新疆 · Tianshan & the Far West
Xinjiang
The biggest skies and the longest approaches in China
- Best season
- June–September
- Gateway
- Urumqi (URC) / Yining (YIN)
- Altitude range
- 500–7,439 m
- Join-in treks
- 0 available
Xinjiang is a scale problem in the best sense. Distances are enormous, the Tianshan runs for 2,500 km, and the reward is meadow systems and glacier valleys that see almost no foreign walkers. The trade-off is logistics: some of these routes need a domestic flight, a long transfer and a flexible buffer, and a few sit in areas where access rules can change with little notice. We tell you which is which before you book.
Worth building a trip around
Three tiers, from the routes we sell most to the ones that need a bespoke arrangement.
Primary
The main objectives
- Keleqing Valley
- Kanas
- Tianshan — Wusun Ancient Road, Kalajun, Xiate
Secondary
Strong, narrower window
- Kumtag Desert
- Sayram Lake
Also here
The long tail
- Keliya Ancient Road
Practical notes
- When to go
- June–September
- Fly into
- Urumqi (URC) / Yining (YIN)
- Altitude span
- 500–7,439 m
- Working language
- Mandarin on domestic batches; English on flagged international departures
- Permits
- None for foreign travellers beyond a standard China visa or visa-free entry