Author: Alexandra Vlasova
Photographer: Alimjan Barangulov

Today I want to tell you about the beauty and magnificence I have been lucky enough to experience and about everything here in Central Asia, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Almaty region, the land of Semirechye, the land of legends and the pure nature of Kazakhstan. I hope someday your route will also lead to the shores of the transparent and salubrious waters.

The journey began in a comfortable bus in Almaty for the group of journalists gathered by the Akimat of the Almaty region. We arrived first in the green and modern city of Taldykorgan where we had a sightseeing tour of the city and surroundings, somewhere I advise every traveler or tourist to visit. Our route then led along the shores of the most beautiful lake in Semirechye, Lake Balkhash. Locals told us the legend of the lake:

Long time ago a bai of Balkhash had a beautiful daughter, Ili. The bai announced a celebration toi and the winner was promised his beautiful daughter as a wife. However the bai’s daughter loved a poor shepherd Karatal and he loved her. Ili helped the shepherd win the competition. But Balkhash didn’t want to give his daughter to a plain and poor shepherd. So Ili and Karatal ran away. The infuriated father couldn’t catch up with the escapees so he turned them into rivers and fell into them, turning into a lake and swallowing up his disobedient daughter. ]

The nature of Balkhash is extremely rich, with many kinds of birds and animals living on the lake, such as pelicans, seagulls, a white swan, only seen in inaccessible areas of the lake, a muskrat, a little bittern, a teal, a pheasant, a goldeneye, a great black-headed gull, an egret, included in the Red Book, a hog which has become a master of reed tangles and many more. Now the ichthyo-fauna of the lake numbers five families including 28 kinds of fish: pike-perch, bream, Caspian roach, sheatfish, asp, grass carp, barbel, tench, ship and the most widespread – carp. The marinka has become the first mystery of Balkhash. This river fish has transformed into a river form and adapted itself to eating mud and organisms.

I would like to point out the most important thing, that improvement and construction works in the recreation and environment zones on the lake planned by the Akimat are now being carried out. There will be wonderful places for rest and relaxation on the lake soon which thousands of people will be able to enjoy. Now in the area of Leps there are already several recreation centers that accept guests from Kazakhstan as well as from Russia and abroad.

The medicinal features of the water and mud available in sufficient quality in coastal areas are being studied. There are plans to open mud clinics in the near future.

So our journey leads on to the east of the Almaty region, to Lake Alakol.

Other impressions that would remain in our hearts for a long time awaited us here.

The roads we were traveling along were not the best but we were informed they were under reconstruction and the state plan for the development of the Alakol district had been approved. Recreation centers will be built, communications improved and we already saw several recreation centers and tourist bases up and running and offering comfortable cottages as well as various activities.

Lake Alakol is the second biggest of the inland lakes of Kazakhstan and the only deep water lake among the enclosed lakes of the republic. The lake is situated between the snowy peaks of Djungar Alatau and blue ranges of Tarbagatay in the north-eastern Alamata region; it measures 2700 sq. km and is 50 meters deep.

The Alakol water is salty. In summer it is very warm, and the shore is covered with fine black pebbles warmed by the sun. Experts attribute extraordinary medicinal features to Alakol: besides the healthy water there is hydrosulphuric mud and the clear steppe air. The fishing and hunting around the lake is interesting and plentiful. There is also the Alakol State Natural Park, situated in the south-eastern part of Lake Sasykol in the Alakol area. There one can see rare birds: a relic gull, a houbara bustard (Jack), a bustard Dudak, a great black-headed gull, a Caspian tern, a gull-billed tern, Dalmatian and European white pelicans, a white-headed duck and many other rare and near-extinct waterfowl, desert and mountain birds. Animals can also be seen: argalis, saigas, Capricorns, marals, bears and others. In a week’s stay tourists can familiarize themselves with the flora and fauna of the landscape from the highlands of Djungar Alatau to the deserts near Balkhash.

We were not just tourists, we were acting as eyes for those who have not seen this beauty and each of us has tried to express it as best we can in our articles.

I would like to add that we should look carefully at the nature surrounding us and try at least once to visit these places that are so close and so much a part of us, and try also to take part in their improvement and development, to make less mess, and try to save the nature for those who will come after us.

I want to thank the Akimat of the Almaty region for organising this informational press-tour and Discovery Central Asia travel magazine that was represented by me there to wish them the achievement of their goals and good luck as well. I hope after several years we again will find ourselves in these now familiar places as tourists appreciating all the work being done.