Central, South and East Asia outside the former USSR

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03.08.2009 14:52, Yakovlev

Our trip started from the city of Barnaul. The team was as follows: Elena Guskova, Candidate of Biological Sciences, specialist in leaf beetles, post-graduate students-botanists Ilya Sherin and Alexander Shalimov, driver Vitaly Evdoshenko and yours truly.
First night in the village of Aktash in the Ulagan district of the Altai Republic. Then in the morning we got to Kosh-Agach and then through Tashanta to Mongolia. We got up about 40 kilometers from Bayan-Ulgiya. Next day small meetings in Ulgieh and on your way. The route of the expedition, the type of which, according to my definition, "free search" passed through 3 aimags of Mongolia: Bayan-Ulgi, Kobdos and Gobi-Altai. The main goal of the expedition is to explore the southern macroslope of the Mongolian Altai, visit the interior of the Dzungarian Gobi and reach the very remote and inaccessible Aj-Bogdo ridge. Aj-Bogdo has been my dream for 10 years and now I feel it's time. The biogeographic position of this isolated mountain range, cut off from the main massifs of the Mongolian Altai by the hard stony plains of the Dzungarian Gobi and having an altitude of more than 3,800 meters and, most importantly, non-drying rivers, was not completely clear. Our main task was to get to the alpika of this mountain range and its southern exposition.
Anyone who has traveled around Mongolia understands that the main problems when traveling in the arid regions of this huge country are: water shortage, very long distances between gas stations and very difficult roads – both in terms of their cross-country ability and in terms of orientation in them. There are no roads – there are directions – a clear definition of Mongolian highways. Refueling stations are usually manually operated, although in large somons they are powered by generators. The price of gasoline is very high. Approximately 27 rubles for the 80th.
After crossing the already familiar series of passes from Somon Mankhan through the ridges of the Mongolian Altai and leaving for the valley of the Bodonchiyn-Gol river (known for its narrow rock gorge and grottoes), we moved to the southeast, where we visited the valleys of all the rivers that flow from the mountains to the south and sink into the endless salt marshes of the Barun-Khurai and The Dzungarian Gobi. We periodically reached the watershed. Just this macroslope of the Mongolian Altai is of great interest to botanists and zoologists. Butterflies were caught mainly in the light, diaries were very few, except that in the valley of the river Mogoin Gol managed to collect a few satyrids and pigeons. The daily herds of Dzerens that came across us refreshed our eyes.
After reaching the valley of the Bijin Gol river, we refueled completely in Bugat Somon (of course, in addition to 2 UAZ tanks, we also had a specially picked up 120-liter tank) and went south into the desert. Passing the edge of the waterless lake Alag-Nur and constantly checking the data of topocards with coordinates, we caught quite productively in the tugayas and Gobi salt marshes and reached the cherished Aj-Bogdo, which is located in the border zone and we had quite fun hiding from the Mongolian border guards. And successfully. Aj-Bogdo turned out to be a rocky, dry massif, with a couple of rivers. We made our way along the wildest road to an altitude of 2500 m and stood on a river surrounded by yurts. People shied away from us a little, because " strangers don't go here." In general, the population of Aj Bogdo made a generally unfavorable impression. Very dirty, with a terrible way of life, sloppy. To top it all off, a rock flew into the tent in the early morning and injured our botanist. However, we went to Alpika. Very poor. Borealism is rampant. And this is almost at the latitude of Talda-Kurgan. No more Apollons, colias, erebi, Eneis, karanazes… Accustomed to such phenomena of the incredible poverty of the Mongolian tundra, I did not strain much and was generally satisfied with the night materials. I think that Phoebus and some erebia are there, for example, E. chastilovi.
We drove back across the sands. Exceptionally productive night training sessions on Alag Nur. We started a gradual backward movement. We reached the village of Bulgan in the Kobdos aimag, where we enjoyed the asphalt, normal gas stations and delicious food in a disgusting dirty restaurant. From Bulgan we went to my favorite place-hr. Arshantyn-Nuru. We did not pass the friendly river Bulgan-Gol, where we bought and ate kebabs. By the way, I almost drowned in this river 2 years ago when I went to check the ford and was washed away. But that's a thing of the past. It was late, but it was a good catch at night, and some things jumped around during the day. The people on Arshantyn Nuru are very dark, but friendly, striking in their curiosity. Even now, the newly arrived grandfather famously caught butterflies with a net, arranged pantomime sessions and gratefully accepted cigarettes as a gift.
After Arshantyn-Nuru, we followed the beautiful valley of the Uenchin-Gol river to the passes through the Mongolian Altai, turned north, reached Bayan-Ulgiya and went to the upper reaches of the Kobdo-Gol river, where there are already forests, marals, bears, sables-well, in short, almost Russian Altai. Fishing there and on the lake. Tolbo-Nur is excellent. Insects were not fished very well, because it rained, but a small number of Erebia tsengelensis were caught, and other butterflies were plentiful – Clossiana titania, Boloria altaica, Albulina atys etc. Then we picked up the lost French tourists and took them to Bayan-Ulgia. And we went home. We will keep silent about the Tsagannur-Tashanta crossing.
The total is 2000 scoops, 300 geometrids, 500 bombitzes, 500 day ones (not a single sailboat, not even a swallowtail), 1000 micros, 2000 beetles, 1000 everything else. I rate your performance at 4 points on a 5-point scale. The estimate is 75 thousand rubles.
Next, a few photos.

