4! Islamabad, Gilgit, Xinjiang West and Xinjiang North (as well as 2 countries of course, China and Pakistan). More important than that, in my opinion, is just how cool this trip is. Overlanding, the highest border crossing on earth, the Karakoram Highway, untouched Xinjiang. Epic.

Yes. You’ll need to make sure you have the correct visas for both Pakistan and China before the trip. We’ll provide the itinerary and supporting information you need for your applications, but ultimately visas are each traveller’s responsibility.

This is an adventure trip, but it’s not a backpacking trip. Where good hotels are available, we’ll use comfortable hotels: Islamabad, Hunza, Tashkurgan, Kashgar and Urumqi. The idea is a proper adventure during the day while still being able to shower, sleep properly and recover at night. The exception is the overnight train across Xinjiang, which is obviously part of the adventure.

You don’t need to be super fit. There will be some walking, sightseeing and optional hiking, but this is primarily an overland road trip rather than a trekking expedition. The bigger challenge is the travel itself: long road days, altitude around the Khunjerab Pass, an international land border and the overnight train.

We’re travelling through established parts of northern Pakistan with experienced local operators and guides. As with any trip to Pakistan, conditions can change, so check your own government travel advice before booking. We’ll adapt the itinerary if local conditions ever require it.

We travel through Xinjiang with local support, following the established route through Tashkurgan, Kashgar and Urumqi. It is a politically sensitive region, so expect police checks, passport checks and restrictions you wouldn’t see on a normal European holiday. That’s part of travelling somewhere genuinely unusual.

Generally comfortable rather than luxury. We use good hotels wherever possible, including proper hotels in Islamabad, Hunza and the Chinese cities. In some of the more remote parts of the route the options are naturally more limited, but we’re not deliberately roughing it.

No. Apart from breakfast, lunches and dinners are not included. I actually prefer doing it this way on trips like this because it gives us much more freedom. Sometimes we’ll eat together, sometimes we’ll grab something quickly on the road, and sometimes people will want to find their own food.

Absolutely. Most people who join my group trips come alone. You’ll be travelling with the group throughout, so you don’t need to find someone to come with you. Prices are per person sharing, or pay the single supplement for your own room.

If you’re not fed up with me after this one, join me after the conference overland through Tibet and Everest Base Camp (no hiking, don’t worry!) to Kathmandu, all with no flights. The full series:

• PRE-MTP TRIP 1: Pakistan to China Overland (via Karakoram Highway and Khunjerab Pass)
• PRE-MTP TRIP 2: Kazakhstan + Kyrgyzstan Overland
• PRE-MTP TRIP 3: Mini-trip: Guilin + Yangshuo
• MTP SUMMIT, CHENGDU 2027
• POST-MTP TRIP 1: China to Tibet to Nepal overland (via Everest Base Camp)
• POST-MTP TRIP 2: Bangladesh and the Sundarbans
• POST-MTP TRIP 3: Staying with the Mongolian Reindeer Tribes
• POST-MTP TRIP 4: Mini-trip: Chengdu + Chongqing
• POST-MTP TRIP 5: Mini-trip: Shangri-La + Tiger Leaping Gorge