Super cool, reliable, interesting tour! - Our guide was Alim! And he was epic! We had safe drivers, reliable journey, they answered all our questions (there was a lot!)...so many super cool sites and aspects of the Kashgar culture. Loved it on this tour...I really dont know if I could have done this exploration on my own.

Adventure of a life time - I travelled 18 days with this tour company along the silk road starting in Kashgar all the way to Lanzhou. Given my experience in Xinjiang and Gansu are rather different, I will provide two reviews of the two regions. Lily from Gansu was my main contact person in organising the trip and I was extremely impressed by her dedication, warmness & professionalism. I literally had less than a week to organise my entire bespoke & month long trip. Lily was more than willing to stay up late at night to chat to me about my schedule and provide suggestions. However, if you are engaging this tour for Xinjiang, I recommend also speaking to Ali if possible as he has more knowledge of the area. Should I have spoken to him, I may have planned my trip differently. The pricing of this tour is also very reasonable - you can pay a little more than what you would pay for a commercial group tour - for a flexible private tour. The tour company is able to book almost everything for you including accommodation, travel tickets etc etc. They can organise meals at people's homes. Xinjiang is an extremely politically sensitive area (in 2018) and you will need an invitation from a professional organisation to maximise your ability to move around, particularly around the Kashgar region. Silk Road Tour was able to turn this difficult situation into an amazing experience for me as every tour guide & driver I had were incredibly knowledgable & passionate about the history & culture of the Uighur people. They were able to answer my questions honestly and quickly cater to my spontaneous requests. In Kashgar / Hotan, Bardi and Abdul were my guide and driver. We had some very difficult situations including unexpectedly difficult police checks and a car breakdown in the middle of the Karakorum Highway (thank goodness Abdul is a mechanic!). Bardi & Abdul always maintained flexible and professional at all times, resolving the issues as quickly as they could. You could tell they know the region really well and truly love what they do (they told me many stories of their adventures - desert camping is on the agenda for my next trip!). Abdul also knows some pretty amazing spots to take photos along the way to Tashkorgan so make sure you have your camera ready at all times. Throughout the trip, you could tell they genuinely wish you have a great time and would go through great lengths to fulfil any requests - e.g. I wanted home cooked polow, and they were able to arrange it on one of my free days. They knew almost everyone and I could truly feel the hospitality of the Uighurs through their interactions with others in the region. Ultimately, they made me feel more like a friend , than just a visitor which is amazing for a solo traveller. HIGHLY RECOMMEND these guys if you are in the region. In Urumqi and Turpan, I had Tehran, Tahir & Omar as my 2 x drivers and guide. Oh my, I learnt so much about EVERYTHING from these guys. Omar is a grape farmer and loves geography and history. He could answer all your questions about everything (if not, he can find out very quickly) and tell some amazing stories. If you love history - make sure you find Omar! Tehran drove me to heavenly lake. Despite the fog on the day which meant I didnt even see the lake, I had an incredible time just chatting to him and doing spontaneous things like finding a Kyrgz yurt to eat in and taking an untrodden path to the lake. My time in Xinjiang of ~10 days was too short - you definitely need over two weeks, or even a month if you want to truly experience the region. Nevertheless, despite the time constraint, Silk Road Tour has made everything seamless and allowed me to do everything I wanted in the region. As they are truely locals, they will be able to provide you with insights that other tour companies cannot. Highly recommended.

