Botanical tour to Kazakhstan’s Altai Mountains

Itinerary

Day 1.

• 9.00 – Transfer to Ridder
• 11.30 – Ridder city tour
• 13.00 – Lunch at a cafe in Ridder(optional)
• 14.00 – Excursion to Altai Botanical Garden. Botanical Garden, which has gathered unique and relict plants of Altai. The scientific staff of the garden will tell in detail about plants and work of scientists – florists. You will be surprised at the results of their work. For about 80 years, scientists have been bringing rare and relic plants from the expeditions and growing them on the specially protected natural territory of the garden.
• 16.30- Excursion to local Regional Museum
• 18.30- Check-in at the hotel
• 19.00- Dinner at a cafe in Ridder (optional)
• Rest in Altai Hotel

Day 2.

• 8.00 – Breakfast
• 9.00 – Start of the route
We use a car to move along the route with frequent stops without leaving the road at more than 300-meter distance to explore various types of plants. The road passes through several high-altitude zones, which makes it possible to see the plants of different zones within one day. The guide (a scientific worker and a florist) will tell in detail about plants and share some of their legends.
The route starts from Konovalovka village, runs along a gravel road along the picturesque foothills of the Ivanovskiy Ridge to Poperechnoe village. Considerable remoteness from the ocean and open seas causes the continentality of the climate with pronounced differences in daily temperatures.
Most part of the route is passed by car with some stops that offer a magnificent panorama of the eastern part of the Ivanovsky Ridge (the Three Brothers mountain range, Krestovayamountain, Broad Log). During the excursion you can see forests of Siberian firs (Abies sibirica) and relict plants, such as Wintergreen – Pýrola
Resurrection plant – Lycopódium clavátum
Ferns – Polypodiópsida
As well as the main forest-forming species, namely:
Warty birch – Bétula péndula
the furry Siberian pines, spruces, and firs  – Pínus sibirica.
In the undergrowth, you can see Siberian mountain ash (Sorbus sibirica),
Siberian red currant (Ríbesrúbrum),
Yellow acacia (Caragána arboréscens),
Altai honeysuckle (Lonícera altaicum).

At any time of the year the plants of Altai astonish visitors with the variegation of the grass stand, including primroses, such as: See next tab for a full list: 

• Lunch  (lunch box provided)
• Next part of the route in Poperechnoye village
• 17.30 Arrival at the Poperechnoye village. Check-in at guest houses
Poperechnoye is an ancient taiga village with a rich 250-year history. This cozy one-street village stands across the White Uba river, hence its name, and surrounded by picturesque landscapes – mountain ridges, hills covered with thick deciduous and coniferous forests, an abundance of fragrant herbs, and several sparkling rivers. The nature here is breathtakingly amazing.
• 19.00 Be ready for a warm welcome and hot homemade dinner
• Banya, Rest

Day 3. 

• 08.00 Slow breakfast made from natural farm products will fill you with power and energy for the whole day ahead
• 09.00 Special off-road transport equipped with minimum comforts will take you to West Altai Nature Reserve, which is one of the pearls in the crown of East Kazakhstan
The West-Altai State Nature Reserve covers an area of more than 86 000 hectares. Even though it is not the largest one in Kazakhstan, it does have many interesting places and mysterious phenomena on its territory.
It is going to amaze you with its beauty, enchant with furry firs and the singing of rare birds. 1-hour ride along the gravel road will take us to the Reserve.
At the beginning of the route, we find ourselves in a magical coniferous forest. Century cedars, spruces, firs, and larches hiding bushes and grasses under their canopy.
Here, we will have a 5-km walk and a 300-meter climb. Today, we will see the plants of alpine and subalpine zones. Member of the scientific staff of the Reserve will tell us about unique plants typical of West Altai and share the methods of their exploration and preservation.

We will also get to see some herbaceous plants:

Martagon lily or Turk’s cap lily- Lílium mártagon
Meadowsweet or mead wort – Filipéndula ulmária
Leopard’s bane – Doronicum
Buttercup – Ranúnculus
Marsh grass or Parnassus – Parnássia palústris
White clover – Trifolium repens
Meadow clover – Trifolium  pratense
Lousewort – Pedicularis
Leopard plant – Ligularia

• Lunch in the forest (lunch box provided)
• 18.00 Returning to Poperechnoye
• Dinner (based on your preferences)
• Banya, Rest

Day 4.

