Phototours around the  Issyk-Kul Lake.

"A bird does not make the gift itself, rather a character that allows 
not to be afraid to stand on the edge. And a soul capable of flying"

Oksana Demchenko.

A trip from Almaty to Issyk-Kul Lake.

The fauna of nearby mountains and valleys is unique. Here in the neighborhood, and even in general on one territory, typically live forest and steppe animals. In the western, desert part of the hollow, you can meet the characteristic inhabitants of the deserts: jerboas, gerbils, and in some places graceful antelope-gazelles. In the east, in the lower zone of mountains and in the foothills, you will most often encounter gophers and hamsters.
There is also a small Central Asian hare-Tolai. They are actively hunted by foxes, ferrets, steppe cats and porcupines. The western desert part of the basin is inhabited by typical representatives of the desert fauna jerboa-jumper and combed gerbil, and in the south-west even the antelope gazelle survived.
In the eastern part of the depression to the lower boundary of the forest comes the relict Tien-Shan gopher. In the settlements there are homey and lighter Spanish sparrows. Here you can often see the alpine daw, the Himalayan finch and the red-bellied redstart.
Usually covered with wings, the red plumage of this bird flares up as the redstart takes off. But the most characteristic inhabitant of the highlands is the Himalayan mountain turkey. In the areas located in the upper rocky zone of the mountains, every day usually begins with the melodic pre-dawn song of the Ular.
On the coast in dense thickets of sea buckthorn and reed live pheasants. In the foothill  there is also a small Central Asian hare-Tolai and gray hamster. The steppes are characterized by such species of birds as the redstart, bunting  and eagle.
Roe deer, brown and Himalayan bear, wolf and lynx come across. Even higher are the ibex and mountain sheep-argali, and their main enemy is the snow leopard. In the stone scree the small but brave hunters hide: ermine and weasel.
Their main food is small rodents, but they can attack a low flying bird, jumping on her back and having a bite of her head or neck. A typical inhabitant of the high mountains is a gray marmot. In the 1940s, the fauna of the Issyk-Kul region was also replenished with squirrels, columns and muskrats brought here.
Waters of Issyk-Kul, rich in oxygen, inhabit 13 species of fish belonging to the families of carp, salmon, including naked osman, carp, gray char.

Authority:
B. I. Rukavishnikov. "Lake Issyk Kul and Ridge Teskey Alatau". Moscow, "Physical culture and sport", 1970.