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ALTAY DISCOVERY

Want to see Siberia without the hassle of travelling in Siberia? Then think Altay, a vast mountainous region in China’s Xinjiang province where the Altay Mountains – which come down from Russia, through Mongolia and Kazakhstan – bring Siberia into the northernmost tip of western China. In scenery and culture, these rugged ranges pack an eclectic milieu: alpine forests dominated by birch and fir; grasslands peppered with flowers; a distinctly Eurasian avifauna, including tits, thrushes, warblers, woodpeckers, owls, and a delightful variety of colorful ducks; the bleak glacier of Friendship Peak, highest mountain in the region at 4,374-meter, straddling the confluence of four countries; fast-flowing rivers with greenish translucent water; nomadic Mongol and Kazahk herders encamped in yurts; and the local Tuwa inhabitants, an ethnic group of just 1,500 inhabitants who live in rough-log houses in three villages in Kanas. A vast desert also spreads out at the fringes of the mountains – the desert holds massive lakes, crimson coloured gorges, bald rocky mountains, and a tumulus that belongs to ancient king. In this two-week tour, we take in the best of the Altay region – the desert and Islamic architecture, as well as the Siberian sights of Altay Mountains.

We will visit the following places:

Urumqi

The starting point, and capital of Xinjiang province, is a city that juxtaposes the old and the modern. It has an excellent museum dedicated to the history and ethnography of Xinjiang that we will visit, and we’ll also feast on Uyghur food, a varied cuisine that fuses the dishes of Arabia, central Asia, and China. 

Lu Shi

A day’s drive to the north we enter Altay county through the southern end to see the tumulus of an ancient king. This vast heap of rocks is surrounded by a perimeter wall – from high points it has a pattern that looks uncannily like some sort of space landing pad – and it’s set in undulating grasslands on the fringes of the Altay Mountains. The grasslands are home to Mongol and Kazakh nomads. This will be our first tantalising glimpse of Siberia.

Hao Shao Shan & Wu Caiwan

In the basking dry desert, a remote range of mountains and gorges have taken an otherworldly and haunting appearance. The mountains have five bands of colours in nuances of grey, yellow, amber, ochre, and crimson. The silence is complete and the atmosphere is surreal as we do a day walk through these gorges. It’s an evocative piece of landscape, and it has inspired inhabitants and passers-by for thousands of years: rock faces in the area have a variety of prehistoric petroglyphs or rock carvings. 

Keketuohai

This corner of the Altay Mountains bears the scars of a massive earthquake in 1931: the river valley cuts through bald, rocky mountains, meandering among rocky boulders as large as buses. Pines grow in cracks and creases, and along the river, and the rock literally sparkles in the sun with its veins of precious minerals (the area has some of the richest mineral veins in the world; unusually, the minerals of semiprecious and precious stones are near the surface). Here’s we’ll visit the inner core of the area that’s open only by special arrangement: this involves a trek of two or three days, either camping in our tents or staying in yurts. We start the hike along the river through this otherworldly terrain, passing cascades and waterfalls, and marvelling at the sparkling rocks and the desolation of the valley. Then the path rises and emerges from the valley on a vast undulating plain that holds pristine wetlands and a higher set of serrated mountains on the borders between China and Mongolia. The scenery is wholly Mongolian: Mongol cattle herders roam the grasslands. We will spend two or three days hiking through the mountains, visiting yurt encampments of Mongols where the sight of foreigners is rarer than the famed grizzly bear that is nearly extinct.

Fuhai Lakes

Back in the desert, we pause at Muslim cemeteries that are a marvel of traditional Islamic architecture, and then we get to two massive freshwater lakes – the largest one 28 km by 16 km, large enough to swallow a city – formed in two depressions in the terrain. The lakes mark the end of the river that courses down from central Siberia, and constantly feeds these lakes. Water evaporation is so high in the fierce desert climate that the lakes are brackish, and they hold 22 species of endemic fish that only occur on these lakes. Along the banks of the lakes, there are beaches, reed beds and tamarisk trees, and marshy ground that’s a perfect habitat for birds. The waterbirds include terns and rare ducks and avocets and red-legged stilts, and there is an isle in the largest lake that’s a crucial bird-breeding ground. Here we take a walk along the banks of the lake, then we take a boat trip to see the isle which teems with birds, and we spend one night sleeping in the resort that’s on the banks of the lake. On two occasions – lunch and dinner – we feast on the fishes that grow in the lakes. These are cooked in a variety of ways, some in Chinese style and others in central Asian style (the latter includes ‘goyu’ fish daubed in oil and chilli and cumin and grilled).

Kanas National Park

We reach deep into the Altay Mountains in Kanas, one of the world’s largest national parks – designated in August 2008 – which is almost as large as Lebanon. It’s a vast area, and we will only have a chance to explore a part of the park in 5 days. On the first night we will lodge in a Tuwa household at the most scenic Tuwa village in the park – the Tuwa are a small ethnic groups of herds-people that even have their unique language and are legendary for their merriment and drinking (we will try hard to avoid their invitations to drink the potent home-made milk whiskey). After exploring a remote and quaint village, we will then embark on a two-day trek across rugged mountains and high passes, passing remote lakes and flower-peppered grasslands and wild horses, to our next destination in Kanas Lake. The lake is the focal attraction in the park, and we will lodge with Tuwa inhabitants near the shores of the lake for two nights: from that base we will do two daywalks, taking us along the shore of the lake and a summit towering over the lake and also a grassland that’s fragrant with a flower the Chinese use for healing.

Start & Finish: Urumqi

Duration: 14 days

Trekking: 5 days total, in two different locations

Difficulty level: Treks are designed to be relatively gentle, with no more seven hours walking on the longest days, and ascents or descents are moderately steep. No special fitness or trekking experience is required for travellers.

Price: Prices start at RMB20,000 (€2,150 or US$2,900) total per person for two travellers, RMB15,000 (€1,600 or US$2,200) each for three travellers, and then continues to fall thereafter depending on the size of the group. The price is all-inclusive; the only things that aren’t covered are incidental personal expenses such as shopping and drinking in bars. Travel is in a private vehicle, and you get the service of a driver, tour leader, logistics and co-ordinating guide, and local guides. We also have one domestic flight included.

Accommodation: Three-star hotels in towns and the lakes, home-stays or guest-houses in Kanas, staying in yurt on one night, and camping on three or four nights.

Dynamic Prices & Arrangement: For all our tours, there is leeway in travel arrangements to suit the participants’ budget and preferences. If you’re travelling in your own group, you can choose the arrangement yourself. For this particular tour, you have the option of choosing either upscale hotels in some places or home-stays or yurts for accommodation. To discuss specific arrangements, and commensurate price, please write to us. To read more about this policy, go to Dynamic Pricing. 

Detailed Info: For any questions or more details about this tour, please write to us.

Terms & Conditions: For the general terms and conditions that govern our tours and operation, and Frequently Asked Questions, please go to Nitty Gritty (FAQs).

Tours Plus: Would you like to see some other sights in China, before or after you travel with us? Perhaps you would like to visit the famous attractions of Xi’an such as the terracotta warriors? Xi’an is within the orbit of western China, only a short hop away on inexpensive domestic flights from the places where we operate. You can visit Xi’an independently, and we can help you with recommendation – places to stay and eat, getting there and getting around, sights you shouldn’t miss, and so on. If you book one of our tours and would like advice about other places you would like to travel independently in China, such as Xi’an, we can give you free advice.