Pribalkhashsky Nature Reserve
Pribalkhashsky Nature Reserve is located in the Almaty Region, where the Ili River flows into Lake Balkhash. At its mouth, the river divides into many branches, covering a vast area. The reserve spans 503 thousand hectares, roughly the size of Luxembourg. It is a protected nesting site for various aquatic bird species.
The reserve's landscape is divided into desert and marshy areas. In the desert part, you can find Calligonum, sand acacia, and white saxaul. Closer to the water, there are dense thickets of reeds and bulrushes. The reserve is also home to rare plants that can only be found in Kazakhstan, such as Balkhash milkvetch, Behm's tulip, Megacarpaea iliensis, Artemisia albicerata, and Kalidium schrenkianum.
The main protected species in the reserve include 150 species of water birds, as well as goitered gazelles, muskrats, and wild boars. Notable bird species that nest in the Ili River delta include pink pelicans, spoonbills, black storks, whooper swans, steppe eagles, gray cranes, and bustards.
How to get there?
The M-36 highway, connecting Almaty with Karaganda and Astana, runs near the reserve's border.
Tourist attractions near the reserve:
- The Southern Shore of Lake Balkhash
- The Northern Shore of Lake Balkhash
- Ile-Balkhash Nature Reserve
- The Chu-Ili Mountains
- Moiynkum Desert
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