Urumqi- second and last day

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 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).

this is what awaits you - stunning!

The range formed as a result of the Indian plate continuing to crush 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 passed mountain formations showing clear evidence of folding and crumpling with jutting, slanting strata as well as weird volcanic stones 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.

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 flying over the Kazak yurt village where we dined on kebabs accompanied by tree mushrooms, forest shallots and pilaff 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, who lives in the mountains and has been offering yurt camping since 1970s: he's listed in Lonely Planet I believe.

All that together with a trip out onto the stunningly beautiful glacial lake including sailing close to an 800 year old Taoist temple. It all made for a rather special day. One special detour before we headed back into town was a wander through the geological museum in the geo park of the lake. I could have spent at least half the day there.

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 load but can’t think of anything. Oh well, it’s all building strength - if it doesn’t do us in!