Almaty - the Big Almaty Lake - Borandasu -
Tamgaly-Tas - Taukumy - Topar Lakes - Zheltorangy - Sorbulak - Altyn-Emel -
Aksu-Dzhabagly preserve - Almaty
Season: April 15 - May - June; August 15;
September.
Duration: 7 days; 7 - 14 days;
Day 1. Almaty - the Big Almaty Lake.
Morning: transfer to the Big Almaty gorge (Ile-Al
atau national park). One hour
stop at the falcon nursery, watching saker falcons, merlins, barbary falcons,
peregrine falcons, goshawks, golden eagles, and eagle-owls. Taking mountain road
to the Big Almaty Lake (20km). En-route watching blue whistling thrushes, brown
dippers, black birds, misle thrushes, wood pigeons, black birds, grey wagtails
and masked wagtails, coal tits, nutcrackers, tree pipits, and golden eagles.
Stop at the mountain lake, packed lunch. Hiking (3 hour) along the coast,
watching ibisbills, dippers, ruddy shellducks, grey gold finches, red-fronted
serins, eversmann's resdtarts, black-throated accentors, and marmots. Dinner,
sauna and sleeping in a house.
Day 2. The Big Almaty Lake.
Breakfast in the house, hiking to the Marble Meadow (1 km), 3 hour stop.
Watching Himalayam rubythroats, Sevetzov's Tit-warblers, white-winged grosbeaks,
Tian-Shan redmantled rose finches, booted eagles, kestrels, merlins, wrens, tree
pipits, carrion crows, marmots, and treecreepers. Hike to the Space Station (8
km), 3 hour stop, packed lunch. Watching Himalayan snow cocks, alpine choughs,
alpine accentors, brown accentors, Hodgson's rosy finches, Brandt's rosy
finches, Guldenstadt's redstarts, and ravens. Return to the gorge, dinner and
sleeping in the house.
Day 3. The Big Almaty Lake - Almaty - Borandasu - Tamgaly-Tas - Taukumy
Breakfasts in the house, transfer to Barandasu (about 160 km) via Almaty, Chilik
and Masak. Watching birds flying to an artesian well: black-bellied sandgrouses
and Pallas' sandgrouses, desert finches, red-headed buntings, turtle doves,
wheattears, Turkestan red-tailed shrikes, great grey shrikes, and rufous bush
robins. 2 hour stop for lunch (packed). Transfer to Tamgaly Tas (about 300 km)
via Almaty, Kaskelen, Samsy, Kopy and Karabastau. One stop to watch birds
inhabitting rocks: red-headed buntings, grey-necked buntings, eastern rock
nuthatches, roller kingfishers, hoopoes, chukars, long-legged buzzards, and
larks. Optional: visiting a gallery of petroglyphs. Transfer to Kanshegel (about
80 km) by the Karaganda highway. Dinner at the camel farm in Taukumy, sleeping
in a house or tents.
Day 4. Taukumy - Topar Lakes - Zheltorangy - Taukumy
Breakfast at the camel farm, transfer to an artesian well (4 km) and watching
black-bellied sandgrouses, pin-tailed sandgrouses, Isabelline wheatears,
demoiselle cranes, ruddy shellducks, little ringed plovers, caspian plovers,
houbara bustards, desert warbler, mongolian trumpeter finches, bimaculated
larks, calandra larks, and short-toed larks. Transfer to Topar (about 100 km)
via Kanshengel. The road goes through hilly sands, saxaul bushes and lakes. One
hour stop at the Topar lakes, packed lunch. Watching red-crested pochards,
ferruginous ducks, common shellducks, black-winged stilts, coots, grey and white
herons, dalmatian pelicans, black terns, bitterns, paddyfield warblers, great
reed warblers, nightingales, and Cetti's warblers. Taking the same road back via
Zheltorangy to Turanga wood (about 30 km). Watching white-wiged woodpeckers,
saxaul sparrows, grey tits, yellow-eyed stock doves, rollers, hoopoes, kestrels,
lesser kestrels, hobbies, desert finches, and pheasants. Transfer to the Ili
river flood-plain (5 km), one hour stop. Return to Kanshengel (the camel farm),
dinner and sleep.
Day 5 Taukumy - Sorbulak - Altyn-Emel
Breakfast at the camel farm and transfer to Altyn-Emel national park (about 350
km) by the Karaganda highway via Sorbulak, Kapchagai, Shengeldy and Kerbulak.
One hour stop at the Sorbulak Lake for lunch (packed). Watching white and
Dalmatian pelicans, cormorants, herring gulls, great black-headed gulls,
gull-billed terns, black-winged stilts, ruddy shelducks, red-crested pochards,
great crested grebes, rose-coloured starlings, and calandra larks enroute.
