Kanas Lake to HeMu Trek

Itinerary Overview

Day 01   Arrive ChengDu / Urumqi
       02   Urumqi / Burqin
       03   Burqin / JiaDengYu / Trek to campsite1
       04   Campsite1 / HeMu (Horm)
       05   HeMu (free & easy)
       06   HeMu / Black Lake (campsite2)
       07   Black Lake / Kanas Lake
       08   Kanas Lake / BaiHaBa
       09   BaiHaBa / Kanas Lake
       10   Kanas Lake / Burqin   
       11   Burqin / Urumqi
       12   Urumqi / ChengDu / Depart ChengDu

** Day12: option to extend to drive to Turpan and fly/drive south to 
               Kashgar, the 2 ancient gateways of silk-road, with driving 
               across the Taklamakan Desert

>>> more details on this trek...

Kanas Lake

Kanas is located deep in the Altay mountains in the northernmost part of XinJiang near the borders with Russia, Mongolia and Kazakhstan. Its climate and ecology resemble that of Southern Siberia. Vast forests of white birch and coniferous trees such as pines, firs and spruce thrive here. So do animals such as brown bear, red deer, fox, sable and ermine. Winter lasts for 7 months. Spring and autumn happen from June through October. Summer is barely defined. It is a region of snow capped mountains, glaciers, alpine forests, lakes, rivers and grasslands. The lush grasslands and abundant waters made great pastures for nomadic tribes of the past. Most of the population there are Kazakhs and Mongolians.

Kanas Lake is a high altitude alpine lake. Shaped like a crescent moon, it stretches 24km long and the width is 1.6km to 2.9km. The deepest part is 184m making it the deepest freshwater alpine lake in China. The lake is an ever changing palette of greens and blues. In autumn, trees in the surrounding mountains and forests turn into hues of yellows, oranges and reds. A dazzling sight to see the warm colors of the land reflected in the moving waters of the green and blue lake. Yet to some, winter is even more beautiful. All colors are gone. The snow-covered land is a tranquil scene from a Chinese ink painting.

HeMu

- voted by the Chinese National Geography magazine (2005) as the 3rd most beautiful village/old town in China

HeMu is a village within the vicinity of Kanas Lake. It is largest of the 3 villages of the Tuvans (TuWa people). There are about 2100 Tuvans in the area. Their origin is a mystery, though many believed that they were Mongolian descendents of the troops of Genghis Khan. They are semi-nomadic people who keep cattle and horses.

About 80 years ago, a group of Russians descended upon the village. Log cabins were built. Horse sleighs were introduced. Villagers started to rear bees, deer and grow wheat. Nevertheless, this elegant and rustic village stood undisturbed in the midst of forests of birch, firs, pines, poplars and elms. Folks lead their lives very much like their forefathers did 500 years ago.

With tourism, the village is opened to outsiders. However due to its inaccessibility – it is cocooned by the heavy snow during the 7 months of winter – hopefully changes will be kept to a minimum even in time to come.