Botanical excursions to Jety-Oguz gorge.

"A traveler walking over the abysses of the Tien Shan, remember: you are only a tear on an eyelash."

Eastern proverb.

Flora of Jety-Oguz gorge.

"Flower meadow" is located at an altitude of 2518 meters above sea level, at mouth of Telety River, a right tributary of Jety-Oguz River, in eponymous gorge, on northern slope of Terskey Ala-Too mountain range in Jety-Oguz district of Issyk-Kul region. 
"Flower meadow" is located 12 kilometers from the Jety-Oguz resort near the confluence of the Telety River and the Jety-Oguz River. Indeed, there are excellent subalpine meadows with lush grasses and an abundance of all kinds of flowers: edelweiss, small and large white chickweed, forget-me-nots, geraniums, large dark blue and tiny blue gentians, orange "daisies" of small-petaled (erigeron).
A path leading from the Dimitrov, Telety and Gastello passes from the Ontor gorge leads to the "Flower Glade" along the Telety valley. From the glade, the double-headed wall of the Jety-Oguz is clearly visible 17 - 18 kilometers away. The Jety-Oguz gorge widens greatly, 18 kilometers from the resort there is a large glade in the Belalu-Sai valley, where both sources of the Jety-Oguz merge: the right Ailanysh (Turkic "Whirlpool") and the left - Baytor ("Rich valley"). In the clearing there are yurts and shepherds' tents.
A herd of mares with foals grazes here, you can try kumiss. You can watch mares being milked. Unlike a cow, a mare does not allow herself to be milked unless she is tricked by letting the foal come near her for a while. Then one milkmaid takes it away from her nipples and holds it by the neck next to her mother so that she can see it, while the second milks the mare, calmed by the foal's proximity.
"Flower meadow" in the Jety-Oguz gorge in the mid-mountain forest, meadow and steppe zone located at an altitude of 2100 to 3000 meters above sea level, in this zone forest, mountain and meadow soils predominate, Tien Shan spruce grows here with a rich shrub undergrowth, grass and cereal meadows.
Geographic coordinates of "Flower meadow" in Jety-Oguz gorge: N42°16'11 E78°19'34

Authority:
B.I. Rukavishnikov. "Lake Issyk-Kul and the Terskey-Alatau ridge". Moscow, "Physical Education and Sport", 1970.

Photos by:
Alexander Petrov.