Tourists warned to stay away from rare camel habitat

BEJING: Travel agencies have been offering expeditions to Lop Nur in the Xinjiang Uighur autonomous region for travellers looking to conquer the no man’s land in the region’s southeast.

But the trips are illegal. The Lop Nur Wild Camel National Nature Reserve, the largest dry desert reserve in Xinjiang, is dedicated to the protection of wild Bactrian camels, which are even more scarce than the giant panda.

Fewer than 1,000 wild Bactrian camels live in the harsh deserts of China and Mongolia. About 600 of them – 60% of the global population – call the reserve home.

Lop Nur holds the mystery of the disappearance of Loulan, an ancient Silk Road civilisation from the third century. It was also the site of China’s first atomic bomb test in 1964. The area has been attractive to visitors who love adventure.

At travel website Qunar.com, a trip to Lop Nur costs more than 15,000 yuan (RM9,428) per person.

Each tourist must pay a 1,500 yuan (RM942) “protection fee” to the reserve.

The tour lasts seven to 10 days. A tour guide, who also serves as the driver, will carry three tourists around Lop Nur.

Similar travel services are also offered at Ctrip.com and Fliggy.com at similar prices. Fliggy.com also offers guides for tourists who drive themselves. A guide costs 2,600 yuan (RM1,634) per day.

Ctrip and Fliggy said on Thursday that they have taken such travel services off their websites.

Established in 1986, the Lop Nur reserve covers 61,200sq km. It is overseen by the Xinjiang Department of Environmental Protection, which issued a rule earlier this month prohibiting any expeditions or tourists in the area reserved for Bactrian camels.