7 Days | Xinjiang: Mysterious Ili Tour

Tour Overview 

Xinjiang's Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture (referred to as Ili) is located in the northwest frontier of China. It is an autonomous prefecture under the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, situated at the northern foot of the Tianshan Mountains in the Ili River Valley, bordering Kazakhstan. Known for its picturesque landscapes, Ili is often hailed as the "Southern Oasis in the Northern Frontier".

This time, we will bring you to venture beyond the beaten path unknown to 99% of travelers, which will offer you a hassle-free option with exhilarating experience. Here, wild horsemen gallop freely across untouched summer pastures, allowing you to breathe in the untamed winds of liberty. This is not just a trip, it's your backstage pass to Ili's best-kept secrets.

 

Highlights of this tour:

1. Skip the crowds — Enter all scenic areas directly from your vehicle, no queues, no hassle.

2. Unlock the untold stories of Ili — From nomadic legends to geological wonders, we reveal what guidebooks never mention.

3. Explore the Karakoram Prairie — Crowned as the "King of Grasslands" under the Tianshan Mountains.

4. Probe the Narati's Hidden Trails — Wander through the emerald treasure trove of Green Ingot Valley, soar above the clouds at Volta Jiaota Ridge, and step into the timeless fairy tale of Suo'erbasitao Primeval Ranch(索尔巴斯陶原始牧场). 

Day-by-day Itinerary

Day 1: Arrive in Urumqi  

Upon arrival in Urumqi, your guide and driver will meet you at the airport. And then a comfortable transfer will take you to your hotel. After check-in, you can recharge your battery and relax. 

This day, you can visit the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Museum to explore cultural relics such as the "Five Stars from the East" and the "Loulan Beauty mummy", which offer you a deep dive into Xinjiang’s multicultural history.

In addition, you can also head to the Akhal-Teke Horse Base to observe the daily routines of these legendary horses and watch the thrilling equestrian performances showcasing their agility and grace.

Meal: N/A

Hotel: Ctrip 4-Diamond Hotel

 

Day 2: Stunning Tianshan Scenic Byway & Eye-catching Tangbula 

Urumqi → Northern Duku Highway → Tangbula Prairie Viewpoint → Narati 

In the morning, we will depart from Urumqi to Dushanzi(独山子), the starting point of the Duku Highway—a legendary route celebrated for its dramatic landscapes of snow-capped mountains, alpine meadows, wildflower valleys, and cascading waterfalls. 

After lunch, we will arrive at Tangbula Prairie, where the viewing platform offers panoramic vistas of pristine snow peaks, dense forests, and mirror-like alpine lakes. After exploration, we will transfer to Narati Scenic Area and check into a cozy boutique guesthouse nestled within the grassland.

In the evening, you will enjoy staying overnight at a Narati grassland homestay and soon immerse in the tranquility of starry skies and pastoral charm. What's more, it is also good for sunrise views over the stunning prairie in the second morning.

The highlights include the Duku Highway, where you can traverse the "crown jewel of the Tianshan Mountains" with stops at iconic viewpoints for snowfield photography, as well as Tangbula Prairie, which is known as the "100-mile Gallery", its untouched beauty rivals popular destinations like Kanas (喀纳斯).

Meal: Breakfast

Hotel: Narati grassland homestay

 

Day 3: Sky Prairie Scenery & Wonderful Nomadic Experience 

Narati → Self-Drive Sky Prairie → Panlong Ancient Road → Nomadic Experience → New Source 

In the morning, you may enjoy embarking on a self-drive adventure through the Narati Sky Prairie, where emerald waves roll under cobalt skies. Continue to Panlong Ancient Road – a 40km serpentine route winding through northern slopes, weaving together primeval forests, alpine meadows, and dramatic canyon vistas. This "coiling dragon" of a road offers 11 designated photo stops to capture Tianshan's layered grandeur.

In the afternoon, you can ride electric sightseeing carts through Green Ingot Valley and Flower Valley at Volta Jiaota Ridge, where wildflower carpets meet cloud-draped peaks – a scene straight from a Studio Ghibli fantasy. When visiting nomadic herder Tabus' family in their "mobile white palace" yurt, you can sip salty milk tea while learning centuries-old pastoral traditions. What's more, the wild horseback riding across unfenced pastures with local wranglers allows you to immerse in its primitive and rugged charm.   