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26.11.2009 11:17, Yakovlev

This is a report on a trip to Mongolia in 2005. It was one of the most successful expeditions. The results are published.
We visited very lost places, especially the valley of the Elt-Gol river - a small part of the Chinese Altai that somehow turned out to be on the territory of Mongolia.
Then we collected about 10,000 copies. butterflies
Pay attention to the 0099 frame on the ambulance and on 149 - where does this soldier shoot??
Photos of my friend, companion on many trips, collector D. V. Ryzhkov. From this trip, the subspecies E. jenisejensis was described in his honor

This post was edited by Yakovlev - 26.11.2009 13: 13

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26.11.2009 13:23, Yakovlev

This is a very common situation. Country of nomads. People are quite well-off but living like in the time of Genghis Khan. This is an amazing and exotic country. You are immersed in the 14th century. Just do not pay attention to the UAZ, rare wires and nylon Chinese sweatpants.
On the cover of our book about Mongolia by Chikolovets and Balint, there is also a yurt with a plate.
A Mongol sitting in a desk, in a bank, in a customs office-feels awkward. All that scribbling, the computer. They are good people.
I hope to write an art book about Mongolia.
One episode. We are entering a hard border zone. A small gorge facing China is controlled by two outposts, because the border, contrary to common sense, does not follow the watershed but cuts off a huge section of the upper reaches of the Black Irtysh in favor of Mongolia.
In the border village of Altai, we drink and eat elderberries. Local FSB, KNB, KGB - ik officers come up to us and start questioning us. After learning our goals and seeing the permits, the officer briefly leaves and returns to put 2 two-liter bottles of beer on the table. To our guests! Get to work!
Think about meetings with a Russian, Ukrainian, Moldovan, Kazakh, etc. official

This post was edited by Yakovlev - 26.11.2009 13: 29

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27.11.2009 0:17, Black Coleopter

This is a very common situation. Country of nomads. People are quite well-off but living like in the time of Genghis Khan. This is an amazing and exotic country. You are immersed in the 14th century. Just do not pay attention to the UAZ, rare wires and nylon Chinese sweatpants.
On the cover of our book about Mongolia by Chikolovets and Balint, there is also a yurt with a plate.
A Mongol sitting in a desk, in a bank, in a customs office-feels awkward. All that scribbling, the computer. They are good people.
I hope to write an art book about Mongolia.
One episode. We are entering a hard border zone. A small gorge facing China is controlled by two outposts, because the border, contrary to common sense, does not follow the watershed but cuts off a huge section of the upper reaches of the Black Irtysh in favor of Mongolia.
In the border village of Altai, we drink and eat elderberries. Local FSB, KNB, KGB - ik officers come up to us and start questioning us. After learning our goals and seeing the permits, the officer briefly leaves and returns to put 2 two-liter bottles of beer on the table. To our guests! Get to work!
Think about meetings with a Russian, Ukrainian, Moldovan, Kazakh, etc. official

Oh, you are lucky to visit such wonderful places as Mongolia, as well as Siberia in general. These regions are beautiful!!! This is not Moscow with its perpetual traffic jams and packed trasnport.

