The ‘Silk Road Caravan’ begins its journey in Islamabad heading north through lush foothills, along the banks of the Indus and then up into the geological wonderland of the Karakorums and the Hindu Kush. Making our way gradually up the Karakorum Highway, itself an engineering wonder of the world, we have ample time to explore this, one of the most beautiful and culturally diverse regions on Earth. We spend time in Gilgit, backdrop to the ‘Great Game’ when Imperial British and Russian governments jockeyed for influence in this strategically vital area. Further north we have time to relax amidst the apricot trees and wooden forts of the old Ismaili kingdom of Hunza. Here beneath the towering majesty of Mt. Rakaposhi it is hard for the visitor not to be struck by the reasons, both natural and cultural, why this valley is considered to be the source of the legend of Shangri- La. We spend our last night in Pakistan in the sleepy, picturesque village of Gulmit before entering China via the stunning Khunjerab Pass. After the dramatic, scenic intensity of the Karakorums we emerge into the gentler, more rolling landscape of the Pamirs and make our way via the Tadjik town of Tashkorgan to Kashgar, the oasis stronghold of the Uighurs.  Our stay is timed to coincide with the Sunday Bazaar when nomads and traders from all over Central Asia gather to do business at this extraordinary market.

From Urumqi we travel to Turfan to spend time in another oasis town, exploring Buddhist cities by day, and, in the evening, relaxing beneath grape trellises, perhaps to be carried gently back through the centuries by the plaintive desert songs of the Uighurs. We travel on by train, past the snowy peaks of the Tianshan Mountains,  to Dunhuang, home to the most remarkable repository of Buddhist cave art in the world, the Mogao Grottoes. This town was once the last outpost of the Chinese Empire and further south we visit Jiayuguan, the fortress that marks the western end of the Great Wall. We continue through Gansu’s rural hinterland for much of the way following the line of the Great Wall. Eventually we pass through the Wall and after visiting China’s largest statue of the Sleeping Buddha at Zhangye we make our way to the bustling, frontier town of Lanzhou. Here we travel by boat along the reaches and gorges of the Yellow River to see the acclaimed Binglingsi Caves. Moving further into the heart of China we arrive the old imperial capital Xian, formerly Changan and visit the awe inspiring Terracotta Warriors. In today’s capital of Beijing we visit the Great Wall and other ancient sites and also have time to soak up some of the exciting atmosphere of this dynamic modern city.