Explore Desert Wonders & Cultural Treasures
Do you wonder why Badain Jaran Desert defeated the famous Taklamakan Desert of Xinjiang and be voted as the most beautiful desert in China? The reason is self-explanatory only when you come and see for yourself. Beyond the classic endlessly stretching sand dunes of different shapes and heights, more remarkably, Badain Jaran Desert reverse the common impression of desert - arid, dry, uninhabited, with 144 colored inlaid lakes (some are green, blue and even pink, red, carroty) and massive inexhaustible springs, some oases and wild lives. Those stunning natural wonders are the best highlights which lie in the core area, can only reached by professionally-guided desert jeeps. To guarantee you a better travel experience and an eco-friendly journey, official licensed Jeeps will be used to take you venture deep in the desert.
Our 4 days Badain Jaran Desert covers the most classic itinerary with the desert essence sightseeing and the local culture encounter. With this all-inclusive tour package, you will enjoy memorable desert journey with various experiences, worry-free transfersand catch a sight of authentic Mongolian culture about dining, living and history.
Highlights of this tour
Today is free for you to get to Badain Jaran Town which is about 65km from Badain Jaran Desert National Park.
Badain Jaran Town is the headquarter of Alxa Right Banner of Inner Mongolia. The nearest airports are located in Zhangye and Jinchang which are about 2~3 hours’ drive away from Badain Jaran Town. Currently, you can take flights to Zhangye(张掖)/Jinchang(金昌) from Beijing, Xian, Chengdu, Lanzhou, etc. Our tour guide and driver will pick up you from nearby airport/train station, then transfer to Badain Jaran Town.
Accommodate in Badain Jaran Town.
Visiting Route: Geo-park Museum - Badain Lake - Dagetu - Fairy Peak - Yinderitu Spring - Bilutu - Badain Jaran Temple (The final route is subject to change according to weather and time condition)
After breakfast, drive about 1 hour from your hotel to the entrance area of the desert park to visit Badain Jaran Geo-park Museum first to learn some useful geography and cultural information about this China’s most beautiful desert. UNESCO experts claim that Badain Jaran Desert includes “unique desert aeolian features of the most concentrated distribution area of mega-dunes and inter-dunal lake basins, constituting irreplaceable natural heritage values”.
Start your thrilling and exciting Badain Jaran off-road adventure now! Hop on a desert Jeep, and drive head to the heartland of the desert. As a vast desert covering over 45,000 square kilometers, Badain Jaran Desert’s highlighting lakes and sand dunes can only be reached by SUV unless you will have to trek several days through the desert. The driving goes to Badain Jaran Temple in the deep desert where a Mongol yurts camp sets up on the side of a lake for travelers to stay over the night.
There are a lot of stops at the most beautiful points, such as Badain Lake, desert oasis, Genghis Khan Sand Carving, Dagetu Lake, Yinderitu Spring, Temple Lake, etc. You will also go up to Bilutu which is the highest sand dune in the world with an altitude of 1611 meters. You will reach at Badain Jaran Temple, known as the Forbidden City in the Desert, after about 4~5 hours driving. The rest time is free to explore the beauty of the desert till the sunset time.
Tonight you will accommodate in a Mongol yurt in the middle of the desert which is comfortable (for a yurt) with shower available, but the toilet is basic and placed outside the camp.
Pack and Wear Right – Very Important? - bring only necessary things to the desert, such as water, sunglasses, sunblocking cream, camera, dramamine (for possible carsickness during desert driving), etc. Take a towel, shower gel, shampoo if you want to take a shower. Your luggage can be remained in our car or hotel in Badain Jaran Town.
Visiting Route: Badain Jaran Temple - Barun Jaran - Barunyikeri - Heavenly Lake - Entrance(The final route is subject to change according to weather and time condition)
Get up at about 5:30~6.00 A.M in the morning, find a good sunrise location on the sand mountain to wait for the first ray of golden sunlight to shine on the stretches of desert. The sunrise at Badain Jaran Desert is a true feast to eyes. It’s a striking combination of light and shadow. At the daybreaking time, the sun seems to be playing the hide-and-seek with people. It then rises gradually like a dancing sparrows from the horizon, and project her golden light upon the sea of sand. Soak yourself in this sun-drenched otherworldly scene, and let the golden light and cool desert air wash over you. After the sunrise, return to the camp site.