• A large breakfast before our departure to Ust-Kamenogorsk
• Transfer to Ust-Kamenogorsk
• Transfer to the airport

Plant list

Siberian Trout Lily – Erythrōnium sibīricum

Altai ‘crested lark’ – Corydalis,

Altai and Blue Anemones – Anemonoides,

Spring Primrose – Primula vulgaris,

and plants of the forests and meadows, namely

Alpine Delphinium – Delphínium elátum

Allium Microdictyon, Meadow Geranium – Geránium pretense

Aconítum leucostómum, Goldenrod– Solidágo gebler

Tuberous Jerusalem Sage – Phlomoídes tuberósa

Thalictrum – Thalictrum and other species. Damp glades among the forests may surprise you with sign plants of the Altai flora, such as Trollius Altaicus.

Also, we can see:

Herbaceous plants: European feather grass (bluegrass family) – Stipa pennata Alpine Onion, Crescus, Calba (leek family) – Allium microdictyon Altai Rhubarb (buckwheat family) – Rheum altaicum Golden Daisy (buttercup family) – Adonis villosa Eastern Pasqueflower, prairie crocus (buttercup family) – Pulsatilla patens Herbaceous perennial peony (peony family) – Paeonia anomala Tuberous flowering plant (barberry family) – Gymnospermium altaicum Golden Root (Crassulaceae family) – Rhodiola rosea Siberian Altai Plant (Rosaceaefamily) – Sibiraea altaiensis Maral Root, Russian Leuzea (Composite family) – Rhaponticum carthamoides

Altai onion – Allium altaicum

Asian species of wild onion– Allium ledebourianum Marsh-marigold, Kingcup – Caltha palustris

Siberian columbine – Aquilegia glandulosa Alpine sweetvetch – Hedysarumtheinum

Altai viola – Viola altaica Large-flowered Gentian – Gentianagrandiflora White hellebore – Veratrumlobelianum

Siberian Fawn Lily or Siberian Trout Lily Erythronium sibiricum (Fisch. etMey.) Kryl. Altay globeflowerTrollius altaicus C.A.Mey Herbaceous Perennial Peony Paeonia anomala L Meadowsweet or measwort Filipendula ulmaria (L.) Maxim Fireweed or Willowherb (Rosebay Willowherb) – Chamaenerionan gustifolium (L.) Scop Lathyrus Gmelini – Lathyrusgmelinii Fritsch Lungwort – Lungwort PulmonariamollisWulf. ex Hornem

Woody Plants:

CUPRESSACEAE Rich.etBartl. – the Cypress Family the Siberian juniper– Juniperus.sibiricaBurgsd.

BETULACEAE S. F. Gray – the Birch family Warty birch– Вetula pendula Roth (В.verrucosaEhrh.) GROSSULARIACEAE DC – the Shrub family Blackcurrant– Ribes nigrum. ROSACEAE Juss. – the Rose family the Spirea– Spiraea media Franz Schmidt the Siberian Mountain Ash– Sorbus sibirica Hedl. Red Raspberry– Rubus idaeus L. (R. sericeusGilib.) Sakhalin Raspberry– R. sachalinensis Levl. (R. matsumuranus Levl. Et Vaniot.) – Shrubby cinquefoil, tundra rose – Pentaphylloides fruticosa (L.) O.Schwarz

the Prickly wild rose or the Bristly rose – Rosa acicularis Lindl. Scotch (Burnet) Rose– R. spinosissima L. (R. pimpinellifolia.) Bird cherry (hackberry) – Padusavium Mill. (Р. racemosa (Lam.) Gilib.) –

Altai Siberian plant– Sibiraeaaltaiensis (Laxm.) Schneid. (S. laevigata (L.) Maxim.) SAMBUCACEAE Batsch ex Borkh. – the Flowering plants Siberian elderflower– Sambucus sibirica Nakai CAPRIFOLIACEAE Juss. – the Honeysuckle family Altai honeysuckle – Lonicera altaica Pall. ex DC. Tatar honeysuckle– L. tatarica L.