Bulbs of the Stans

A truly remarkable display of colourful tulips carpet the mountains and valleys of Southern Kazakhstan in spring. Chief among them are the magnificent goblets of Greig’s Tulip which come in an unforgettable pageant of reds, oranges and yellows. Beautiful water-lily flowers of Tulipa kaufmanniana adorn the lower slopes of the Mountains of Heaven like so many jewels, while swathes of multi-coloured Tulipa ostrowskiana and Tulipa kolpakowskiana shine in the crystal clear air of these Central Asian Mountains.

Stunning red Tulipa albertii and luminous yellow and orange Tulipa lehmanniana are among twenty species of Tulip that include rarities such as Tulipa buhseana, Tulipa tetraphylla and the lovely bicoloured Tulipa zenaidae. Most recently we’ve added the beautiful Tulipa lemmersii, only described two years ago, a yellow beauty known as yet only from west‑facing rocks in a single canyon. But these are just part of a floral extravaganza. Fritillary-like Korolkovia severzovii and Rhinopetalum stenantherum, with their strange coloured bells, the latter a stunning pink, mix with bright yellow Anemones and a colourful variety of elegant Corydalis species. By patches of snow are the white stars of Crocus alatavicus and along with half a dozen species of Iris is the many-hued Iridodictyum kolpakovskianum. We’ll walk in the famous Aksu-Dzhabagly reserve where we’ll see Siberian Ibex and the globally endangered Arkhar on flowery slopes. Sometimes we encounter Isabelline Brown Bears as they select the most succulent greenery in rich turf by patches of snow. The Sugaty Plateau in the Ketmen Mountains is home to Desert Warbler and elegant Pallas’s Sandgrouse, and Susliks will whistle at us as we enjoy a fine display of bright yellow Tulipa iliensis and lovely Iris scariosa. Bird migration will be in full swing. Flocks of up to a thousand Demoiselle Cranes will be a fantastic sight. Resident Blue Whistling Thrushes and Brown Dippers are joined by migrant Blue-headed Redstarts and Black-throated Thrushes feeding in rocky valleys ablaze with Juno subdecolorata, Iris ruthenica, Paeonia hybrida and the milky wands of Eremurus lactiflorus.

For the second part of the our Central Asian bulb odyssey we move to Kyrgyzia.

Over ninety per cent of the country lies above the top of the UK’s highest mountain! Independent after the collapse of Soviet rule in Central Asia, this stunningly beautiful country never actually existed before the Soviet Union, rather it was invented (as an autonomous region) in the 1920s by Stalin. Perhaps not surprising then that few of us know much about this land of alpine lakes, fast-flowing rivers, rolling steppelands, conifer forests and rare walnut forests that lie between the arms of the giant snow-capped peaks of the Celestial Mountains.

Bishkek will provide us with a comfortable base to explore the bulb-rich Alexander Range and the Besh-Kungei Hills. We’ll also explore Kastek, Kemin and Kungei Mountains and we’ll visit a number of gorges including the famed Archaly Gorge, beautiful Oruu-Sai, and, on the last day of the tour, the Belogorka Gorge. During the middle part of the tour we’ll travel to the flower-filled Suusamyr Valley, explore the Fergana and Talas Mountains, and visit several passes including the high Otmyok.

These areas are home to some very fine flowers. Tulips will be a major focus. Alongside the classical scarlet goblets of Tulipa greigii are swathes of yellow and white Tulipa tarda. There’s newly described Tulipa lazkovii, variable Tulipa ostrowskiana, with its red, yellow or any combination in between blooms, and if we are not too late the shiny white stars of Tulipa jacquesii. Egge-yolk yellow Tulipa kolpakowskiana are a delight. Still there’s more. We’ll see Tulipa dasystemon, Tulipa tetraphylla, pure yellow Tulipa talassica, and yellow and red Tulipa zenaidae. Fritillaria ferganensis scrambles through shrubberies of bright yellow Rosa ecae. Flowering spires of the rather genteel (for a fox-tail lily) Eremurus zoae dot hillsides where we will also find Pedicularis albertii and Allium caricifolium as well as bright yellow Glaucium fimbrilligerum. Irises are varied and we’ll see species such as Iris loczyi, Iris albertii, and the gorgeous little pale blue Iridodictyum kolpakowskianum whose falls are dipped in purple ink. Red-pink Paeonia intermedia will impress and on the same hillsides are the tall brownish wands of Eremurus cristatus and the fabulous tall Eremurus robustus. Nearby higher ground yields pink and white Corydalis ledebouriana, Gagea liotardii, and little Colchicum kesselringii. Chorispora bungeana is that classic alpine, a little mound of large pink flowers that almost completely covers the foliage. Its cousin Chorispora sibirica is yellow. Also here are luminous yellow Adonis chrysocyathus, Glaucium elegans, Viola altaica, Colchicum luteum and Juno orchioides. Under the pretty pink blooms of the small tree Louiseania ulmifolia we’ll find Allium karataviense, Allium dodecadontum and yet another foxtail lily, Eremurus lactiflorus. The variety seems never-ending, and the landscapes one fabulous vista are another.

NB Trip reports for these magnificent longer tours are too unwieldy to download from the website, let alone read in one go, so trip reports are listed for each section of the tour.