Celestial Silk Road 5-21 June 2016

A tour with Christopher Gardner

A spectacular traverse of the fabled Tien Shan, which stretch for fifteen hundred kilometres from Uzbekistan to western China and encompass a rich variety of landscapes and habitats from alpine turf to steppe and pencil spruce forests. These support a tremendous diversity of flora from vast drifts of primulas and trollius to the elegant spires of foxtail lilies and fabulous alpines that encrust the slopes of high passes reaching nearly four thousand metres. Woven into this are traces of the old Silk Road, especially the magnificent architecture of Samarkand, but also the remote caravanserai and ancient petroglyphs left by the ancestors of nomadic peoples that still spent their summers herding livestock in the vast mountain wilderness.  

Cultural pre-tour 1-5 June

Day I & II       To Bukhara via Tashkent

Fly to Tashkent and connect with internal flight to Bukhara. After a late breakfast we’ll take a walking tour of the main sites in the compact city. Overnight Bukhara.

Day III     Bukhara tour and to Samarkand

The second part of tour will take in Emir Palace outside the city before we transfer to Samarkand. Overnight Samarkand.

Day IV  Samarkand

A tour of the fantastic monuments of Samarkand, including; magnificent fluted dome of the Gur-i-Amir, the medrasa complex of the Registan, the fabulous blue-tiles of Shah-i-Zinda and the Observatory of Ulugbeg. Overnight Samarkand.

Day V   Ammankutan

To the south of Samarkand lie the granitic extension of the Hissar Range where at this season beautiful Iris stolonifera will be flowering alongside fox-tail lilies and other showy herbs. In the early afternoon we’ll return to the city for our fast train to Tashkent from where we’ll transfer to the cooler climes of Beldersay. Overnight Tashkent. We will join the main tour the following morning.

Main Tour

Day 1  Journey to Tashkent

We will travel to Uzbekistan via Istanbul and arrive in the early hours of Day 2.

Day 2  To Ugam-Chatkal

In the morning we’ll drive up to the cooler climes of Ugam-Chatkal nature reserve. The Chimgan Valley gives us the chance to explore developing meadows as well as to try and reach any late snow patches where Tulipa dubia or T. x tschimganica might still be present. Another beauty we hope to find is the stunning fine-lined Iris korolkovii and beautiful Morina kokanica. Overnight Beldersay.

Day 3 & 4  Ugam-Chatkal

Two day hikes into the green hills of the western Tien Shan take us into diverse herb-rich meadows in search of the impressive spires of Eremurus robustus that burst from shrubberies of honeysuckle and spiraea, alongside alliums, feathery-leaved fennels and plumes of creamy Polygala undulatum. Overnight Beldersay.

Day 5  To Aksu-Dzabagly, Kazakhstan

After breakfast we’ll drive to Tashkent and cross the border into neighbouring Kazakhstan. From here we transfer across the steppe to the small village of Dzbagly. Overnight Dzbagly.

Day 6 & 7   Aksu-Dzabagly Nature Reserve

Two full days will be spent exploring the flower-rich meadows and alpine slopes of this superb reserve. Near snowpatch will be Iris willmottianum and hopefully Allium karataviense alongside both Tulipa kaufmanniana and greigii, whilst on nearby rocks clings the lovely pink Primula minkwittsiae. The meadows will already be in full swing with Delphinium ceratophyllum, Linum olgae and many bushes of Rosa kokanica, whilst rocky slopes have Dictamnus albus and the lovely Morina kokanica.

Day 8  To Talas via Kara-Buura Pass (Kyrgyzstan)

From the steppe of Kazakhstan we cross the international border and cross the steppe of Kyrgyzstan, veering south to explore the 3300-metre Kara-Buura Pass, with stands of Eremurus fuscus on the lower slopes, turf studded with Trollius dzungaricus and colourful Chorispora bungeana on the rocky tops. Overnight Talas, the site of a pivotal battle in the history of the Silk Road, when the Arabs defeated the Chinese and captured their silk-making craftsmen.

Day 9  Otmok and Ala-Bel Passes

Vast populations of lilac-pink Primula algida colour the high turf on both of todays’ passes, where we will also find many Dracocephalum nutans, swathes of orangey Trollius altaicus, Allium fedtschenkoana and neat rosettes of Chorispora macropoda. Lower areas of steppe have Scutellaria przewalskii, Phlomoides speciosa and fetsinowii and the delicate Campanula alberti. Overnight among the spruces at Chitkan.