Thank you, UIGHUR TOURS, for a wonderful few days! Having always dreamt of visiting this area of Silk Road... - Thank you, UIGHUR TOURS, for a wonderful few days! Having always dreamt of visiting this area of Silk Road and Marco Polo fame, we were absolutely not disappointed! Xinjiang is a very different part of China, a blend of the Orient and Central Asia. Kashgar itself is a vibrant, colourful city. Despite recent security concerns, we found its people warm and exceptionally welcoming. For centuries, the city was an articulation point on the Silk Road, an oasis between desert and high mountain crossings (a tradition from which the famous animal market and bazaars grew). Our stay was all too short (less than a week) and without our well-informed and enthusiastic Uighur Tours guide, Karim, I doubt we would have been able to make much sense of this fascinating mix of history, deep-seated culture and modernity (the rebuilding of the old city and the spectacular Karakoram Highway leading to Pakistan). Initially, we had planned a short walking trip to Mutzagh Ata. Our intended trek would have taken us relatively close to national frontiers with Afghanistan and Pakistan but security considerations are currently restricting tourist access in these areas. At first, we were disappointed to learn that our plans would have to be modified. However, Ali from Uighur Tours had been able to give us a timely warning that this might be the case and to propose suitable alternatives, taking care to do so in consultation with us. Kerim was everything a professional guide should be – knowledgeable and passionate about the region, reliable, punctual (more so than us in the morning, sorry Kerim!), flexible in meeting our wishes, humorous and an excellent interpreter. Our driver, Kater, cheerfully tolerated all our whims - for example, stopping repeatedly for us to take in the stunning views or to check out roadside plants. Our revised itinerary included a couple of hours’ walking at Karakul Lake (with a brief stop at the spectacular white sands of Opal Lake), a couple of nights at Tashkurgan, where the people are predominantly Tajik rather than Uighur, and a long morning in the Tashkurgan grasslands (yaks, nomads, yurts…) – ending with lunch at a local farm (a highlight of the trip, even our lack of the Uygur language sadly prevented us from chatting to our hosts). The Karakoram Highway is now largely metalled and, as a result, the journey is less nail-biting than formerly (to be honest we would have loved a bit more 4x4 stuff, but the new road has made Tashkurgan much more accessible even on a short visit). Our revised tour also included walking up to the spectacular Shipton's Arch (thank you Kerim for getting us there early, before the crowds – it is clearly a popular Saturday outing). On the final day, we chose to explore Kashgar independently rather than taking the offered guided tour. For us, this was perfect as my son is a fluent Mandarin-speaker (as well as being skilled in getting taxis and negotiating night markets!) but it would otherwise have been frustrating without a guide since much of the information provided is in Chinese and Uighur only. (The map and mini phrasebook provided by Ali were very useful! so was the recommendation for the Lake (?) bar, close to the Uighur Tours office, where we spent a wonderfully relaxed evening watching what Kashgar does at the weekend). Our accommodation was in fairly standard comfortable (good beds!) Chinese tourist hotels and adequate for the purpose (in Tashkurgan, it would have been good to have been closer to the centre). Eating in roadside restaurants was fun and, again, would have been difficult without the advice and coaching of Kerim and Kater. (Yak milk tea may be something of a taste that we have yet to acquire but the nan bread is amazing and the dried fruit, nuts, honey, tea, spices and yoghurt are all to kill for!) Our trip was far too short. It was a really steep learning curve about this wonderful region (despite advance reading and research) and left us with a serious taste for returning. Thanks to air travel and major road-building projects, Kashgar is less remote than it used to be; the region is scheduled for major changes in the near future (China's "One Belt, One Road" initiative). It is to be hoped that the Chinese government and the local administration will be successful in maintaining the delicate balance between bringing economic prosperity to the region and retaining the culture and the heritage of its hospitable inhabitants. In the meanwhile, we would seriously recommend a guided visit sooner rather than later. Thank you, Ali, Kerim and Kater – we can't wait to come back!!

Thanks to Ali and his team for this memorable trip! - This trip is a last minute one for my husband and I and we did not have a lot of time to plan. We usually do not engage a tour company as we like to plan things ourselves but this time, we made an exception. And it's totally worth it, best decision ever. From the beginning, Ali gave very clear, straight to the point, and valuable information. His itinerary is clear and he is flexible to change it according to our needs. His price is mid-range and affordable as it covers everything in our tour, the only exception is drinks and other activities that were not agreed before. Hotel, entrance tickets, meals, flight ticket (ours is one way from Kashghar to Urumqi) is included in the price. He answered our questions well, gave good advice on things that we need. He pretty much fulfilled our specific requirements (we said no shoppings, all local food, and pretty much as local as possible). Ali even took the time to have dinner with us one night. He is a great organizer and planner. Ali is detailed and expects good standards from his employees and partners (to the point that he demands to see a photo of the car that we will travel in Turpan to find out how much leg space will it have when someone is sitting in the car). Abdul, our guide in Kashgar is an experienced and awesome guide. I think a great guide is someone who can make you feel at ease, comfortable, welcome, and willing to make an effort to understand our needs. Abdul is great at all these. He takes care of my mother in law very well (she is slightly hearing impaired) and they became friends at the end of the tour. Abdul is knowledgable on the history and culture of his people, and I enjoy the many conversations that we had. He speaks perfect English and Mandarin, and we got Uyghurs language lesson from him too. Abdul is easy going and flexible, and he knows where to get great food! He himself used to learn how to cook Uyghurs food in a restaurant before, and he encourages us to try as many food as possible. Ali and Abdul told us that they tasted every dish before bringing guests. In Abdul words, "you have to know what to order and where." Abdul treats us like a friend, not a guest, and welcome us to their lives with open arms. Abdul and another Abdul (driver) are always on time. The vehicle is very comfortable and has lots of space. Clean and well maintained. Mominjan, our guide in Turpan, is a great story teller. He explained the history behind each historical site with ease, and makes it interesting. His talk is clear, straight to the point, detailed and comprehensive. Momijan is really knowledgable about history and a very funny person. He is a very professional guide, with more than 10 years of experience. He speaks many languages too, good English, perfect Mandarin and yes, we had another round of Uyghurs language lesson from him. Always punctual, very sensitive to our needs, and very helpful. Tumur, our driver, is very friendly and we exchanged stories about each other. He drives really well, his vehicle is also in a good condition. Having a tour company arranges everything for us allow us to do nothing but just to enjoy our trip. Everything is well taken care of, hotel, permit, food, rest stops, entrance tickets, etc etc. All well organised without a hitch. I also like the pace, we can take our own sweet time and decide how fast or slow we want to be. We did a 9 days tour, covering Kashghar, Karakul, Tashkorgan, KKH, Yarkand and Taklamakan desert, Turpan, Yargul and Idikut, Kumtagh, Emin Minaret, Karez, Bezeklik Buddha caves, Tuyok village, and Urumqi Bazaar (this one thrown for us for free). If you are planning a trip to Xinjiang, do it! It's so totally worth it to see the beautiful scenery, and it's people and rich culture. Be warned though, that some places provide really basic facilities, so research well before you go. Be flexible, know what to expect and enjoy your travel. Thank you to Ali, Abdul and Abdul, Mominjan and Tumur, for making this trip as great and memorable as it can be. I felt really sad leaving your beautiful home, and hope to come back and visit you all again in the future!

