The south is the soul of the Silk Road. Where the north gives you lakes and meadows, the south gives you desert, oasis kingdoms, thousand-year-old caves, and the white vastness of the Pamir Plateau at the roof of the world. I drove this eight-day loop with a friend who had never left the coast, and by Day 6 he had stopped checking his phone entirely — the Pamir does that to people.
Eight days covers the Tarim Basin edge and the Pamir turn without a single wasted day. It is the desert half of the southern Xinjiang Tarim loop, extended up to Tashkurgan.
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The route
Urumqi → Turpan → Korla → Kuqa → Aksu → Kashgar → Tashkurgan (Pamir) → Kashgar → fly out.
About 2,400–2,600 km. Two long desert days; the Pamir is short-distance but high-altitude.
Day-by-day
Day 1 — Urumqi to Turpan (~190 km, 2.5 hrs). The Flaming Mountains glow at sunset; add the Grape Valley and Jiaohe ruins. Overnight Turpan.
Day 2 — Turpan to Korla (~380 km, 4.5 hrs). South through the wind corridor. Overnight Korla.
Day 3 — Korla to Kuqa (~280 km, 3.5 hrs). Kuqa Grand Canyon and the Kizil caves. Overnight Kuqa.
Day 4 — Kuqa to Aksu to Kashgar (~720 km, full day). The big Tarim crossing on the G3012. Overnight Kashgar; wander the Kashgar old town guide lanes that night.
Day 5 — Kashgar rest and permit day. Get your border permit (边防证) for Tashkurgan, see the Sunday market if it is the right day, repair the car if needed. Overnight Kashgar.
Day 6 — Kashgar to Tashkurgan via Karakoram Highway (~300 km, 5–6 hrs). The Kashgar to Pamir Karakul drive covers the passes: the White Sand Lake, the Karakul Lake, Muztagh Ata at 7,509 m. Overnight Tashkurgan (~3,100 m).
Day 7 — Tashkurgan to Kashgar (~300 km). Revisit Karakul in morning light, descend. Overnight Kashgar.
Day 8 — Fly out of Kashgar (recommended) or begin the long drive north.
Altitude and the Pamir turn
This loop climbs from 154 m below sea level at Turpan to 3,100 m at Tashkurgan, with the Karakoram passes reaching 4,000 m+. The danger is not the high town but the speed of the climb: Kashgar is a comfortable 1,300 m, so the 1,800 m gain to Tashkurgan happens in a single 300 km drive. I take Day 5 in Kashgar deliberately to rest, then drink 3–4 L of water on the Pamir road and skip any hard hike at Karakul. Symptoms to respect: a pounding headache or nausea means descend toward Kashgar, not push on. Acclimatized or not, the Pamir is not a place to arrive tired from a long desert day and immediately exert.
The seasonal window
The south is the most weather-sensitive half of Xinjiang. Turpan is survivable only in spring (April–May) and autumn (September–October); in July it hits 40–45°C and the Flaming Mountains are genuinely dangerous at midday. The Pamir, by contrast, is best from late May to early October — its high passes firm up with ice and some close from November onward. The sweet spot for the whole loop is late May to early October, with my favorite being September: Turpan is cooling, the Tarim is bearable, and the Pamir skies are clear. Avoid deep winter entirely; the Pamir is snow-bound and the Tarim wind cuts hard.
Checkpoints and the border permit
This route has the heaviest checkpoint density of any loop I run. Expect routine stops on the Aksu–Kashgar highway and then a cluster of them on the Kashgar–Tashkurgan road, where the border with Pakistan, Tajikistan and Afghanistan is close. The 边防证 (border permit) for Tashkurgan is free but mandatory, and you apply in Kashgar with your passport — allow a few hours on Day 5. Bring passport, rental papers, and (if foreign) confirmation of your self-drive permission; keep everything in the glovebox sleeve. Checkpoints and military sites are strictly off-limits to photography, and dashcams should be off if asked.
Fuel and water on the desert-and-Pamir run
On the G3012, fuel sits every 40–80 km, but the Kashgar–Tashkurgan Pamir road has wider gaps and some pumps close early — fuel to full in Kashgar before Day 6. The Pamir is dry and high: carry 3–4 L of water per person for the Tashkurgan overnighter, because the plateau dehydrates you fast even when you are not thirsty. I treat Urumqi, Korla, Kuqa, Kashgar and (for the Pamir approach) Kashgar again as my provisioning anchors. Cash (¥200–300 small bills) covers roadside stalls and card-less pumps. Build a ten-minute buffer per day for the checks.
