Western Tien-Shan

The Western Tien-Shan (situated in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan) is the westernmost part of the Tianshan mountain range, and the eastern part (in China) is a separate WHS under the name of Xinjiang Tianshan.

I visited one of the three components in Kyrgyzstan: Sary Chelek National Park. I did so with a private driver annex guide, whom I had hired to take me from Bishkek to Osh in 5 days. We stopped for one night each in Toktogul and Arslanbob (known for its walnut forests), and for two nights in Arkit, the gateway to Sary Chelek National Park. It’s a fairly remote site, some 100km from the next sizeable town. The winding road leading up there however is almost fully paved. During summer the park sees a lot of tourists, and numerous homestays and yurt camps have opened up.

The things to look out for when you want to experience this site’s OUV, are the wild fruit and nut forests. These were also the main goal of our hike during the first late afternoon. Although the farming village of Arkit already lies in the core zone, the proper entrance to the park lies on its outskirts. We were allowed to enter by the friendly park ranger although they already had closed for the day – we would be back the next day and pay our fees. 

This indeed is a very forested area, especially compared to the almost barren Kyrgyzstan that I had seen so far. Some …

I visited this WHS in June 2017. I had already seen the snow capped Western Tien Shan mountains from afar in Turkestan, Kazakhstan and while crossing the border to Uzbekistan. However, since I had more free time available in Tashkent and since the best month to visit the inscribed reserves in Kazakhstan is in April/May (especially for flora), I opted for a very long day trip from Tashkent in Uzbekistan to the Bashkizilsay area of the Chatkal State Biosphere Nature Reserve.

We left Tashkent with a private driver very early before sunrise heading towards Nevich on a 4x4 vehicle. We arrived near Nevich after 90 minutes on tarmac roads as it is only 65km from the Uzbek capital. The 4x4 vehicle came in handy from there onwards as we drove offroad, zigzagging uphill on what seemed like tractor trails on semi-cultivated hills. The blue glacial streams from the still snowy Tien Shan mountain peaks (35+ degrees when we visited in June!) got bigger and the small dwellings and ski 'resorts' got smaller the further on we drove. We stopped at around 900-1000m above sea level and started a moderate 9 hour loop hike up to around 1500-1600m in the Bashkizilsay area with a local mountain guide we had picked up near Nevich.

The UNESCO nomination file map and coordinates came in handy when organizing the trip and the guide took us on a moderate loop hike to appreciate the coniferous trees, gorges, small waterfalls, Tien Shan mountain scenery (bottom left …

Site just visited, July, 2017. As Paul carefully described Aksu-Zabagly National Park I will focus on Sary Chelek Nature Reserve in Kyrgyzstan, which comparing both sites I found much more interesting.

Sary Chelek is accessible by public transport. From Osh Bus Station (new one, north of the town centre) there is an everyday bus (marszrutka) to Sary Chelek (Arkit village) - 400 Kyrgyz som per seat, in theory it goes around 7.40 in the morning, when full goes earlier so it is advisable to be there around 7.20. You arrive in Arkit around 4 p.m.

Arkit seems to be well prepared for extensive tourism, many of village buildings are homestays, campsites, there are shops with basic food in the village. According to WHS website, being in Arkit, you are already within the borders of National Park, but the most interesting and scenic part of it lies a little bit more further, around the lakes.

To get there you should pass a toll both (price for foreigners to enter the reserve is 400 Kyrgyz som, no discounts for students or children), there is also a 400 Kyrgyz som fee for a car but locals seem to avoid that. There are around 8 km (road is not paved) from Arkit village to Sary Chelek lake, although local people tend to double that distance. Official price for the car to get to the lake is around 1000-1500 som (both ways, including waiting time), if walking it should be around 2 hours, one way.

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When planning to visit the W Tien Shan WHS during our May 2017 visit to Kazakhstan we were faced with the problem of which of the 7 locations situated inside that country (mostly in the general area of Shymkent/Taraz) we should aim for! In the end we chose the Aksu-Zhabagly Nature Reserve. It would appear that this is the most popular for non specialist visitors – it is set up to provide tourist entry to the reserve and is easy to access by road or rail from both the above mentioned cities – and thus for taking in on a route across Southern Kazakhstan without too much of a detour.

The nomination of W Tien Shan received a negative evaluation from IUCN who, among other matters, were not happy with the diffuse nature of the serial locations. In the end the WHC inscribed it solely on Criterion 10 for its biological diversity – but 2 locations in Kazakhstan described as “Palaeontological sites” were still inscribed despite the removal of Criterion 8 (“examples representing major stages of earth's history, including the record of life, significant on-going geological processes in the development of landforms…” etc). And that of course raises the issue of why you might want to visit this WHS. It is undoubtedly most significant for its flora and fauna and Aksu Zhabagly majors particularly on the former. The UK Natural History travel company Greentours raves about its “ rare Primula minkwitziae and a wide range of bulbs including lots of …