Interesting and well-organized tour - This was a private 'Silk Road Tour' by my wife and myself for a total of about 2 weeks traveling to Kashgar (1 week), Dunhuang (2 days) and X'ian (3 days), all expertly arranged by Ali of Uighur Tours. We had chosen his tour company because it was local to the area of most interest to us (Kashgar) and run by Uighurs, and had excellent reviews on TripAdvisor and FarWestChina (a good source of general information about Xinjiang). We can only add more to those! Ali arranged for everything, including airline reservations (many of those!), hotels, tour guides, transportation, visits to interesting places, meeting local people, and experience their culture. In Kashgar our guide was Kasim, with the always joyful and careful driver Abdul. Memorable events for our week there were: a cultural tour of the city, the Kashgar livestock market; a 3 day trip along the Karakorum Highway (great scenery, memorable stay over with a Kyrgyz host at Karakul Lake, visit of the ancient Tajik town Tashkorgan not far from the Pakistani and Afghanistan borders, and a high altitude hike to a glacier at 4500m); an overnight trek with camels in the Taklamakan desert (we should have taken more days for this); and an invigorating hike to Shipton's Arch. At all times we were accompanied by Kasim and, one day, by Abdul's lovely 4-year old daughter Imina Ai ('Little Full Moon') who danced to Uighur music in the car! We had many interesting lunches and dinners with locals, and were even invited by Ali to be present at a Uighur wedding! After this we traveled to Dunhuang to visit the Mogao Grottos and their remarkable Buddhist art. Our excellent guide there was Mary, again arranged for by Ali. We stayed in the Silk Road Dunhuang hotel, the nicest and most authentic hotel we had during our trip in China. Most memorable about our Dunhuang experience, suggested to us by Mary, was a fantastic opera / ballet / dance performance, involving great acrobatics, costumes and music inspired by the Mogao Grotto paintings. We also 'did' a camel ride near Crescent Lake, but the most remarkable thing here were the vast number of people and camels, trotting along through the sand for an hour or so. Subsequently we traveled to X'ian, where our guide was Tina, the most exuberant person we ever met! She was especially pleased with our interest to eat local food in modest restaurants and food courts. We visited the famous 'clay warriors', which was impressive and 'doable' despite the many people because we were urged by Tina to go very early in the morning. We also made a trip with Tina to Mt. Huashan by car, and cable car up the mountain. Very interesting scenery, but we were somewhat overwhelmed again by the vast number of people everywhere.

Excellent tour from a great local operator - Just returned from a 4 day tour of Kashgar, Karakol Lake, and Tashkorgan organized by Ali. It was a great experience and everything went without any problems. Treking around Karakol Lake and Muztagh Ata mountain was truly spectacular scenery and a wonderful local experience to stay in yurts in the small nomad villages. Ali was very helpful in planning the trip and always prompt to respond to emails or wechat messages.He is a local Kashgar guy with lots of good advice and knowledge. Would highly recommend this business for anybody interested in doing any tour around Kashgar or Xinjiang.