After that, you can hike 15 minutes to Eagle's Eyrie Platform (天鹰台) for a 360° panorama of Narati's golden-hour glory, it is the visual appealing Sunset Ritual with untouched natural beauty which brings you an overwhelming sense of joy. Then you can stroll through River Valley Prairie, where glacial streams carve jade-green channels through buttercup fields. 

In the evening, we will head to New Source County, you will be arranged to live in the Ctrip 4-Diamond Hotel of the Tianshan mountain with breathtaking views. Its key features consist of VIP Road Access (Bypass public shuttle queues with private vehicle permits for Panlong Road), Nomadic Immersion (Participate in yurt dismantling and rebuilding rituals) and Geological Insights (Learn how the "Green Ingot" valley formed through tectonic uplift and glacial erosion).

Meal: Breakfast

Hotel: Ctrip 4-Diamond Hotel 

 

Day 4:  Unparalleled Kurdening Valley & Karatohai Lake Experience

Xinyuan(新源) → Hidden Grassland Pass → Moku Loop → Tekes Coastal Road → Karatohai → Kalajun Wusun Summer Camp 

After breakfast, we will depart Xinyuan via a secret grassland corridor known only to the locals, traversing landscapes where alpine meadows cascade like oil paintings. Enter Kurdening Valley – the sole north-south oriented glacial valley in the Ili grasslands, famed for the Aerial waterfalls plunging into turquoise plunge pools, the cloud-kissing spruce forests (densest Tianshan woodlands) as well as golden carpets of Caltha palustris and dandelions blooming beneath snow-capped ridges. 

After lunch, you will follow the Tekes River upstream via the Moku Scenic Loop, bypassing crowded routes to discover the Karatohai Lake – a sapphire mirror reflecting Tianshan peaks, rivaling Sayram Lake's chromatic grandeur, and Coastal-style bends along the Tekes Coastal Road, where grasslands meet cliffs.

In the evening, you will really enjoy staying at Kalajun Wusun Summer Camp – a luxury nomadic-style retreat offering stargazing yurts with panoramic views of the Tianshan night sky. 

Meal: Breakfast

Hotel: Kalajun Wusun Summer Camp

 

Day 5: Mind-blowing Hunting Eagle Terrace Experience

Wusun Summer Camp → Hunting Eagle Terrace → Three-Step Peneplains → Kuerdai River Canyon → Kazanqi → Yining 

In the morning, begin at Wusun Summer Camp and drive to Wanna Service Hub, where you’ll transfer to a shuttle for Hunting Eagle Terrace, which is hailed as the crown jewel of the Ili grasslands, this vantage point will display the following wonderful scenery.

• "Three-Step Peneplains" – geological terraces resembling sculpted human curves.
  
• "Floral Forest" landscapes – spruce groves create natural mosaics.
  
• Kuerdai River Canyon – guided hikes along glacial-fed streams. 
  

In the afternoon, return to Yining (Ili’s capital) and explore Kazanqi Folk Village.

• Ride a traditional trishaw through cobalt-blue alleys adorned with Uyghur  woodcarvings.
  
• Witness bread-making at a local workshop.
  
• Taste kaymak ice cream – a Central Asian-style frozen treat layered with honey and walnuts.
  

After dinner, you will be arranged to check into a Ctrip 4-Diamond Hotel in downtown Yining, it is ideally positioned for night strolls along the Ili River promenade.

Key Tips

• Hunting Eagle Terrace Access: Morning light (9-11 AM) best illuminates the "Human Body Prairie" geological formations.
  
• Canyon Hiking: Opt for the 3km riverside trail to avoid steep sections; guides provide walking sticks.
  
• Kazanqi Timing: Visit artisans’ workshops post-4 PM when locals gather for tea ceremonies

Meal: Breakfast

Hotel: Ctrip 4-Diamond Hotel

 

Day 6: Mesmerizing Sayram Lake & Guozigou Canyon Experience

Yining → Lavender Fields → Sayram Lake Loop → Afternoon Tea → Kuytun 

After breakfast, depart Yining and drive to Sayram Lake (赛里木湖), traversing the Guozigou Canyon(果子沟) – a 28km floral corridor connecting the Ili Valley to alpine realms, and you will marvel at the orchards spilling over volcanic cliffs, honeycomb-like rock formations framing snowmelt waterfalls, pastoral vistas of Kazakh herders grazing flocks near Tianshan foothills. 

