travelers with an appetite Early in the last century, Kashgar was a center of the people's longevity. The Hunza Valley, coming adventure. Sino Swiss Hotel. for adventure. Please be flexible concerning time schedules, of intrigue in “The Great Game” for control by with its knife edged mountains, brilliant Trip Fee: hotels, food, roads, and mechanical breakdowns. With this Day 3 Beijing to Urumqi. $3,895 per person (plus air fare of $1,295 + tax from San in mind, we will have a grand adventure of discovery. (No British and Russian colonialists. Long-distance glaciers edging the road and protected Morning flight from Beijing to Urumqi, capital city of Francisco to Beijing, round trip, and $875 in-tour flights). smoking in vehicles, during lectures, or meals.) trade has always been integral to life in these valleys with multi-tiered crops, is breath- the Xinjiang-Uyghur autonomous area. We will enjoy places. The ongoing flow of people and ideas Questions: Please call Betchart Expeditions Inc. Air Fare & Airline Ticketing: takingly beautiful. Another legend is that a welcome lunch in a traditional Uyghur restaurant, Telephone: (800) 252 4910 Group flights are reserved with United Airlines, San Francisco/ has engendered a strong sense of hospitality soldiers of Alexander the Great settled in then a city tour. Vestiges of old Urumqi—trading stalls and has given worldly perspectives to otherwise or (408) 252 4910 Beijing, round trip. To ensure all travelers get the group rate the area and today you can see descendants and vibrant Uyghur culture—survive at Erdaoqiao, Fax: (408) 252 1444 (which requires 10 or more traveling together, round trip), isolated communities. the local market. Come evening, streets convert to with blond hair and blue eyes. Email: [email protected] we ask that all group members depart from San Francisco Pakistan’s Hunza Valley is encircled by peaks open air markets and restaurants with kebabs and together. All air bookings will be handled by Betchart Expedition Fee Includes: delicious melon for sale. Hoi Tak Hotel (2 nights). Expeditions Inc. Limited independent travel arrangements of the Karakoram range. Local residents are Our travelers to Xinjiang & Hunza are Land transport; group airport transfers; accommodations are available. AIR FARES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE. followers of Ismaili, a moderate branch of Islam thrilled by what they see! We hope you Day 4 Xinjiang Museum twin share; all meals; tips to drivers and local guides; that places importance on civic responsibility, entrance fees; baggage handling; leadership, administration. Accommodations: will join us for this fascinating adventure & Nanshan. Are twin-share with private bath, comfortable, and among academic learning, and equal opportunity for This morning, we will visit the Xinjiang Museum. Expedition Fee Does Not Include: in 2008! the best available in the locations. Expect a good bed, showers, men and women. It is one of the few places Mummies, some 4,000-years-old, have been recovered International air fare and in-tour air fare (quoted separately); negative image in the Western world and they try Western toilets , and carefully prepared food. Accommoda- in Pakistan where women do not wear the veil visa fees; gratuities to expedition leaders; personal items such hard to dispel stereotypes. In fact, the cohesive from cities that vanished when the oases shifted. tions are modest in one location. In non-tourist locations, and worship occurs in community centers, not as laundry, phone calls, alcoholic beverages, sodas, snacks, Ismaeli community of Hunza is not anti-Western Some of these have beautiful clothing and only Asian toilets may be available between hotels (some mosques. Under patronage of the Aga Khan, Caucasian features. In the afternoon, we will personal insurance; or foreign airport departure taxes. in any sense. Moreover, the government of “clean” and some not). If you want a single, or do not have Hunza has modern schools and numerous visit the foothill grasslands of Nanshan, south of What to Expect: a roommate, the single supplement is $595. Pakistan is very security conscious. We will be This expedition is planned for travelers who would enjoy cultural restoration programs are underway. Urumqi, settled by Kazakh people who live in Reservations, Deposits, & Payments: well-looked after during this portion of the tour. exploring the Silk Road of far western China and legendary They are preserving agricultural land by yurts during the warm part of the year. We will Please mail a deposit of $500 per person with the Hunza, including the natural and cultural heritage of these encouraging residents to continue to live in We hope you will join us on this unique adventure enjoy a stroll and visit with a Kazakh family. completed reservation form to: Xinjiang & Hunza, remote areas, seeing national parks, meeting ethnic people, to explore the cultures, national parks, and Betchart Expeditions Inc., 17050 Montebello Road, the traditional, flat-roofed “cluster villages.” discovering remote villages, and the cities of Urumqi, Turpan, Day 5 Turpan. Cupertino, CA 95014-5435. The balance is due 60 days extraordinary, scenic landscapes of Zinjiang and Kashgar. Leading the expedition will be an excellent If the prospect of visiting northern Pakistan Morning drive to Turpan, an oasis in an arid before departure. and Hunza! Chinese