6-Day Korgalzhyn Flamingos & Astana: Saryarka UNESCO Wetlands Tour

Two hours south-west of Astana the dry steppe gives way to a chain of shallow lakes that UNESCO lists as the Saryarka Steppe and Lakes of Northern Kazakhstan. Lake Tengiz, salt and enormous, holds the most northerly breeding colony of greater flamingos anywhere on earth, and the reserve around it is a crossroads for millions of migrating birds on the route between Africa, India and Siberia. This six-day private tour puts three days in the reserve and three in Astana, which means you get the best birdwatching in Central Asia and one of the strangest capital cities in the world in a single trip.

Why you will remember this trip

See greater flamingos at Lake Tengiz, the northernmost breeding colony on the planet

Spend two full days in the Korgalzhyn reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage site and Ramsar wetland

Look for Dalmatian pelicans, white-headed ducks and the rare sociable lapwing

Watch for saiga antelope, the prehistoric-looking steppe antelope that has recovered dramatically here

Take the lift up Baiterek tower and see Astana from the centre of its own axis

Walk through Khan Shatyr and the Nur Alem sphere, the buildings that made the capital famous

Your 6 days

Day 1 — Arrive in Astana — Baiterek, the Nurzhol boulevard and Nur-Astana Mosque

Day 2 — Khan Shatyr, Nur Alem and the National Museum, then south to Korgalzhyn

Day 3 — A full day at Lake Tengiz for the flamingo colony

Day 4 — A second reserve day — saiga antelope, steppe raptors and the feather-grass plain

Day 5 — Return to Astana, the Hazrat Sultan Mosque and the Palace of Peace

Day 6 — Departure from Astana

Private from start to finish

Korgalzhyn needs a permit, a ranger and a vehicle that can handle wet steppe tracks, and the birds are found by people who know where the water is that week. Your guide is a birding specialist, your party has the vehicle alone, and the two reserve days are planned around conditions rather than a fixed route.