The Pamir turn: what changes
Above about 3,000 m the air thins and the landscape goes monochrome white-and-grey. Tashkurgan sits at ~3,100 m; the Khunjerab Pass, if open to you, reaches ~4,700 m. Take the altitude seriously: ascend slowly, drink water, sleep low. The border permit is mandatory for Tashkurgan and is free, but you apply in Kashgar with your passport and should allow a few hours. Rules tighten and loosen — confirm before you go.
Desert driving reality
- Heat: Turpan hits 40°C+ in July. The Taklamakan edge bakes. Never let fuel drop below half; stations are 40–80 km apart but heat punishes complacency.
- Checkpoints: Several between Aksu and Kashgar and again south of Kashgar toward the Pamir. Routine, polite, paper-heavy — have everything ready.
- Sand: After windstorms the desert highways can sheet with blown sand; the shelterbelts help, but a closed section is possible. Have a backup night built in.
- Signal: Offline maps are essential from Kuqa south; don’t trust live navigation in the basin.
Costs
- Fuel: ~¥1,700–2,100 for the loop in a petrol SUV.
- Tolls: ~¥600–750 on the G30/G3012.
- Border permit: free, but costs a half-day in Kashgar.
- Hotels: ¥200–500/night; Tashkurgan is limited and pricier in peak season.
- Food: cheap — ¥50–100/day eats well on naan, kebab, and hand-pulled noodles.
Road quality by segment
The Tarim half is effortless — G30/G3012 divided expressway, flat and fast from Turpan to Kashgar. The only rough character is the Kashgar–Tashkurgan Karakoram Highway (G314): paved but narrower, with frost heave, the occasional rockfall after rain, and big altitude gains. Take it slow and enjoy the White Sand Lake and Karakul stops. No 4WD needed in season, but tire quality and a careful foot matter more here than anywhere else on the loop. The Turpan–Korla and Korla–Kuqa legs are easy; save your energy for the Pamir.
Connectivity and the Pamir signal
You have full signal on the expressway and in every oasis town, but it disappears south of Kashgar on the Pamir road and is patchy at Karakul and Tashkurgan. Download offline maps for the whole south before leaving Urumqi, and cache your Tashkurgan hotel address and the permit office location as screenshots. A China Mobile SIM (best regional coverage) is worth buying on day one. On the Pamir, navigate by the brown checkpoint signs and your cached map, not live data — and tell someone your Kashgar–Tashkurgan ETA before you lose signal.
Booking and the permit-day buffer
In peak season (July–August) book Kashgar and Tashkurgan ahead — the Pamir guesthouses are few and fill fast. Build Day 5 as a genuine rest-and-permit day in Kashgar rather than squeezing sightseeing; the 边防证 office has its own hours and a queue, and you do not want to discover it closed at 4 p.m. on the day you planned to drive south.
FAQ
Is 8 days enough for south + Pamir? Yes. It covers Turpan, the Tarim oasis towns, Kashgar, and a Pamir overnighter without a wasted day. Add days only if you want to linger in Kashgar.
Do I need the border permit? Yes, for the Tashkurgan/Pamir section (Days 6–7). Apply in Kashgar with your passport.
When is best? Late May to early October. The Pamir is snow-bound in deep winter and some passes close; Turpan is survivable only in spring and autumn.
Sedan or SUV? A sedan handles the paved Tarim and Pamir roads. An SUV is more comfortable on the Pamir’s rougher stretches but not required.
Is the altitude dangerous? It is manageable for most people if you ascend gradually and hydrate. If you feel seriously unwell, descend — Kashgar at ~1,300 m is the recovery point.
Should I fly the return? Strongly yes. Flying Kashgar→Urumqi on Day 8 saves a 1,500 km drive and a full day. Drop the car in Kashgar.
Final word
The south is harsher and quieter than the north, and that is exactly why it stays with you. Eight days takes you from the Flaming Mountains to the snow line of Muztagh Ata and back, with the whole Silk Road humming in between.
Written by Karl Huang, a Xinjiang-based travel writer. Pamir border-permit rules and high-pass openings change with the season — confirm the current requirements and road status with local authorities before you travel.