May 12 Our second and last day in Urumqi

We have been totally captivated by the mountains which loom so close.

Glaciers, tectonics, moraines and spectacular scenery. Today we drove into the Tianshan Mountains (Mountains of Heaven) to see Tianchi Heavenly Lake which sits under the highest peak in the eastern part of the Tianshan Mountain Range, Mount Bogda - God's Mountain.
The range formed as a result of the Indian tectonic plate continuing to crash into the Tibetan plate along with movement of lesser plates (whose names I don’t recall). These are tectonic mountains and tectonic activity is ongoing so that the range continues to grow and the glaciers are in a constant state of change. We drove past mountain formations showing clear evidence of folding and crumpling with jutting, slanting strata as well as weird volcanic stone forests from ancient times.

The drive to the Heavenly Lake was idyllic - cows, horses and sheep grazed by the roadside. We followed a gushing stream through green velvet and rocky cuttings surrounded by mountains. 

The drive to the Heavenly Lake was rather idyllic 

This is what greeted us when we arrived at the lake

Magnificent

The mountains are home to a number of interesting species - plants such as the wild rose, yellow poppy and conifers. Home also to wild Mountain Boar, Ibex and Antelope, Vultures and Black-eared Kites. We saw these kites flying over the Kazak yurt village. We dined in a yurt of a Kazak ethnic, Rasheid, who lives in the mountains and has been offering yurt camping since the 1970s: he's listed in Lonely Planet. We feasted on kebabs accompanied by tree mushrooms, forest shallots and pilaf washed down with tea and beer.

Off to lunch at the tiny yurt village you can see in the background

This is Rasheid, a Kazak ethnic, cooking our lunch

The old Taoist temple

It was a rather special day topped with a boat trip out onto the stunningly beautiful glacial lake sailing close to an 800-year-old Taoist temple.  One special detour before we headed back into town was a wander through the geological museum in the geopark of the lake. I could have spent at least half the day there.

Our on the water (green tinted from the sunroof!)

We ended with a leisurely drink with our guide and our driver before heading out to the train station to catch a train to Almaty in Kazakhstan. When I say a drink I should say that what I had was equivalent to 3 drinks at least - a half glass of gin! These people know how to pour spirits! I was smiling big time - until we hit the 3 flights of steps to the platform. Agh!!!! We keep racking our brains to decide what we can off oad but can’t think of anything we can do without. Oh well, it’s all building strength - if it doesn’t do us in first!