Silk Road - Hemu

 

The last stretch of our trip, also the most anticipated, is in the Altai Mountains, in the Kanas area in Northern Xinjiang.  It was a three and a half hour flight from Urumqi and another couple of hours on the bus to Hemu.  There is a traffic jam just before we entered Hemu, that's how busy this place was because it is high season for fall colours here.  The roads to this "secluded" paradise in the Altai Mountains are packed with self-drive SUVs and tour buses.  Hemu is also one of only three remaining Tuva villages in China.  

We had lunch in a restaurant just outside of the village before heading up for a gondola ride up to the 2800 metre Yunxiao Feng where we are supposed to see four countries - China, Mongolia, Russia and Kazakhstan.  Unfortunately all we saw was the sign as there was a sudden whiteout and we couldn't see beyond the viewing platform.  Fortunately there was a halfway stop on the gondola and we could at least see part of the spectacular scenery from this point.  

The road to Hemu was very scenic, with lovely green, orange and gold on the rolling hills on each side.  The village of Hemu is also situated in a gorgeous valley at the height of its autumnal colours.  We enjoyed the afternoon doing a short hike up one of the surrounding hills and wandering around the village to see some of the locals dancing to attract customers to their shops.  There were demos of naan-making among other things  - an overall carnival like atmosphere.  

The rooftop of our hotel enabled us to see the village lights at night and the mist coming down from the hills in the morning.  No doubt, it would be even more beautiful if we had the energy to venture out for an early morning hike.  But there is another big hike up in Kanas scheduled for the day so we had to save our knees!

View of the Altai Mountains from half way up the mountain

Stunning fall colours on the slopes

Panorama of the area

You are supposed to be able to see four countries up on this peak "Yungxiao Feng".  But there was a whiteout when we were there so all we could see was the sign!  It was also freezing out so it turned out to be a short visit to the 2800 metre peak.

 

The road to Hemu village is filled with stunning fall colours.

Hemu village from above

A series of switchbacks took us down to the village

The river flows through the village with its distinct wood Tuva houses

Cutting up a goat

A free-running one

Yam roasting contraption

Local naan tastes so good when freshly made

Tuva dancer in the village

Shopping street

These look like homestays in the village

A birch forest just outside the village

Hemu at nightfall

Even more enchanting in the morning mist