7-Day Tour to the Fabulous Kanas Lake

Today you will take the train from Urumqi to Buerjin. There is no direct trains available. So you should first take the train from Urumqi to Beitun (10 hours) and then take bus to Buerjin. There are two overnight trains K9735 departing at 18:56 and Y953 departing at 21:00 available and the hard sleeper train tickets is CNY163 per person. If you arrive in Urumqi in the morning, you could visit the Xinjiang Regional Museum and the International Grand Bazaar by yourselves. Please get to the railway station in time and take the train.

The train arrives in Beitun in the early morning. You could take the public bus No. 3 from the railway station to bus station (getting off at Xinhua Shudian station). It takes about 50 minutes. Take the bus to Buerjin for 1 hour. Buerjin is a very small county with the clean road and European style buildings. You could wander in the town to taste some local foods and prepare some foods and fruits for the following days. If you have time, you could also visit the Multicolored Stone Bay with Yadan Landform in its suburban area to enjoy the sunset. Stay an overnight at the local hotel.

Take the 3-hour shuttle bus from Buerjin to Jiadengyu at 10:00. Jiadengyu is the entrance to Kanas Lake and serves as a tourist center. There are many hostels in European style and Kazakh yurt. You could choose the way you prefer for the overnight stay. The hiking will start officially tomorrow. So please have a good rest today.

Start the hiking after the breakfast. The hiking today is about 32 km for 8 hours. Although it is a long journey, the road condition is quite good. So it is quite easy and enjoyable. You could see large tracts of flowers on the rolling hillsides and pastures from time to time along the way. Arrive in Hemu and stay an overnight.

Experience the local life of the nomadic Tuwa people and Kazakhs. It's better to camp in the forest beside the bride, where occupies a better position to take pictures and view the sunset.

It will take you eight hours to hike about 22 kilometres. Hike northwest to reach the Valley, then wriggle your way for about 15 kilometres and finally ascend to the 2350metre high Daban. Daban is the highest point of this hike. It will take about 10 minutes to get down to the Little Black Lake at the foot of Daban. The Black Lake is just located in the valley down the Little Black Lake. Set up camp aside the Little Black Lake and make sure to keep warm when sleeping as it is cooler at night than during the day.

Hike westward from the Black Lake for about eight kilometres, climb over a 2200 meter high ridge, hike another five kilometres and you will reach Kanas Village. The villagers here mainly sustain themselves on stockbreeding and they live in frame houses. You may stop for a rest or take pictures. Leave the village and trek along the river valley. After you pass through a dense pine forest, a magnificent view of the Kanas Lake greets you. Today's hike takes about four to five hours and is 15 kilometres. You'll have more choice for accommodation tonight, like the camp, frame house and yurt.

Visit Kanas Lake at leisure and enjoy the beautiful scenery. After the tour ends, you could fly from Kanas back to Urumqi or take the bust back to Urumqi.