Day 10  To Kochkor

Below the high Tor-Ashu pass the slopes are clothed in deep pink Paeonia hybrida (depending on the season) and an assortment of tall herbs. Crossing the grassy steppe we enter rugged gorges with spectacular scree slopes and coloured rocks, which the lovely Chesneya ferganica calls home. There are some impressive old graveyards, abundant Iris halophila, Clematis songaricus and the curious deep-red Lindelofia stylosa alongside stands of Ligularia grandifolia and fields of Thermopsis turkestanica. Overnight Kochkor.

Day 11 Song-Kul

Surrounding the huge expanse of Song-Kul are alpine areas rich in flowers. Below the pass the incomparable Trollius lilacinus flowers near snow patch with Tulipa heterophylla, T. dasystemon and deep purple Allium atrosanguineum, whereas rocks overlooking the limpid waters of the lake are encrusted with saxifrages, androsaces and dracocephalums.  Descending from the lakeland plateau we find Primula brotheri, Doronicum turkestanicum and Corydalis gortschakovii. Overnight Naryn.

Day 12  Tash Rabat

A classic remnant of the old Silk Road the restored caravanserai at Tash Rabat embodies the harsh realities of travel along the road. Nearby cliffs have the refined beauty of Paraquilegia anemonoides, whilst hidden waterfalls have tumbling masses of Clematis alpina subsp. sibirica and Ligularia narynensis. Overnight Naryn.

Day 13  To Tamga

A delightful little valley full of Dactylorhiza umbrosa, Codonopsis clematidea and Primula matthiolia amongst other things interrupts the drive to the immense Issyk-Kul, the lake at the heart of the Kyrgyzstan. Peculiar dark brown parasitic Cynomorium songaricum burst form the bare ground among a host of new steppe flowers at the colourful Fairytale Canyon, a complex of red, orange and yellow rocks and clays. Overnight Tamga.

Day 14  Barskoon

A high, wide and wild plateau lies between mountain ridges, where drifts of Trollius lilacinus and golden Ranunculus albertii colour the wet turf and clumps of Allium semenovii nestle near the many alpine tarns. Heavy screes have countless Callianthemum alatavicum, and the localised gem Desideria flabellata whose lilac-pink flowers appear with intense magenta Primula nivalis. Overnight Karakol.

Day 15  Chonashu Pass

A diverse botanical mixture sees first tall meadows with Aconitum leucostomum, Polemonium caucasicum, Codonopsis clematidea, Veratrum lobelianum and wine-red Aquilegia atrovinosa before we climb to the high pass with screes peppered with Chorispora bungeana,  Aster alpinus, androsaces, saxifrages, and Corydalis fedtschenkoana. Views from the pass are spectacular. Overnight Karakol.

Day 16  Journey to Bishkek

For those leaving the tour now from Karakol we follow the shore of Lake Issyk-Kul stopping to look at the petroglyphs at Cholpon-Ata and the Burana Tower. Overnight Bishkek.

Day 17 Flights home

Kazakhstan extension 20-25 June;

Day 16 To Kolsai Lakes (Kazakhstan)

Our transfer to Kolsai Lakes crosses the international border before climbing to the cooler heights of the first of three beautiful lakes in this idyllic nature reserve. Overnight Kolsai.

 Day 17  Kolsai Lakes

We will spend the day walking to and from our base to the lovely middle lake in this idyllic nature reserve. Much of the flora will now be familiar but we hope to find the lovely Dracocephalum grandiflorum among edelweiss, delphiniums and creamy Corydalis nobilis and this wonderful location gives us a chance for some walks among the forests and meadows of the eastern Tien Shan.Overnight Kolsai.

Day 18  Kolsai Lakes

Today we will have the chance to hike up towards the upper lake and the high turf at 2650m. Overnight Kolsai

Day 19   Charyn Canyon and to Saryozek

In complete contrast to the green mountains we head down to the rich orange hues of the impressive Charyn Canyon before continuing across the steppe. Overnight Saryozek

Day 20  Altin-Emel National Park

Flowers take a back seat today for the extraordinary landscapes of this spectacular park where instead we enjoy richly-hued eroded hills, ancient burial mounds and petroglyphs. We’ll make the journey to Almaty in the late afternoon. Overnight Almaty.

Day 22  Flights home