Mt. Muztagh Ata - Climbing the Father of Ice Mountain

- Cross sparkling rivers camelback in pursuit of Muztag Ata, the scenic peak of the Pamir Mountains
- See the world from a breathtaking perspective, as you trek past glaciers at 17,000 ft
- Explore the heart of Kashgar (a destination for Silk Road tour), visiting the Irislahan Mosque and haggling with locals at a renowned bazaar selling almost anything imaginable

Towering at 7,546 meters (24,750 ft), Muztagh Ata - or "Father of Ice Mountain" in the local Uighur dialect - lies 160 km (102 miles) south of the fabled city of Kashgar, in the heart of the great mountain ranges of Central Asia. A round-topped mountain enveloped year-round in snow, more than ten glaciers lie in its many canyons. Its reflection in the deep blue waters of Lake Karakul dazzles and inspires the intrepid visitor. Across the lake also lies Muztagh Ata's cousins of Kongur Shan (7,649 m/25,088 ft) and Kongur Tobe (7,530 m/24,698 ft). A total of three massive mountain ranges - the Pamirs, Karakorams, and Kunluns - converge in this single area, altogether forming a vast and untamed terrain that is stunningly spectacular in its natural beauty, so it attracts so many tourists for their popular China travel package.


The focus of this journey is to make a trek up the broad slopes of Mt. Muztagh Ata, one of the climbing world's most popular 7,000m+ mountains (due to its relative ease to summit, though in our case we go only to Camp 1 at 5,300m). We begin by meeting in Urumqi, and then flying onto Kashgar. Here we spend a day touring the city before embarking on the road towards the Western border area of Xinjiang and the starting point of our 8 day trek. Crossing open grasslands and glacier valleys, we travel in the company of Kyrgyz, Tajik and Kazakh herdsmen who tend sheep and yaks at the base of Muztagh Ata and call this remote terrain home. We also experience the generosity of these people as they invite us for yak butter tea and bread during stops in high mountain pastures. We continue at an unhurried pace up the western slope, appreciating the magnificent birds-eye views of Muztagh Ata and Lake Karakul, set against an equally impressive backdrop of other snow-capped giants making up the several ranges that meet here. After reaching Base Camp, we rest the night before making the final trek to Camp 1, where the journey included in China vacation packages reaches its climax and we savor breathtaking vistas at a frosty 5,300m. Our objective reached, we descend the mountain and return to Kashgar for two days of much deserved R&R, putting the rigors of Muztagh Ata behind us as we soak in the city's lively market bazaars, resplendent mosques and warm hearted Central Asian hospitality.