A Reserve for Eco-Tourism Enthusiasts
The Karatala-Japyrik State Nature Reserve is a specially protected natural area in Kyrgyzstan, an oasis of magnificent wildlife in the Naryn region, with unique flora and fauna.
The reserve is located 16 km south of the famous high-altitude lake Son-Kul. The state reserve was established in 1994 to preserve the unique nature, rare and endangered species of animals and plants of the Central Tien Shan, as well as to maintain the overall ecological balance of the region. At that time, the area of the reserve was 5980 hectares.
Currently, the total area of the reserve is 36,392.6 hectares. The territory of the reserve consists of three separate sections:
The Karatala section, with an area of 5505 hectares, is located in the Naryn district, on the Moldo-Too ridge, at the beginning of the Karatala canyon, 90 km from the administrative center of the reserve;
The Son-Kul section has a total area of 8600 hectares, of which the protected water area is 5200 hectares, and land is 3400 hectares. The protected area is located on the northern side in the territory of the Kochkor district, and on the southern side in the territories of the Naryn and Ak-Tal districts. The Son-Kul section is 110 km from the administrative center of the reserve;
The Chatyr-Kul section has a total area of 22,287.6 hectares and is located in the Ak-Sai valley in the At-Bashy district, 250 km from the administrative center of the reserve.
Relief. The territory of the Karatala and Acha-Tash sections of the Karatala-Japyrik State Nature Reserve is located in the northwestern part of the Naryn district. Overall, the area represents a powerful mountain structure, significantly elevated (min. 2565 m, max. 3930 m above sea level) with a complex combination of ridges (Acha-Tash, Kyrgoo), which occupy a large part of the reserve's territory. The landscape structure of the reserve is characterized by diversity and variety. The most common are mountain-steppe, mountain-meadow, and mountain-rock-nival complexes. Mountain-steppe landscapes are mainly located on the southern slopes at altitudes of 2200 to 3000 m.
The climate of the region is continental, so summers are hot, and winters are frosty, with little precipitation, except in high-altitude areas (from 2200-3500 m). The July temperature here is only +11 to +16°C. Winter is long (November-March) with average January temperatures of -17 to -20°C. In other cold months, temperatures range from -10 to -17°C. In the upper part of the high-altitude zone, the frost-free period is reduced to 3-4 months or less, and above it, it may be absent, meaning that even the warmest months cannot avoid frost.
The nival zone (from 3500 m and above) is characterized by a harsh climate. This is the zone of snowfields, rocks, glaciers, and moisture accumulation. Even in the lower part of this zone, average July temperatures do not exceed +4 to +7°C, while average January temperatures drop to -22°C. The average annual precipitation ranges from 400 to 500 mm, with 300-400 mm during the warm period (April-October) and 100-150 mm during the cold period (November-March).
Flora. The nature of the reserve is very picturesque, thanks to the delightful variety of landscapes. The vegetation cover of the Karatala-Japyrik State Nature Reserve is heterogeneous. The vegetation cover is clearly divided into several altitudinal zones, namely:
From 2500-3000 m above sea level - forest-meadow-steppe.
From 3000-3500 m above sea level - subalpine.
From 3500-3800 m above sea level - nival landscape zone.
From 3800 m and above - glacial-nival landscape zone.
The tree vegetation is mainly represented by forests of Schrenk's spruce (Tian Shan spruce) and Turkestan juniper.
They are characteristic of the forest-meadow-steppe zone. The forest-spruce areas in the reserve zones include Kara-Zhylga. In the buffer zones - Zhele-Karagay, Zhazhy-Karagay, Archaluu-Tor, which are under the balance of the state reserve. In the lower part of the zone, spruce forests predominate, where spruce occupies only one-third of the area, while the rest is covered with shrubs and herbaceous plants. Among the shrubs, the characteristic species is Albert's rosehip. Among the grasses are the short-stemmed feather grass, meadow timothy, Asian and fluffy oats, and among the diverse herbs: rock geranium, common and stinking buttercup. Juniper forests are also found. More often, these are juniper woodlands consisting of Turkestan juniper and growing on rocky-gravel slopes. Juniper occupies only 10-20 percent of the area.
The remaining area is covered with grasses and shrubs.
The subalpine zone is characterized by thickets of shrubs: Altai and Shugan caragana, and Turkestan juniper. The most common are herbaceous communities in the alpine zone. These are low-grass (up to 20 cm high), dense (projective soil cover by plants up to 90%) grass-forb and kobrezia communities. They are formed by stone geranium, mountain sorrel, Tian Shan forget-me-not, pale yellow edelweiss, Tian Shan and Altai violets, Semenov's onion, false feather grass, and low kobrezia.
In the protected areas of Son-Kul and Chatyr-Kul, the flora is represented by kobrezia, grass-forb communities, where false hairy kobrezia, hairy kobrezia, various species of sedges, wormwood, cold primrose, butterbur, medicinal dandelion, Turkestan caltha, asters, pale yellow edelweiss, gentians, and buttercups grow.
Fauna The fauna of the Karatala-Japyrik Reserve is represented by numerous species of mammals, birds, amphibians, insects, fish, and reptiles inhabiting different ecosystems. Within the protected areas of the reserve, 7 species of birds inhabit: (mountain goose, black stork, demoiselle crane, golden eagle, saker falcon, kumai, bearded vulture) and 3 species of mammals: the Tian Shan mountain ram, snow leopard, and Turkestan lynx, which are included in the Red Book of the Kyrgyz Republic. In addition to vertebrate animals, there are also poorly studied species of invertebrates.
The number of heads of wild mammals; ungulates, predators, and rodents has significantly changed and decreased. Unregulated hunting has led to a decline in the population of ibex, argali, roe deer, badgers, lynxes, and wetland birds. Extreme food procurement conditions and its scarcity have caused a large part of these animals to become extinct, while others have almost completely disappeared.
Currently, there are no longer inhabited species of animals, such as the white-clawed bear, Tian Shan maral deer, wild boar, and red wolf.
At present, the Karatala-Japyrik Reserve is home to the remaining 7 species of birds: mountain goose, black stork, demoiselle crane, golden eagle, saker falcon, kumai, and bearded vulture, as well as 3 species of rare animals: snow leopard, Turkestan lynx, and Tian Shan mountain ram, which are included in the Red Book of Kyrgyzstan. Currently, not only the red-listed animals and birds are at high risk, but also ibex, argali, roe deer, badgers, lynxes, and 140 species of wetland birds inhabiting the lakes of the reserve. The main reason for this is unregulated hunting and summer fishing coinciding with the breeding period of birds.
Eco-tourism and cultural-educational tourism enthusiasts will love this place, as it offers not only the chance to enjoy the beautiful nature but also to immerse oneself in the life of a true nomad.