Proceeding to Altyn-Emel via Dmitriev bridge. Stop at the Taigak cordon.
Watching until dark chukars, blue rock thrushes, rock thrushes, azure tits,
white-capped buntings, stonechats, pied wheataers, sparrowhawks, golden eagles,
black vultures, lesser grey shrikes, nightingales, red-rumped swallows, crag
martins, swifts, masked wagtails, and mountain goats. Banya (Russian type of
sauna), sleeping in a house or tents.
Day 6. Altyn-Emel
Breakfast at the Taigak cordon and taking a steppe road along the Kapchagai
reservoir to the Singing Dune via Mynbulak cordon (about 100km). Watching
Turkestan red-tailed shrikes, ruddy shelducks, great gray shrikes, tawny pipits,
long-legged buzzards, black-bellied sandgrouses, Pallas' sandgrouses, avocets,
common shelducks, Dalmatian pelicans, herring gulls, jeirans, and koulans. Two
hour stop. Watching masked wagtails, black vultures, pheasants, lesser kestrels,
hares, and jeirans. Return to the Mynbulak cordon, dinner, sleeping in a house
or tents.
Day 7. Altyn-Emel
Breakfast at the Mynbulak cordon, taking a steppe road to the Kzylaus cordon
(about 100 km). Three hour stop, watching chukars, masked wagtails, grey tits,
white-capped buntings, red-headed buntings, lesser whitethroats, swifts, rock
thrushes and blue rock thrushes, golden eagles, griffon vultures, black
vultures, lammergeiers, short-toed eagles, Egyptian vultures, long-legged
buzzards, ravens, and mountain goats. Packed lunch. Taking a steppe road to the
Taigak cordon (about 50 km). Watching birds, dinner. Sleep.
Day 8. Altyn-Emel - Almaty
Breakfast at the Taigak cordon, return to Almaty (about 150 km). Rest, lunch in
a restaurant, excursion to the Zoo and Botanical Garden. Taking a night train to
Tyulkubas station in Shymkent region (about 750 km). Packed lunch (alternative:
rest, lunch in a restaurant, driving to Aksu-Dzhabagly preserve, sleeping in the
Chu river flood-plain or in the mountains near the city of Taraz).
Day 9. Aksu-Dzhabagly preserve
Arrival in the preserve's headquarters. Lunch and excursion to the Karatau
mountains (about 50 km), two hour stop. Watching short-toed eagles, Egyptian
vultures, white storks, chukars, eastern rock nuthatches, orphean warblers,
Hume's lesser whitethroats, bee eaters, and blue-cheeked bee eaters. Transfer to
the bakara gorge (about 50 km), three-hour stop, packed lunch. Watching paradise
flycatchers, golden orioles, black-headed penduline tits, Indian sparrows,
masked wagtails, lesser gray shrikes, long-tailed shrikes, turtle doves,
collared doves, and laughing doves. Return to the preserve's headquarters,
dinner, sleeping in a house.
Day 10 and 11. Aksu-Dzhabagly preserve
Breakfast. Riding horses to the Kshi-Kaindy pass (about 10 km). Accomodation in
a small wooden house. Touring around surroundings for the next two days.
Watching red-headed buntings, rock buntings, tawny pipits, yellow-breasted azure
tits, chukars, golden eagles, alpine choughs, brown accentors, Himalayan
rubythroats, whitethroats, Hodgsons's rosy finches, Brandt's rosy finches, grey
goldfinches, Guldenstadt's redstarts, red-fronted serins, mountain goats, bears,
and marmots. Lunch. Dinner. Sleep. Breakfast and lunch in the house on the pass.
In the evening, descend to the preserve's headquarters, dinner and sleeping in
the house.
Day 12. Aksu-Dzhabagly preserve
Breakfast. Transfer by a vehicle to the Chushkakol Lake in the steppe (about 250
km). Spending the rest of the day at the lake, packed lunch, sleeping in tents
or the hunter's house. Watching white-tailed plovers, collared pratincoles,
black-winged stilts, stone curlews, marsh sandpipers, demoiselle cranes,
Montagu's harries, pallid harriers, long-legged buzzards, blue-cheeked bee
eaters, black-headed wagtails, tawny pipits, tree pipits, steppe eagles, and
larks.
Day 13. Aksu-Dzhabagly preserve
Breakfast at the Chushkakol Lake. Bird watching continued. Return to the
preserve's headquarters (about 250 km). Packed lunch on the way, dinner. Taking
night train to Almaty from the Tyulkubas station (alternatively, driving a car
to Almaty with an overnight stop near the city of Taraz).
Day 14.
Arrival in Almaty, rest, lunch in a restaurant, tour around the city, transfer
to the airport.
