The Tian Shan ("Mountains of Heaven") is a high mountain range that is about 2450 km long, approximately 400 km wide, up to 7439 m high, and is located in the north of the inner Asian mountain system of High Mountain Asia. It separates the northern and southern parts of the landscape of Turkestan. The Tian Shan covers areas of the Central Asian states of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and the autonomous Uighur region of Xinjiang in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.
We started our journey with a bus ride from the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek to Karakol at Lake Issyk-Kul and Jergalan. The trekking led us to the south across Kyrgyz high mountain pastures close to the Chinese border. En route, we crossed several passes above 3000 meters and reached the valley of the Engilchek river in the Tian Shan mountains. In the following days, we continued eastwards on the South Engilchek Glacier to the base camp of Khan Tengri and Pik Pobeda. An exciting helicopter flight with magnificent views of the Tian Shan Mountains ended the trekking adventure.
