Proceeding on from Kashgar the road (the Karakoram Highway, linking Kashgar to Islamabad in Pakistan) climbs slowly and steadily through the gorge of the Gez river, carved by the winter's rushing floods, and the increasingly desolate and inhospitable terrain. A favorite rest point for traveller is along the shores of Bulungko Lake, looking across at the White Sands on the opposite shores -- actually sculpted sand dunes at 11,000 feet! Kirgitz tribesmen are often found here, selling souvenirs and operating a basic cafe in a yurt (noodles and lamb, with sheep-milk yoghurt for appetizer or dessert)

From here the road climbs over the Pamirs (at 13,400 feet) and descends to the Pamir Plateau, a high-altitude, semi-desert valley lying between the Pamir and Karakoram mountain ranges, where Tajik tribesmen herd flocks of sheep, goats and yaks, and grow vegetables in favored areas. Driving south along the plateau, to the left is the Pamir range, dominated by Kongur (25,100 ft) and Muatagata (24,700 ft) mountains and their permanent glaciers, while to the right lies the Karakoram range, one of the youngest mountain ranges in the world, and still growing.

Almost all travelers stop at the beautiful location of Kalakuli Lake where local tribesmen provide photo opportunities with their camels (these are the same Bactrian camels as seen down at the desert oasis at Dunhuang, not only can they tolerate thirst, but also cold and altitude -- hence their universal use in ancient merchant caravans!!).

The only real town on the plateau is Taxkorgan, a trading-post for at least the past 2000 years, built around a fort perched on a prominent rock outcrop commanding north-south traffic along the valley. The lake at the foot of the outcrop on which the fort sits is a seasonal affair -- in the spring with the meltwaters from the Karakoram (which form an impressive backdrop to the town) the lake covers an immense area, but by the autumn it has shrunk to a few large ponds.

From Taxkorgan the Karakoram Highway continues south along the valley, climbing all the time, but eventually coming to a series of steep, sharp hairpins climbing abruptly up the shoulder of the Karakoram range to the crest of the ridge at 15,400 feet -- with China and the Pamir Plateau on one side and Pakistan and the valley of the Indus on the other -- the end of the Silk Road in China!!