Nepal – China – Kyrgyzstan Overland Road Trip

Route: Nepal – China – Kyrgyzstan via Tibet, Qinghai and Xinjiang

Register in the form on the right to join our Nepal-China-Kyrgyzstan Group for costs sharing
Drive or ride from India & Nepal, through China, to Central Asia and even Europe

View in Google Map: Nepal – China – Kyrgyzstan

Duration: 19 Days

Highlights

Everest Base Camp, Lhasa, Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, plateau lakes and snow mountains, Qinghai-Tibet Railway Scenery, Mogao Caves, several sites of world natural and cultural heritage of UNESCO, Silk Road, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Uyghur history and culture…

Itinerary Nepal-China-Kyrgyzstan

Day 1: Nepal-Gyirong , 40km, 2800m
Immigration and customs formalities. The altitude of the border is only 1800 m. drive about 40km to Gyirong town(2800 m).

Day 2 Gyirong – Basong Village, 330km, 4200m
Finish other formalities formalities in the morning, drive 330km to Basong Village in Tingri County before EBC. We need to acclimatize to altitude today.

* Altitude will be from 2800m to 4200m today, it is a challenge for, it’s better we stay somewhere between 3200m-3700m for a few hours before arrive the 4200m village.

Day 3 Basong Village – Mt. Everest Base Camp – Shigatse, 300km, 3845m
Visit opportunity: Mt. Everest Base Camp
Drive to Shigatse after visiting the EBC.

Day 4 Shigatse, 3845m
Apply for temporary driver’s license and temporary number plate.
Visit opportunity: the Tashilunpo Monastery

Day 5 Shigatse – Gyantse, 100km, 4000m
Get chinese temporary driver’s license and temporary number plate this morning, drive 100km to Gyantse County.
Visit opportunity: Pelkor Chode or Palcho Monastery, Kumbum the largest stupa in Tibet, GYANTSE DZONG FORT, GYANTSE OLD TOWN

Day 6 Gyantse – Lhasa, 300km, 3663.5m
Visits: Yamzho Yumco Lake, Yarlung Zangbo River Water Burial Platform

Day 7 Lhasa, 3663.5m
Visit opportunity: the Potala Palace, the Jokhang Temple, the Barkhor Street

Day 8 Lhasa – Amdo County, 475km, 4800m
The average altitude of Anduo is 5,200 meters, and the county seat is 4,800 meters above sea level. It is the highest altitude area where human beings have settled and lived so far, and it is also one of the highest altitude counties in China.

Day 9 Amdo – Tuotuohe, 300km, 4547m

Day 10 Tuotuohe – Golmud, 420km, 2800m
drive 8 hours to Goldmud. Golmud is Mongolian, meaning the place where rivers gather.

Day 11 Goldmud – Dunhuang, 560km, 1220m
Drive 7 hours highway to Dunhuang, Throat of the Silk Road. Dunhuang’s geographical location is very important. It borders the Central Plains in the east and Xinjiang in the west. Since the time of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty (140 BC-87 BC), it has been an important traffic route and military center from the Central Plains to the Western Regions.

Day 12 Dunhuang
Mogao caves: Situated at a strategic point along the Silk Route, at the crossroads of trade as well as religious, cultural and intellectual influences, the 492 cells and cave sanctuaries in Mogao are famous for their statues and wall paintings, spanning 1,000 years of Buddhist art. The Mogao Caves became one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1987.

Mingsha Mountain and Crescent Moon Spring: Legendary desert peak featuring an ancient crescent-shaped lake & traditional-style building.

Day 13 Dunhuang – Shanshan, 730km, 8-9 hours
Today we enter the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, long drives on the highway all day.

Day 14 Shanshan – Turpan, 90km, 2 hours
The Turpan area is historically significant because nearby Gaochang was once the Uyghur capital and an important staging area on the Silk Road.

Turpan is the most original city near Urumqi with Uyghur ethnicity. It is highly recommended to leave the highway, take some country trails, and drive through Uighur towns and villages, where you can buy naan and various melons and fruits on the road.

German scientists conducted archaeological expeditions, known as the German Turfan expeditions, at the beginning of the 20th century (between 1902 and 1914). They discovered paintings and other art treasures that were transported to the Museum of Asian Art in Berlin.

Visit opportunity: Gaochang Old City, Baizikli Cave of Thousand Buddhas, Flaming Mountain

Day 15 Turpan – Urumqi, 200km, 3 hours
Visit opportunity: Turpan’s karez water system, Jiaohe ancient city

Day 16 Urumqi
Urumqi is the capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the far northwest of China. Ürümqi developed its reputation as a leading cultural and commercial center during the Qing dynasty in the 19th century. With a census population of 4 million in 2020, Ürümqi is the second-largest city in China’s northwestern interior after Xi’an as well as the largest in Central Asia in terms of population.We think it’s worth staying for a day here.

Visit opportunity: Xinjiang Museum, Hongshan, International Grand Bazaar,

Day 17 – Day 18 Urumqi – Kashgar
drive 2 days 1479km from Urumqi to Kashgar.

Day 19 Kashgar – Torugart Port or Irkeshtam Port – Kyrgyzstan
We leave early, go through several checkpoints, arrive at the border and complete exit procedures. Goodbye China, hello Kyrgyzstan.