Ili Winter Travel｜Sailimu Lake - Kuerdening Route Reference

Consolidated version of previous notes. I received several private messages asking if I could provide a PDF version, so I optimized the route based on personal experience. If you need the PDF, you can message me: Bole ➡️ Wenquan County (p2) soak in the snow mountain hot springs ➡️ Sailimu Lake (p1,3,4,5,6) ➡️ Kuerdening (p8,9,10,11,12) ➡️ return to Bole If you’re not interested in soaking in the snow mountain hot springs, you can remove Wenquan County from the itinerary and go directly to Sailimu Lake. ✨D1✈️ Arrive in Bole, pick up the car, winter requires snow tires ✨D2🚗 Go to Wenquan County, about an hour’s drive I went to Luquan Hot Spring Center, the experience was great—soaking in the hot springs while watching the snow mountains 🤤 If you get tired of soaking, there are other entertainment options like mahjong rooms and movie rooms. There are other hot springs locally, so you can choose according to your needs. Food and accommodation are affordable, and the scenery is very beautiful with the magnificent Alatau Mountains. You can spend a whole day slowly experiencing it~ If you’re a fan of Master and Wukong, don’t miss Wenquan County, those who know, know 🥹 ✨D3🚗 Wenquan County ➡️ North Gate of Sailimu Lake, about 1.5 hours’ drive There is a mountain road along the way, drive carefully in winter. You can enter from the north gate and go clockwise or counterclockwise. From my two visits, the section from Dianjiangtai to the south gate is more beautiful. If you want to watch the sunset in the evening, go to Fengfan Creek; if you want to see the pink blue hour, the Kele Yongzhu viewpoint is better. 💡 At 6:30 pm sunset, the temperature drops sharply and it gets very, very cold, so dress warmly. 💡 Winter daylight hours are short, sunrise at 10 am and sunset at 7:30 pm. If you’re not in a hurry, I recommend staying two nights at Sailimu Lake. The winter self-driving ticket costs 110 yuan and allows entry and exit within 48 hours. ✨D4 Full day at Sailimu Lake Arrive at S Bay before 10 am, which is also a great spot to enjoy the pink blue hour. If you want to see the sunrise, go to Dianjiangtai. ✨D5🚗 Exit Sailimu Lake from the south gate ➡️ Guozigou Bridge (p7) ➡️ Kuerdening, about 3.5 hours’ drive ✨D6 Full day at Kuerdening. I stayed at the Bairui Camp, the winter experience was very good. Who can resist a snow mountain panoramic room? The camp is surrounded by tall snow firs, every photo is a life photo. There are also horsemen in the camp you can contact for horseback riding. If you want to go to Qimengde Viewing Platform, it’s recommended to drive to the foot of the mountain first and then ride a horse—this saves time and money. Considering the long journey the next day, stay overnight in Gongliu after descending. ✨D7🚗 Gongliu ➡️ Bole, about 5 hours’ drive, return flight ✈️ This article is a route consolidation version. For overall costs, accommodation, clothing and packing tips, and detailed travel information, please check other posts on the homepage.