Taklamakan, China 1995

To the limits of the ego

(1,000 kilometer walk through the desert of death)

One of the wonderful successes of our “Great Journey” was crossing the largest continuous sand desert on earth, the Desert of Death, also known as Taklamakan, in western China.

Hundreds of towns are said to be buried under the sand; locals refer to them as ghost towns. Paper manuscripts and magnificent wall paintings have been preserved in the ruined buildings for more than two millennia. One of the highlights of our trip was a visit to the sunken city of Karadong.

We battled our way through a sea of sand for 1,000 kilometers with seven camels. Without any external supplies, we conquered the desert of death, of which it is said that whoever enters it will never return.

In the near future, I will publish an extensive excerpt from our book “The Great Journey to the Limits of the Self”, published in 1998, under the heading “Taklamakan Diaries”. They will be detailed, exciting stories that have never been published before.

Taklamakan/China 1995

Expedition through the Taklamakan Desert of Death. Tanja and Denis Katzer battled their way through a sea of sand on foot and with seven camels for around 1,000 kilometers. The desert of death was thus conquered by the smallest expedition in its history and without external supplies.