Aksu-Zhabagly reserve and the Aksu canyon

The oldest nature reserve in Central Asia, where wild tulips bloom in spring and the Aksu river cuts a deep canyon.

Region

South

Start from

Shymkent

Distance

about 100 km

Time needed

2–3 days

Best season

April – June

Difficulty

Moderate

Transport

Car or bus to Zhabagly village

Permits

Reserve entry permit; hiking only with a ranger or registered guide

Why go

Aksu-Zhabagly, founded in 1926, is the oldest nature reserve in the region and part of the Western Tian-Shan UNESCO site. In spring the meadows are full of wild tulips, including Greig's tulip, the ancestor of many garden tulips you know.

The reserve protects ibex, argali, bears, snow leopards and a huge variety of birds. Even without spotting rare mammals, the walks through juniper slopes and alpine meadows are superb.

Just outside, the Aksu canyon is a dramatic gorge several hundred metres deep, with a green river at the bottom. A path leads down from the rim.

The story

When the reserve was created in 1926, it was the first in Central Asia. Its scientists have studied the Western Tian-Shan for a century, and the reserve's small museum in Zhabagly shows some of their work.

Inside the reserve is the Karabastau palaeontological site, where layers of an ancient lake have preserved fossils of fish, insects and plants from the Jurassic period in remarkable detail.

Greig's tulip, with its bright red flowers and striped leaves, grows wild here. Dutch breeders used wild Central Asian tulips to develop many of the cultivated varieties in gardens around the world, so the flowers you see in Aksu-Zhabagly are, in a sense, the ancestors of the tulips in Amsterdam.

Getting there

From Shymkent, drive or take a bus to Zhabagly village, the main base. Guesthouses there can arrange reserve permits, rangers and horse treks.

The Aksu canyon rim is reachable by car from the nearby villages; ask your hosts for directions.

A suggested plan

1. Day 1Arrive in Zhabagly, settle in, arrange the permit and ranger.
2. Day 2Guided hike into the reserve, for example to the Kshi-Kaindy gorge or the tulip meadows in spring.
3. Day 3Morning at the Aksu canyon: walk down to the river and back (steep), then return to Shymkent.

Where to stay

Family guesthouses in Zhabagly with home-cooked food; a few eco-lodges.

Good to know

• Late April to mid-May is the peak tulip season; dates vary each year.
• Binoculars and a long lens pay off for wildlife.
• Horse treks are a good way to cover more ground.