Tours to nature in Ile-Alatau park.

“It is untrue that equality is a law of nature. Nature has no equality; its sovereign law is subordination and dependence” 

Luc de Clapiers de Vauvenargues.

Mountaineering  in North Tien-Shan.

The main National park aims and objectives are: protection and restoring of the unique natural complexes, and simultaneously, providing opportunities of varied outdoor recreation. The National Park is located between the altitudes from 600 up to 5000 m above sea level.
The picturesque forests, including the Shrenka firs and their companion small-leaved Sivers, apple-trees, hawthorns, wild apricots, Tien-Shan mountain ash, and other kinds of trees and bushes are the dominant vegetation.
The Park is unique in its natural characteristics and aesthetic qualities. It is really fantastic, because during one day you can mimic an extraordinary trip of several thousands kilometres length from the Kazakh steppes up to the Arctic.
And our visitors and tourists have an opportunity to see the unique vertical landscape zoning from the hottest foothill semi-deserts and dry steppes at the Park entrance up to the cool Alpine meadows, tundra, perpetual snows and glacial tops of high mountains.
Vegetation includes over 1200 kinds of plants, and in general, by variety, is representative of the whole northern Tien-Shan. The Alpine and sub-Alpine zones (from 2400 m up to 3400 m) are characterised by the picturesque meadows, among which one can see wonderful high mountain sedge-moss swamps.
Juniper thickets appear a little bit lower down. The bush-forest belt is located in the middle of mountains at the height of 1600 - 2800 meters above sea level. The splendid deciduous and coniferous forests in combination with grasses are most characteristic here.
Foothills, mostly known as "counters", occupy the 1400-1600 m belt. It is a mountain steppe, with changing groves of rare wild apple-trees, apricots and asps. We are proud, that the Zailiy Alatau mountains are considered by scientists to be the origin of all the cultivated kinds of apples.
The National Park flora includes many rare and endemic types. 36 types of grass, bush and trees plants are in the Red Book. Ancient flowers, such as two types of tulips, an iris and a peon are among them. By the way,
tulips just from the Zailiy Alatau, under the historians' opinions, arrived in Asia Minor through the Silk Road in the Middle Ages, and from there to Holland, where, currently, they are recognised as a National symbol. Rich and varied is the National Park wilderness.
Over 1500 kinds of invertebrates and 213 species of vertebrates inhabit it. 47 species of mammals, 148 kinds of birds, 8 kinds of reptiles, 2 types of amphibians and 8 kinds of fish are among them.
One can see a deer-maral and a roe (deer) in the deep forest and open spaces often, and a Siberian wild mountain goat (teke) higher in a rockier places. Wild boar, wolf, fox, badger and, also, mouse-like rodents are not rare there. the Middle Ages, and from there to Holland, where, currently, they are recognised as a National symbol.
Rich and varied is the National Park wilderness. Over 1500 kinds of invertebrates and 213 species of vertebrates inhabit it. 47 species of mammals, 148 kinds of birds, 8 kinds of reptiles, 2 types of amphibians and 8 kinds of fish are among them.
One can see a deer-maral and a roe (deer) in the deep forest and open spaces often, and a Siberian wild mountain goat (teke) higher in a rockier places. Wild boar, wolf, fox, badger and, also, mouse-like rodents are not rare there.

Authority:
"Zhetysu is the Land of  tourism”. A Tourist Guide-book. Almaty.  2003. 68 p. and the material for this page is taken from the printed edition. “Central Asia Mountains”. 2009, Almaty,Publishing house “Mektep”. Authos Aldar Gorbunov, Anna Ivachenko, Sharipa Bisarieva.

Photos
Alexander Petrov.