Tulips grow wild in the western Tien Shan, and this is where they come from. In April and early May, the foothills of the Talas Alatau, in southern Kazakhstan, turn red, yellow and white with several species of wild tulip, including Greig's tulip, which gave rise to many garden varieties. The Aksu-Jabagly State Nature Reserve, founded in 1926, is the oldest in Central Asia, and it protects a section of this range, from steppe foothills to snowy peaks over four thousand metres.
Karabastau is one of the entry points to the reserve, a gorge where the Aksu river emerges from the mountains. Some twenty-five kilometres from the nearest village, Bayzhansay, it is a place of cliffs, juniper woods and meadows, and rock carvings of animals, hunters and symbols, some thousands of years old, can be found in the nearby canyon. The reserve shelters argali, ibex and brown bears, with snow leopards in the high country, and birds such as the lammergeier soar above the cliffs. It forms part of the Western Tien-Shan, a UNESCO site since 2016.
Access is controlled. The reserve and the border zone beyond it require permits, which you usually arrange in advance through the reserve office, and rangers at the entrance check them. The tracks are rough, with fords and stones, and are best taken on a light bike or in a hired jeep with a driver who knows the water levels. Spring floods and summer storms can wash out the road, and snow closes it in winter. Take extra fuel, tools and plenty of water.
Fuel and food are not available at the gorge. The nearest reliable places lie a long way off, and the big city of Shymkent has everything. Local families in Bayzhansay sometimes offer simple meals of bread, tea, cheese and mutton soup. Carry what you need and be self-sufficient.
April, when the tulips are out and the snow still lies on the peaks, is the moment to come.