Cycling The Silk Road In China – Heavenly Lake, Urumqi

Heavenly Lake is located about 30 miles southeast of Urumqi in Xinjiang.

It is a high lake, meaning that it is 2,000 meters (6,500ft) above sea level on the stunning Bogda mountain. (Bogda is a Mongolian word for “God”.)

When we pulled into the parking lot, I felt my heart sink.

there were so many tourists.

it is usually not a good indicator for a wonderful place.
But we took the drive out of the city to get here, so we decided to go and see it.

This high lake is indeed a magnificent place.

No wonder so many people come to enjoy this wonderful place.
It is surrounded with a distant snow capped mountains range called the Tian Shan Range.

We were driven to the top of the mountain on tourist buses, through a narrow mountain road lined with small scenic villages, trees and a rocky river.

After taking the scenic spot photos, in front of the lake, we saw a sign pointing to a mountain top Taoist temple called “Ancestral Temple Of Queen Mother Of The West.”

The path was not walked by many and we walked for a few kilometers, along the rocky cliffs above the blue green lake.
It was a beautiful path filled with wild peppermint, thyme, wild bush roses, lilies and dandelions.

We spotted beautiful blue flowers, and climbed hundreds of steps to the high temple.
It was a marvelous day.

we were delighted that we took the less traveled lake path.