After breakfast, keep on Jeep Safari adventure. You will make a stop at Barun Jaran (Barunjilin), a stunning lake which is a great place to take photo of sand dunes’ reflection. You will also go to visit Barunyikeri where two lakes are divided by an edge of sand dunes, and Heavenly Lake (Tianchi), a lovely lake suitable for photography. You will exit the desert park around the noon time. Have lunch before leaving.
Drive 1 hour back to Badain Jaran Town. After checking into the hotel, you can take a rest first and organize your luggage. The afternoon is your free time. You can walk around the town to view the unique Mongolian-style architectures and eat an authentic meet feast.
After breakfast, drive 3 hours to the Mandela Mountain in the northeast suburb of the town. Mandela means thrive and rise in Mongol. The mountain is most-known for the largest size of ancient rock paintings of China and the second largest in the world. There are 4234 rock paintings carved on the black basalts, depicting hunting, grazing, the sun, moon, stars, temple, architectures, etc. Archaeologists speculate that they were carved engraved in the New Neolithic Age to the Qing Dynasty with a long history of at least 6,000 years, and a part of the primitive religious ritual. No wonder the rock paintings are titled as “the Living Fossils of the Art World”. Hike up the mountain along the wooden trestle, you will see many vivid rock carving at the mountaintop. Each painting has an exclusive identity code. Our tour guide will explain the content to help you better understand the history and significance of these cultural heritages. Besides, you can see many rocks in grotesque shapes nearby.
Descend down the mountain, you will leave for your next destination.
Departure tips: the nearest airport is Jinchang Airport where you can take flights to Xian, Lanzhou, Chengdu, Beijing, etc. If you want to transfer to Zhangye or other places in the region with our private car services, please contact your travel consultant in advance.
Located in the northwest of Gansu and the westernmost of Hexi Corridor, Dunhuang is the most brilliant pearl along the ancient Silk Road. The city has sealed huge art treasury and created oasis in the desert. You can closely see the fantastic Buddhist sculptures, murals in World Cultural Heritage - Mogao Caves, visit Crescent Lake surrounded by Mingsha Mountain, view unique Yardang landform, ancient passes and more impressive scenery here.
You can take a 2-day brief trip to Dunhuang covering top highlights. On the day 1, you can go to Echoing Sand Mountain and Crescent LakeE together, witness the wonder of nature, try some exciting activities, like desert camel riding, sand sliding, motorcycling, etc., later return to Dunhuang city to hunt for local flavors at Shazhou Night Market. Day 2 is fully for your Mogao Caves tour. First watch introduction movies about the caves in the Digital Exhibition Center, and then visit specific caves in Mogao Grottoes one by one, learning Buddhist story, Chinese culture and history, which you can’t help admiring this precious land of art.
Jiayuguan Pass is about 370 km away from Dunhuang. It used to be the starting point of the ancient Great Wall built during Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644), also the most important military defensive project guarding the far northwestern area of China because of its strategic location at the narrowest point of the western section of the Hexi Corridor which had been the vital defensive frontier since Han Dynasty (BC 202—220).
You can travel from Dunhuang to Zhangye by car. Most classic itinerary is to leave Dunhuang in the morning, then drive about 4~5 hours to Jiayuguan with an excursion visit to Yunlin Caves, which is the "little sister" of Mogao Caves. In Jiayuguan, you can spend either a half day tour or a full day visiting Jiayuguan Fortress, Hanging Great Wall and other sites in the region.
Zhangye is located in central Gansu along the Hexi Corridor between Lanzhou and Jiayuguan. It is full of history and legends, and diverse in natural scenery. Here you can see the world famous Rainbow Mountains (the Danxia Landform), beautiful deserts, mysterious canyons, vast grasslands, lofty snow mountains, etc.
You can take an in-depth Danxia landform exploration with morning visit to Binggou Danxia and afternoon visit to Danxia Geopark in the Day 1; On the Day 2, you can visit the Giant Buddha Temple first, then go to visit Matisi Temple. After that, you still have enough time to take a flight or train to next destination.
Zhangye - Badain Jaran Town - Badain Jaran Desert
Xining - Zhangye - Badain Jaran Desert
Badain Jaran Town - Badain Jaran Desert
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