12-Day Southern Xinjiang & Ili Tour｜Day 3: Panlong Ancient Road - Bandi Blue Lake - Pamir Eye

Due to severe altitude sickness, we had to cancel the trip to Khunjerab Pass (so disappointing as I really wanted to go 😭 elevation 5,100m) 1⃣️ Tashkurgan Museum The museum has relocated to the Pamir Cultural Expo Park – make sure to update your navigation! No reservation needed, opens at 10am. Fantastic place to learn about Tashkurgan's geography, history, Kazakh culture, and border management... Seeing the construction process of the China-Pakistan Friendship Highway and stories of three generations of border guards brought tears to my eyes. Highly recommended if you have time! 2⃣️ Panlong Ancient Road This one-way route is easy to drive but gets monotonous after a while 🥱 The iconic "Today I conquered all the bends" sign appears at both start and end points. Multiple photo spots along the way – plan your stops accordingly. 3⃣️ Bandi Blue Lake Bad weather ruined our chance to see the famously blue waters from online photos 😭 4⃣️ Pamir Eye Wasn't on our itinerary but we stopped by on our way back to Tashkurgan. Videos don't do it justice, though honestly it wasn't as impressive as expected 😂 Returned to Tashkurgan early, so we decided to eat dinner and drive straight to Kashgar for extra sleep before exploring the Old Town next day (caught golden sunset on snow mountains en route, but arrived in Kashgar at 1:30am – exhausting 😭 better to rest in Tashkurgan if possible) Important Notes⚠️ 1⃣️ Those prone to altitude sickness – bring oxygen! Panlong Ancient Road reaches about 4,000m at its highest point.