Turpan Grapes Valley 8am hike

Grapes valley 8am hike

My favourite hike of the trip!

I drove into the valley short after the sunrise. There are large gates at the entry to the valley which appeared closed but actually the check point was open. As the police guards were not used to such early arrivals of motorised foreigners it took about 15 minutes for them to find the correct book to write down my passport and car details. It might take less time if you are not driving yourself.

Once inside i drove the upper road through the villages all the way to the middle of the valley and than crossed it all the way down to the river and continued along the river all the way to the end.

the upper road is dry and hot - and even at such early hour it is busy and you can easily find open shop or bakery. I did regret i had my breakfast at the hostel as this road offered some excellent opportunities for a simple local flatbread based meal.

The lower road is just few hundred meters away from the upper one - but it is several degrees cooler to the point I was actually amazed how different it feels. At the north end of the lower road (look for the post office on the map) there is a larger plaza with many restaurants and vendors. Feels as this is the main destination point for the tourists buses later during the day.

Beyond that point both roads merge into one - you are reaching the north end of the valley that now opens up again to the desert. I turned back left on the upper road and after couple of kilometers parked my car at what i believe was the highest point the road ever gets. There is a flat bread bakery here that seems to double as a local social gathering spot - great fast breakfast spot.

From this point i went in between the houses and climbed the highest peak on the east side of the valley. A breathtaking panorama of the valley framed by the desert and mountains along the horizon was probably the most memorable sight on my trip.

Beyond the ridge there are much shallower and completely dried desert style valleys which seems as great for hiking if i had bit more time. The platou beyond the ridge is also accessible by car, as a matter of fact - there is a dirt road reaching all the way to the ridge. Instead walking into those dry valleys i walked along the ridge back south towards some sort of telecommunication tower and took a long winding stairs down back towards the village. A group of young policeman or military was exercising by running up the stairs and later walking down before they eventually jogged along the main road.

Instead of reaching the main road I took earlier right again and walked along the back of the last building or slightly in between them. There is an old cemetery that seems to be also occasionally used as a dump site.

Beyond the cemetery you could turn right into the dirt road that could take you up into the platou. Walking straight takes you inbetween local traditional houses some of which are older than other but probably not very old. You will encounter children playing in the roads and people going along their usual business. All the areas i have been walking up to now are dry and dusty. There is no vegetation growing on the upper side of the road.

I descended to the main street at this point and walked for a short while before i turned left again and descended further down into the green valley. There is narrow row of houses you pass by - before maybe 10m in total away from the main road you enter the plantations. Young boy tried to tell me i should not go any further but i explained I just want to take some pictures and will leave - and he left me alone. An older man gave me a big happy Nihao and so i went down into the plantations. The transition from dry airy space to the green oasis couldn't be more rapid. Initially i walked back south but the road in between plantations seemed to finish in a dead end. I turned around and walk for a good long stretch back heading to the starting point.

Along the way i walked through a quite pleasing large lounge / restaurant. I believe this would probably be one of the nicest spots to eat a lunch in the valley. Far away from roads and the busy touristic car park. The place was in some part using a traditional large decks instead of chairs and had a water channel crossing through the middle. Some of the eating decks were set up right over the channel. As the place was rather large and i believe it might get bit noisy later on during the day. At this time however there were only 2 staff preparing the place for tourists arrival.

I continued along the small creek and eventually diverted up towards the main road and arrived right at the place i parked the car.

All in all it was my favourite hike. If i would do it again i would arrive much earlier for the sun rise and have a breakfast here as well at one of flatbread bakeries.

When looked up online there seems to be multiple mass tourists attractions in the valley. I have no interest in visiting those and was looking for a simple lone hike. Was very pleased and happy to find out it is still possible to do such hike and avoid large crowds. During my time spent in the grapes valley i haven't encountered a single other tourist.