Kyrgyzia

Over ninety per cent of Kyrgyzia 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 steppe lands, 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 elegant yellow Tulipa ferganica, 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. Still there’s more. We’ll see Tulipa dasystemon, Tulipa tetraphylla, pure yellow Tulipa talassica, and yellow and red Tulipa zenaidae. 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 songarica, 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. 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 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.