In the afternoon, you will be obsessed with exploring around Sayram Lake, tourist attractions like Tears of the Atlantic viewpoint for cobalt-blue panoramas, Grassy peninsulas where swans glide past wild iris blooms, Granite outcrops revealing 250-million-year-old marine fossils, savoring alpine-style afternoon tea at a lakeside yurt, Honey-drizzled kurt (dried cheese curds) paired with juniper-infused black tea, even the 360° views of the Koktokay Mountain Range mirrored on windless waters, all of these haunt in the dreams of countless travelers once they come here. 

In the evening, transfer to Kuytun, checking into a Ctrip 4-Diamond Hotel with modern amenities after a wilderness-immersive day.

Meal: Breakfast

Hotel: Ctrip 4-Diamond Hotel

 

Day 7: Depature

Optional Choice: Kuytun → Sorbastau (Ürümqi’s Hidden Gem) → Ürümqi 

It is the last day, enjoy your last morning in Xinjiang. Then, your driver will escort you to the airport or train station for your onward journey.

Of course, if you still want to explore more, our guide may bring you to take the journey to Sorbastau (索尔巴斯陶), an uncommercialized Kazakh grassland oasis with 100km from Ürümqi, you will experience the eye-catching views as below: 

• Tianshan vistas: Gaze at the Bogda Peak (5,445m) piercing azure skies
  
• Summer symphony: Wander meadows dotted with swaying wildflowers and grazing herds under cotton-cloud skies
  
• Geological drama: Pass rust-red Danxia cliffs and glacial valleys
  

After lunch, you will be arranged to return to Ürümqi, stopping for below viewpoints.

• Pastoral encounters: Photograph Kazakh herders guiding sheep flocks along serpentine trails
  
• Alpine farewell: Sip fermented mare’s milk (kumis) at a nomadic family’s yurt
  

In the evening, you will be arranged to check into a Ctrip 4-Diamond Hotel in Ürümqi, it is ideally near the Grand Bazaar for last-minute souvenir hunting.

Meal: Breakfast

Hotel: Ctrip 4-Diamond Hotel (optional)

Tour Price ($=USD)

It is $1325 per person, which is based on a private tour for 2-6 people, and the price varies depending on the activity, number of people, travel date, and selected hotel, it may rise a little bit in some special festivals, such as Spring Festival, May Day and National Day. 

Price Includes 

Accommodation

√ Ürümqi: 1 night at Ctrip 4-Diamond hotel;

√ Narati: 1 night at boutique grasslands homestay;

√ Xinyuan: 1 night at a Ctrip 4-Diamond hotel; 

√ Kalakun: 1 night at an in-park camping site (wilderness immersion); 

√ Yining: 1 night at Ctrip 4-Diamond hotel;

√ Kuytun: 1 night at a Ctrip 4-Diamond hotel;

Tickets & Experiences

√ Narati Grasslands: Self-drive pass + Kazakh family visit + guided horseback riding; 

√ Kuerdening & Kalakun: Scenic self-drive permits; 

√ Kazanqi: Trishaw tour ;

√ Lavender Farm & Sayram Lake: Entry tickets + lakeside afternoon tea; 

√ Volta Jiao Pagoda: Cultural site access; 

Transportation

√ Vehicle: 5-seat SUV / 7-seat commercial vehicle (guaranteed window seats for ≤5 travelers; upgraded to aviation seat business vehicle for 6 travelers);

√ Transfers: Round-trip airport pick up; 

Meals

√ Meals listed in the itinerary;

Services

√ Full-time driver-guide with meals and accommodation subsidies; 

√ Insurance: Travel agency liability + Personal accident insurance.

Price Excludes

√ Flight/train tickets to/off  Ürümqi;

√ Daily lunches and dinners (meals beyond hotel breakfasts are self-funded);

√ Personal expenses outside listed tickets and experiences (e.g., souvenirs, optional activities);

√ Any optional activities inside the attractions;

√ Any item not mentioned in the itinerary;

√ Single Room Supplement;

√ All kinds of gratuities for guides, drivers & others;

√ Solo traveler policy: Single travelers are guaranteed same-gender room sharing in standard twin/triple rooms;

√ Private room upgrades available at additional cost (subject to hotel availability.