guide. Joining him will be talented local guides. concerns you, please know that all of the places basin below sea level and one of China’s lowest The group will travel 4 to 6 hours by bus or van on several Cancellations & Refunds: on our itinerary (which we visited three times Sincerely, (and warmest) places. Over millennia, snowmelt days. On traveling days, we will take time for both planned The initial deposit is refundable up to 60 days before recently) are peaceful, friendly, and secure. from the Celestial Mountains has been brought and spontaneous stops to walk, photograph, and talk with departure less a handling fee of $100 per person. There Hunza valley, from Gilgit to the Chinese border, by tunnel to irrigate the grape arbors. Turpan is local people. Food will include a varied Chinese and Muslim is no refund after the 60-day period unless your place is is geographically isolated from other parts of Margaret M. Betchart friendly and fascinating. Come evening, we will resold, then only the $100 per person handling fee is menu. Elevations in Xinjiang will range from just below sea Pakistan and self-contained. Residents of Hunza President, Betchart Expeditions enjoy a traditional Uygher cultural performance. level to 11,000 feet, with a drive over a 15,000 foot pass to withheld. There are no refunds for unused meals or Hunza and back. In Hunza, we will primarily be between other expedition features. regret that Muslim societies have acquired a For AAAS Travels & Sigma Xi Expeditions Turpan Hotel. *** * IM XI & SIGMA

Day 6 Jiaohe & Kashgar. way of life. Today we will plan an excursion into the journey. Here we will enter Karakoram National Park, mountain in Hunza. After lunch in Gilgit, we will Khunjerab National Park, we will cross the pass to THE SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH SOCIETY Early morning visit to Jiaohe, an ancient city countryside to experience an important, picturesque sanctuary for elusive endangered mammals like check into our hotel, in a great location overlooking re-enter China. Our afternoon arrival in Tashkurgan RESERVATIONS #1047 whose ruins spread across a river terrace just facet of Xinjiang culture. snow leopard and Marco Polo sheep, and thousands the city. Later we may have time to visit a rocky cleft should permit time to walk to the old fort, or venture west of Turpan. Built above the confluence of two of Himalayan marmots. We will descend, passing near where one surviving Buddha image is carved into out to meadows where Tajik people have their Yes! I/we want to join the Xinjiang & Hunza Expedition, Day 8 Kashgar Market. September 7-24, 2008, offered by AAAS Travels & streams near Turpan, Jiaohe was abandoned during glaciers, as lofty, arid spires of the Karakoram rise on a cliff face, evoking the time, more than 1500 years summer encampments. Crown Inn. Our hotel, centrally located near the old British Sigma Xi Expeditions. Please reserve _____ space(s). As a the Mongol invasions of the 13th Century. Today it both sides of the road. Among the steepest mountains ago, when this region was a point of origin for Consul, enables us to see Kashgar the best way. We Day 16 Tashkurgan to Kashgar. deposit, I/we enclose a check for $______($500 per remains a place of austere beauty. Somber earthen on earth, the Karakoram are a backdrop to small Tibetan Buddhism. Those who want to stroll can can meander on foot through the narrow streets of Today we’ll return to Kashgar, following the person) payable to Betchart Expeditions Inc. Trust Account. walls are visible against a sere desert landscape mountain villages. After green tea in Passu village, walk down into Gilgit to visit the lively marketplace. the old city. Our main focus today will be the famous scenic route through the Pamir Mountains before with Buddha images crumbling to dust. Later in we will reach Karimabad, cultural center of upper Gilgit Serena Hotel. Kashgar market and livestock fair. Here families from descending to the Tarim Basin. This evening, we Name(s) ______Age ______the morning, we will return to Urumqi for an early Hunza. Karimabad Baltit Inn (3 nights). outlying communities come to buy and sell donkeys, Day 14 Karakoram—Himalaya— will enjoy a local musical performance at the site afternoon flight to Kashgar, a city of legend along ______Age ______camels and other livestock. This is a very festive Day 11 Eagle’s Nest Hindu Kush & Gulmit. of the old Russian Consulate. Qinibagh Hotel. the Northern Silk Road. Kashgar, isolated by deserts event, great for photography, with horse races. & Karimabad. This morning we will return up valley past Gilgit Address ______from the rest of China, has a large Uygher population Days 17/18 Kashgar to Beijing Our visit will show us markets with some of the In the morning, we will tour Baitit Fort, originally and Karimabad to the scenic mountain village of and (unusual for China) an extensive old town where & San Francisco. City ______State ____ Zip ______best produce, and the season’s fattest, most colorful built in the Tibetan style, now beautifully restored Gulmit where glaciers extend to the edges of the local merchants still follow traditional ways, selling Transfer to Kashgar airport for the return flight to E melons. In the afternoon, we will visit the Idakh with funding from the Aga Khan Foundation. We will fields and produce a refreshing breeze. We will stroll fried bread, carpets and traditional knives. Though Beijing, via Urumqi. Enjoy a festive farewell dinner. Phone: Home (______)______Mosque, a regional center of Muslim culture with also visit a carpet weaving cooperative that utilizes in the village, visit an idiosyncratic little museum, and remote from the Western cultural experience, Sino Swiss Hotel. Next day, transfer to the Beijing Work (______)______

