Tajikistan

Tugay forests

WHS Score 0.38
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  • Szucs Tamas

The Tugay Forests of the Tigrovaya Balka Nature Reserve represent one of the largest remaining tugay ecosystems, a form of riparian forest associated with fluvial and floodplain areas in arid climates.

The reserve is irrigated by the Vakhsh and Panj rivers, with numerous meanders and cut-off bodies of water. The natural landscape holds the sandy Kashka-Kum desert on one hand and tugay forest with numerous lakes on the other hand. The area is the habitat of salt-tolerant trees such as the Asiatic Poplar and wildlife like Bactrian Deer, Goitered Gazelle and Striped Hyena.

Community Perspective: Szucs Tamas tells about his ordeals to reach it, and concludes: DO NOT GO THERE. 

Site Info

Official Information
Full Name
Tugay forests of the Tigrovaya Balka Nature Reserve (ID: 1685)
Country
Tajikistan
Status
Inscribed 2023 Site history
History of Tugay forests
2023: Inscribed
Inscribed
WHS Type
Natural
Criteria
  • ix
Links
UNESCO
whc.unesco.org
All Links
UNESCO.org

Community Information

  • Community Category
  • Natural landscape: Forest
Travel Information
Reservation required
Reservation required
"Entrance to the nature reserve is by permission only."
Recent Connections
View all (13) .
Connections of Tugay forests
Geography
Ecology
  • Swamps and Marshes
    "The remaining 5.5 thousand hectares are occupied by lakes, swamps. " (nom file)
  • Otters
    Mid-Asian otter (nom file)
  • Gray Wolf
    "steppe wolf (Canis lupus campestris)" (nom file) (a subspecies of grey wolf native to the Caspian steppes)
  • Steppe
    "The reserve hosts various ecological units, not only tugay lowland forests, but also steppe and semi-desert areas" (AB ev)
  • Dunes
    "Drifting dunes are characteristic of the southeastern part of the reserve and are located northwest of the foot of the Buritau massif." (nom file)
World Heritage Process
WHS on Other Lists
  • Centres of Plant Diversity
    CA3 Mountains of Middle Asia - "The 24,100 hectares of tugay forests in the reserve represent the largest and most intact tugay forest of this type in Central Asia"
  • WWF Global 200
    Terrestrial, Montane Grasslands and Shrublands: (111) Middle Asian Montane Steppe and Woodlands

    See web.archive.org

Timeline
Visiting conditions
News

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Recent Visitors
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Reserved for members.

Community Reviews

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First published: 18/09/23.

Szucs Tamas

Tugay Forests

Tugay forests (Inscribed)

Tugay forests by Szucs Tamas

To get to Tigrovaya Balka you need quite a lot of preparation, stamina, private transport ( the closest sizeable city is Bokhtar/Qurghonteppa) , and at least a basic knowledge of Russian/Persian, but - believe me - does not worth the effort. First you need a good local connection/fixer, as you need - as we understood - two type of permits. One from the OVIR (Ministry of Interior), where it is clearly stated which part of the border area you want to visit. A general "border pass" from the OVIR is not enough, Tigrovaya Balka has to be stated on the paper. On the other hand you have to get the permit from the office of the National Parks from Dushzambe (64 Druzhba narodov, near the Orthodox Church). Finally you have to register at the border protection agency in the nearest village (Dusti), and make a copy of your passport (the border guards do not have a photocopy machine). If you have an aforementioned good fixer, he can prepare these papers beforehand, and with these - after the registration - you can easily visit the site. We had a bad one who did not prepare the necessary papers so we had to wait three hours in front of a closed door, waiting for the proper papers to be sent there. During this time we visited the museum - it took not more than 20 minutes even if we read all the panels. It's only three rooms, some soviet era oversaturated photos, …

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