I had an amazing time in Kashgar and... - <p>I had an amazing time in Kashgar and Tashkurgan! Ali and Uighurtours were amazingly accommodating and Allabardi was a fantastic guide. Highly recommended.</p>

Reliable service and extremely knowledgeable guide - My husband and I visited Xinjiang from 7-12 November, 2014. We live in Beijing and were fortunate to have an unexpected local holiday because of the APEC Summit. Anyone living in China would know that during national holidays, prices get extremely high and places, extremely crowded. So we hit the jackpot when we decided to visit Xinjiang during this period. It was the beginning of November, so it was still not too cold. Furthermore, Xinjiang is not that a popular destination among Han Chinese these days (it seems quite safe for Westerners, though). So we found air tickets and five-star hotels for reasonable prices. I was told that the weather during the Golden Week (October National Holiday) would be even better. We highly recommend Xinjiang as a destination. It is really at the crossroads of different cultures and offers amazingly beautiful sceneries (still unspoiled by the construction spree currently under way throughout the region). We found Uygur Tour on Tripadvisor. We were very busy at that moment, and since the reviews were so amazing, we did not even look for another company. My husband contacted Ali through e-mail. We were very impressed that he would address all our questions in practically no time (and even more impressed when we found out that he had learned to set up his website himself with youtube tutorials). He recommended us an itinerary for the relatively short time we had. He suggested flying first to Kashgar (2 nights – Lake Karakul, Sunday market and Kashgar old city) and than to Urumqi (3 nights – Turpan and Tianshan). These were excellent suggestions. We met Ali at Kashgar Airport and he was our guide during the entire trip. His service was extremely efficient, reliable and courteous, but what we found outstanding was his knowledge of the region. He knew details about the history, geography and geology of every place we were visiting. It is clear he is not just some regular Joe and that he really enjoys reading and trying to make sense of the region as a whole. Furthermore, he is an excellent driver (which is a luxury in China). We really had a flawless six-day trip with him. I highly recommend his services to anyone travelling to Xinjiang.

A fascinating trip - We had a fascinating trip earlier this year organised by Ali, travelling from Xian to Kashgar with 4 different guides and very comfortable 4 wheel drive vehicles with drivers, and having the opportunity to choose the sites we most wanted to visit, including some less touristy locations, and small museums which we specifically requested to see. Everything worked fine,the 3 star hotels were mostly good, food was almost always excellent, thanks to the guides for helping us choose some delicious local dishes. Xinjiang was the highlight and the Karakorum highway was spectacular. Silk Road Tours gave us the opportunity to see parts of China that might be more difficult to travel in as independent travellers, and the ever busy but attentive Ali was a delight to do business with. The guides provided lots of useful background , and we always felt safe. Bob and Nicky

Very friendly and professional local experts - Ali and his team organized a ten-day tour for us, two adults and two small kids (4 and 5). We visited Kashgar, two very lively markets there, the old town, attended Eid el Adha prayer at the mosque, and Apak Hoja tomb. Then we drove up the Karakoram highway to Tashkorgan, enjoyed the stunning scenery and local food. We spent a night in a yurt at Karakuli lake, which together with the horseriding there was one of the highlights of the tour. Our guide Abdelkarim was very knowledgeable, friendly, and enthusiastic, and driver Hajji made us feel safe on the chaotic Karakoram route. We then flew to Urumqi and transfered to Turpan, visiting several sites of which the Tuyoq village was the highlight, and Emin minaret was also nice. We also wandered around some other villages in the area, taking in the local life and mudbrick architecture. Then we took the night train to Dunhuang, the children absolutely loved it. In Dunhuang the Mogao caves were spectacular, and we would have liked to spend more time playing in the sand at Mingshashan. We had asked Ali to arrange a tour according to our friends' itinerary, but next time I will ask him to suggest his own itinerary to me. I think he would have included other spectacular places in Xinjiang. The logistics of the trip were perfect, and Ali was always ready to quickly answer our enquiries and accomodate any requests. Xinjiang is a must go for those who have visited other parts of China, as it is so incredibly different. The people are very laidback and friendly, and even at the most busy marketplace there never was any issue with us foreigners looking around and taking pictures. Contrary to 'mainland China', our kids were never bothered by crowds wanting to take their picture, people just smiled at us and let us be. A very relaxing change from the rest of China. For those traveling with small children, these were our children's highlights: horseriding and yurt-sleeping at Karakul lake, the night train to Dunhuang, playing with mud in the little stream at Tuyoq village, seeing all the animals at the livestock market in Kashgar, buying and wearing a Uyghur hat. They also liked the local food, especially the polo and the local naan bread.