a tranquil garden; nearby tombs are renowned for local, natural dyes. At midday, there will be time perhaps have cups of tea with locals. The cathedral- xpeditions Kashgar is a personable, friendly city. Qinibagh airport for return flights to San Francisco and home. their fine inlay work. to walk about Karimabad’s small bazaar and talk to like mountain ramparts behind Gulmit offer some of Hotel (3 nights). Email Address______some of the local people. Fresh coffee is available the most sublime mountain scenery on the planet. Day 9 Lake Karakul &Tashkurgan. Day 7 Kashgar & Pahetail. and English is spoken in Hunza. Later, we will Gulmit Silk Route Lodge. Membership: AAAS Sigma Xi ACS Other ______Today we’ll ascend into high basins of the Pamir Kashgar is the commercial center of a broad, fertile take a short jeep excursiion uphill to Eagle’s Nest, RESPONSIBILITY mountain range, following a corridor that has been Day 15 Khunjerab National Park. Accommodations Preference: valley. But the region includes numerous smaller where settlements perch at the foot of a great used for centuries for trade between China, the We’ll depart this morning on the Karakoram Betchart Expeditions Inc., the American Association for the Advancement ___ Twin ___ Single ___ Share (with a friend) agricultural communities like Pahetail and Pashkermu escarpment, high above the valley. Canals, built of Science (AAAS), and Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society, act only Caucasus, and Europe. En route, we will pass Highway. After a picnic lunch near glaciers in as agents for the passenger with respect to transportation and hotels, and ___ Share (assign a roommate) where the Uyghur people retain their traditional over centuries to divert snowmelt for farming, Muztagata, a majestic, snowy mountain that exceeds exercise every care possible. However, we can assume no liability for injury, ___ Nonsmoker ___ Smoker offer egress for scenic walks. Dinner at Eagle’s damage, delay, loss, accident or irregularity in connection with the services 24,000 feet in elevation. Clear blue Lake Karakul, of any airplane, ship, motorcoach, or any other conveyance used in carrying Nest will be accompanied by a traditional music out the arrangements of the tour. We cannot accept any responsibility for at the foot of Muztagata, is perfect for a picnic performance. losses or additional expenses due to delay or changes in air or other Signature ______Date ______**services, sickness, weather, strike, war, quarantine, terrorism, acts of God, lunch and a stroll. The outpost of Tashkurgan, or other causes beyond our control. All such losses or expenses will have to our destination today, is an important town for Day 12 Upper Hunza. be borne by the passenger, as tour rates provide for arrangements only for Signature ______Date ______the time stated. We reserve the right to substitute another leader of similar people of the Tajik nationality, kin to residents of Today we will explore Upper Hunza which expertise or reserve the right to cancel any tour prior to departure, in which Please Mail To: the upper Hunza valley of Pakistan. In summer, includes the Wahki villages of the Gojal Region case the entire payment will be refunded with no further obligation on our Xinjiang & Hunza Expedition part. The right is also reserved to decline to accept or retain any person as a they spread their yurts in the broad meadow and scenic Nagar Valley. There is much to see member of the tour. No refund will be made for the unused portion of any Betchart Expeditions Inc. that adjoins the town. At 11,000 feet elevation, in this area. Weather and local road conditions tour unless arrangements are made in sufficient time to avoid penalties. 17050 Montebello Road The price of the program is based on current tariffs and rates, and is subject Cupertino, CA 95014-5345 Tashkurgan will be the highest place where we (which vary from week to week) may determine to change. Any tariff, exchange rate, or fuel increases will be passed on to participants. Baggage is carried at the owner’s risk entirely. It is understood will overnight on this journey. Crown Inn. our exact schedule today. that the air ticket when issued shall constitute the sole contract between the passenger and the airline concerned. The airlines concerned are not to be Day 10 Khunjerab Pass to Hunza Valley. Day 13 Hunza Valley to Gilgit. held responsible for any act, omission, or event during the time passengers Today, we will trace the Karakoram Highway Today, we will follow the Hunza Valley to Gilgit, are not on board their plane or conveyance. over Khunjerab Pass into the legendary Hunza passing villages with traditional stone houses and ©2007 Betchart Expeditions Inc. All rights reserved. Valley of Pakistan. Khunjerab Pass, about 15,000 tidy apricot orchards. If the weather allows, we Map & illustration by April Milne feet in elevation, marks the highest point on our will enjoy views of snowy Rakaposhi, the favorite *Photos by Dennis Schmitt. CST# 2036304-40