Kanas Lake in Buerjin County, Altay

Kanas Lake in Buerjin County, Altay

Attractions Overview

National AAAAA Class Tourist Attractions, National Geopark, National Forest Park, China Nature Reserve, National Natural Heritage, National Low Carbon Tourism Experimental Zone, China's Most Beautiful Lakes

English Name: Kanas Lake in Buerjin County, Altay
Type: Altay Scenic Area, Altay famous spots & Altay attractions
Best Time: All Year Around
Recommended Visiting Hours: 2-3 hours

More Picture

Why is Kanas Lake So Special?

Kanas Lake Scenic Area is composed of strange natural landscapes such as mountains, rivers, forests, lakes and grasslands, historical and cultural relics such as Genghis Khan’s Western Expedition Army’s Dian Jiangtai and ancient rock paintings, and unique folk customs of the Mongolian Tuwa people. It has major scenic spots such as Tuojing Bay, Changhua Lake, Wolong Bay and Yuguan Terrace. It has extremely high tourism and sightseeing, natural protection, scientific investigation and historical and cultural values.

Where is Kanas Lake

Nas Lake is located in the northern part of Burqin County, Altai Prefecture, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The lake water comes from glacier melt water and local precipitation from Kuitun, Youyi Peak and other mountains. The lake is 1374 meters above sea level and covers an area of 45.73 cm. The deepest part of the lake is 1181.5 meters in height, 188.5 meters in depth and 5.38 billion cubic meters in water storage. It is the deepest moraine barrier lake in China

History of Kanas Lake

According to the data of China’s National Geographic magazine Glacier and Frozen Soil, Kanas River Basin is located on the south slope of the main peaks of Altai Mountain-Youyi Peak and Kuitun Peak. The mountain around the basin is a step-by-step segmented mountain. Due to the strong etching of glaciers since the early Quaternary, tind, cutting ridges, ancient ice buckets, U-shaped valleys, suspended valleys, moraine ridges, moraine lakes and thawing mud flow terraces are well developed. It can be distinguished from the ancient glacier landform that there were three obvious glacial periods. Kanas Lake was formed by the excavation and erosion of a huge compound valley glacier in the second great glacial period. At that time, the glacier was more than several thousand meters long, with a glacier thickness of about 200-500 meters. The end of glacier tongue was stable at the lake mouth and was in a state of equilibrium. Gradually, a final moraine ridge with a width of about 1 kilometer and a height of 50-70 meters, formed by a combination of several hills and depressions, was accumulated at the lake mouth of Kanas Lake. The outermost ridge was about 20 meters high, with an arc-shaped convex ridge, and the inner ridge was connected with the lake surface by a slope. The final moraine ridges are undulating and consist of mixed materials such as moraine block stones, sand and clay with different thicknesses. In the later period, the glacier shrank rapidly due to warmer climate, forming Kanas Lake.

Main Attraction of Kanas Lake

Kanas, which means “rich and beautiful, mysterious and mysterious” in Mongolian, is probably the most attractive tourist resort in northern Xinjiang. The highlight of the nature reserve may be Kanas Lake. Kanas Glacier originated from Altai Mountains. Kanas River passes through the mountains for about 125 kilometers (77.7 miles). The lake shines like pearls on the beautiful river. Kanas Lake in China is 1,375 meters (4,511 feet) above sea level and covers an area of 45.73 square kilometers (11,300 acres). With the change of weather and season in Kanas Lake, the color of the lake is also changing. Sometimes it is blue, sometimes it is green, and sometimes it is as white as milk.

Six bays along Kanas Lake

There are six bays on the lake. Each bay has a wonderful story. The bedrock eroded by glaciers, “Roche Glacier”, can be found in the first bay. It looks like a sleeping sheep, enjoying the beautiful lake and welcoming tourists from the outside world. The second bay is the deepest part of the lake and the place where monsters are often “discovered”. It is said that some local livestock were dragged into the water by Kanas Lake monster! The third bay is a natural platform for appreciating beautiful lakes. The fourth bay has a lovely island covered with trees. The fifth bay has a magpie mountain. The sixth bay, located at the end of the lake, is a natural wonder admired by all tourists. Gathered here is a row of 2,000 meters long (about 6,562 feet) of dead trees. No one can explain why these trees did not drift downstream, but people say this is because even the trees do not want to leave the beautiful lake. On the other side of the lake is a pavilion called the fish pavilion. Because it is located on the mountain, tourists can overlook the beautiful scenery of the whole area.

Best Time to Travel Kanas Lake

Every autumn, that is, August and September, is the best time to visit Altay.

At this time, the weather began to cool and the fruits began to mature. This is a very suitable time to travel. At this time, most scenic spots began to hang attractive gold. Let’s travel in the golden ocean. The natural scenery around Altay is very beautiful. In our spare time, we take our family to Altay to play, eat delicious fruits and enjoy different local conditions and customs. I believe this is a very beautiful moment and a very happy memory.

How To Get There

  • Take a flight to Kanas Airport and there are shuttle buses to Jiadengyu, the entrance to Kanas Nature Reserve. Upon arrival, take the tourist bus to enter the scenic area.
  • From Urumqi to Kanas Lake, visitors need to take a bus from Nianzigou Bus Station to Burqin County, and then transfer to a regular bus to Jiadengyu or hire a local car to the entrance.

Useful Travel Tips

Scenic Area
 May – Oct. 15: Oct. 16 – Apr.:
Kanas Scenic Area 
CNY 160
 CNY 80
 The entrance ticket is valid for two days, meaning visitors can enter the scenic area repeatedly in two days.

Nearby Attractions

Recommended Xinjiang Tour Packages

Edited by Doreen/张洋