Private Tour

Dunhuang Private Day Tour Mogao Grottoes, Singing Dunes and Crescent Moon Spring

Overview

Available languages

English

10 hours

Mobile ticket

Mogao Grottoes is the jewel of Silk Road located in Dunhuang, China, where access is very challenging. This private day tour take you to Duhuang with a visit to the highlights of Silk Road including Mogao Grottoes. You will also see the wonder of the Singing Dunes and Crescent Moon Spring.

Additional Info

Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap

Suitable for all physical fitness levels

Passport name and number is required at time of booking for all participants for Travel Insurance

Cancellation Policy

All sales are final. No refund is available for cancellations.

What‘s Included

Hotel pickup and drop-off

Local guide

Bottled water

Private tour

Lunch

Transport by private vehicle

Gratuities

Meeting and Pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

What To Expect

Mogao Caves

At 8:00am, your guide will pick you up from the lobby of your Dunhuang hotel and transfer you to Visitors' Center of Mogao Grottoes, an UNESCO listed World Heritage Site, where you will watch two documentaries about the caves and Silk Road. Then, a professional cave guide will lead you to explore about 7 to 9 caves closely. You will be astonished by well-preserved fresco and statues in the caves from the 4th century. The caves were built by monks with donated funds and elaborately painted to serve as shrines and for meditation and enlightenment. Those paintings are also a teaching tools to inform those illiterate about Buddhist beliefs and stories. The primary caves were sponsored by patrons of important clergies, local ruling elites, foreign dignitaries, and Chinese emperors. Some of the caves might have been funded by merchants, military officers, and local residents. *Note: Your visit to the Mogao Caves might be changed to the afternoon due to daily availability of the attraction. In this case, you will visit the Singing Sand Dunes and Crescent Moon Spring in the morning.

4 hours • Admission Included

Mingsha Shan - Echoing-Sand Mountain

This afternoon, you will be transferred to see Singing Sand Dunes and Crescent Moon Spring. It is also called whistling sand or barking sand that produces sound which is perhaps caused by wind passing over dunes or by walking on the sand.

1 hour • Admission Included

Options

Tour

Tour Package
Pickup included

Reviews

4.67

6 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

Incredible tour of Dunhuang and phenomenal tour guide!
monicavF9845IF,
Mar 4, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
This tour was absolutely amazing. Our guide, Orlando, was very accommodating and went above and beyond to help us make the best of our short stay in Dunhuang. We only had one day, so her help was vital in making sure we could see everything we could in that time. We had already had a pretty good guide in Beijing, but Orlando blew us away with her hospitality and knowledge. First, we went to the Mogao caves. Orlando was very knowledgeable and helped us learn about the caves before going in. They were beautiful and definitely can’t-miss sight in China and especially Dunhuang. She brought us to a really nice lunch where we had the softest, most delicious noodles we’ve ever had (I’m not exaggerating). She even shared with us her own personal hand made noodle recipe, since we loved the noodles so much. She talked with us about Dunhuang as a city, and we were very excited to learn. Initially, we had come for just the Mogao caves (I had taken a class on the Silk Road and specifically those caves while in university), but she showed us that there is so much more to the city’s culture and history. After lunch, we went to the dunes and were able to ride a jeep around them, which was super fun. We hiked around with Orlando, and saw a temple and the lake, which were absolutely beautiful. While that’s all the tour shows, Orlando helped us so much more than that. She helped us arrange to see a live Dunhuang inspired show in the evening which was so much fun and not what we expected - you follow the actors through a theater and get a full, surround experience - something we’ve never seen before and loved. Even after that, she picked us up and guided us to the night market well into the evening. She gave us food recommendations for particularly special Dunhuang cuisine, as well as specific restaurants to eat them at, and even showed us some silk scarf stores which we bought souvenirs at. I highly recommend this tour, and especially Orlando as a guide!
Well balanced tour in Dunhuang !
W2108HYmarcod,
May 4, 2024
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
We really enjoyed our guided tour in Dunhuang. This tour was the perfect balance between history and fun. In the morning we visited the Mogao Grottoes. We visited a few spectacular caves, it was a great experience. In the afternoon we went to the crescent moon Spring. There are a lot of fun activities and we took a helicopter and ride the camel. The guide helped to pass all the lines and was very patient and supportive during all activities. We can highly recommend this tour to anyone who want to see the cultural and fun side of Dunhuang.
a must see if you are going to Dunhuang
lvartell,
May 9, 2019
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
The Mogao Grottoes with 2 movies and a great tour guide at the grottoes made the trip very worthwhile. The history and seeing all 8 Grottoes with an English guide was amazing. The singing dunes are great for a hike in the sand and the history of the area was very informative.
Grottoes are a must see
Lynedah V,
May 5, 2019
- Review from Viator
5.00
The Mogao Grottoes are amazing. The dunes for a hike is also great. So much history. The tour can be done by yourself as long as you get tickets ahead of time. For English speakers I had to wait for an hour to gather other ex pats, but the tour was great with only a few people. The guide for the caves was very knowledgeable. I chose the 8 caves option.
A little disappointing
Alfred C,
Jul 24, 2018
- Review from Tripadvisor
3.00
The refurbishment made the caves look very modern and well touched-up. Crowd control is an issue. Book ticket well in advance online, and you see no more than 5-6 caves.
The Mogao Grottoes make the entire trip...
Chris H,
Sep 4, 2017
- Review from Viator
5.00
The Mogao Grottoes make the entire trip worthwhile. I went twice!