Kanas lake & the bends
A glacial trough lake milky with rock flour, and the three downstream S-bends — Wolong, Moon, Shenxian — each best in its own light.
Destinations / Xinjiang /
The Altay.
Siberia starts here: larch and birch forest, glacial rivers, wooden villages and the deepest natural snow in China — owned by autumn for two gold weeks and by winter for six months.
Explore the guide ↓Northern Xinjiang · Altai prefecture · 1,300–2,600 m
- The forests
- Siberian species
- The villages
- Hemu · Baihaba
- The snow
- Late Oct – early Apr
- The gateways
- Altay city · Burqin
The region with three best seasons.
Most of China has one best season; the Altay has three. Late September turns the larch gold for about two weeks and the valleys fill with photographers. Winter buries the same villages in the driest snow in China and the region becomes the country's serious ski country. And June-September is the hiking window — forest trails, the Kanas river bends and the high pasture routes between the villages.
The geography is compact and road-poor in the right way: Kanas lake and the river bends, the villages of Hemu and Baihaba, and the strange wind-cut yardangs of Wuerhe on the desert rim. The villages require border-area permits (Baihaba especially — a formality we arrange), and the valley roads close with weather; both facts shape how we schedule the region.
The north's anchors.
Six stops from the lake to the desert rim.
Hemu village
The larger of the wooden villages in a wide valley bowl — the dawn viewing platform above the rooftops is the region's classic shot.
Baihaba
The smallest and most remote settlement, near the Kazakh border — log houses, fenced pastures and a border permit requirement.
The Wuerhe yardangs
Red sandstone carved into walls and towers by wind alone — the 'ghost city' on the drive between the mountains and Urumqi.
The ski belt
Jiangjunshan above Altay city, Koktokay's big verticals and the ski-areas above Hemu — the deepest, driest season in China.
The birch-and-larch colour
The autumn fortnight when the whole forest turns — timing shifts with each year, and we confirm the leaf report before flights.
Getting it right.
Permits, roads and season choice.
Permits
Baihaba and parts of the border belt need a border-area permit — free, arranged by us, and worth knowing before you plan an independent run.
Season choice
Autumn colour (late Sep), deep winter (Dec–Mar) and the green summer (Jun–Aug) are three different journeys — pick one, not a compromise.
Roads and weather
Valley roads close with snow or fog; schedules in the north keep a flex day. Winter travellers should expect and accept this.
Village stays
Homesteads are warm, simple and atmospheric — wooden houses, stove heat, generous breakfasts. The quality ceiling is lower than the region's beauty; that is the deal.
Combining
The ski week runs December–March; the photo tour runs the colour fortnight; the summer trek pair links Kanas with the west's grassland trails.
Pick your season.
Gold, green or deep blue — tell us which Altay you are coming for and we will build the week around it.
Start my journey brief ↗