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27.11.2009 22:22, Yakovlev

2007 There were quite interesting places there. Company: Lena, Vasily Anikin (Saratov), two graduate students-botanists from Barnaul - Shalimov and Belkin and our driver wonderful Mikhon Sidorov.
The goal is some small ridges in the Mongolian Altai system and the Barun-Khurai valley in the Dzungarian Gobi.
Photos of me and Anikin
0030-first we stopped at Ukok, where we got a little cold, drank moonshine from Uncle Oleg, who became the most favorite person among all the university drivers with a light hand Mishki
0048 - at the pillars of Genghis Khan
0061-do not smoke near the gas station, otherwise Gargakhyr Hatuu
0065 - standing among the yurts on the slope of the billiard hall the table is the norm. Well, who does not like to drive in the pool. One of the first greetings from Mongolia in the city of Ulgiy went to the market. Snowstorm. It was June 16. There are about a hundred tables in the open air, and Mongols in dressing gowns and hats are playing billiards. I was almost stupefied.
0080-so we looked at the national wrestling
0125-fishing is always great. Anikin is a professor not only in entomology but also in fishing!
266 - Great Lakes Valley. On the road to Kobdo
320-still life. By the way, the name of vodka-Kharhiraa-is a huge mountain range bordering the West. Tuva.
404-peski again
418 we are going to Uvkhod-Ul. Dzerens are frequent here, who jump in flocks as if on springs.
446 - our camp at the foot of the town of Uvkhod-Ula in the serts of the Dzungarian Gobi. Here I got a gasp of heat stroke.
507-the sands of Barun-Khurai
539 my favorite ridge Arshantyn-Nuruu. How we found it... I don't know
555 dust storm
588 upper reaches of the Bulgan-Gol river. small forests have already appeared, and a little bit of Siberian fauna
- we are hugging a policeman.

This post was edited by Yakovlev - 27.11.2009 22: 38

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28.11.2009 6:12, гундоров

Roman-beauty Mongolia.Send my regards to Vasily Anikin (my city of Saratov).This is not his first time in Mongolia.On the UAZ, he and the ornithologist traveled from Saratov many years ago to Mongolia-there were photos of them hanging in the university-well done.Have you fished in the Khan-Khukiy-Nuru range in Mongolia?From Tuva to the south across the border.Original place-beautiful-the ridge glows at sunrise-beauty-very beautiful places-Erzin, Naryn, Barunturun, Hyargao.Collected in the desert near the Rhopalocera dunes south of Erzin?Was there something wrong?On the Ubsu-Nur Lake in 1995, there were only a few golubyanki(P. idas,P. icarus).Neolycaena was caught outside the Naryn River.Zhdanko and Danchenko are well versed in Lycaenidae in those parts-they looked through a lot of collections.Lukhtanov was in those parts.Interesting places to visit in hr Sangilen.On Balygtyg-Khem-upper reaches interesting biotopes

28.11.2009 10:38, Yakovlev

Thank you for your kind words.
I'll say hi to Anikin. It's easier for me to do this. Between you 10 km, between us 2000.
I don't know about that trip to Mongolia. Then it was very interesting - almost in one day we entered Mongolia through Tashanta - Ustyuzhanin and Kovtunovich, Anikin and a whole team with my friend Sergey Smirnov, a botanist (he was still young at that time).
I haven't been to Han-Huhei.
From Erzin to Kobdo itself stretches a huge all-framed plain-the Great Lakes Basin. I worked there. The fauna is homogeneous, which is why in Erzin, especially in the Tsugel-Els sands and on Tere-Khol, piles of Mongolian species of both plants and animals are found. And I was beyond the Naryn River. I know Tuva quite well.
In Mongolia, I was always attracted to the southern macroslope of the Mongolian Altai, when you get there, you immediately realize that you have forgotten about Siberia. And even the phoebus flies very special-transitions to the West Chinese ryukbayli.
The north of Mongolia is also very interesting in some places - this is of course the western Prikhubsugulye-where Mongolian Tuvans graze the southernmost reindeer, this is of course Kharhiraa.
In the meantime, I would like to make 2 more trips to the south. I know what to look for there, and if I don't find it, then it's not there. I'm looking for Clarius and Apollonius. This is so convenient.

This post was edited by Yakovlev - 28.11.2009 10: 55

28.11.2009 20:13, гундоров

Roman-klass, your message made my soul go wild-I was there in 1995 for three and a half months without leaving.The most beautiful places.On the slides I have (if I need to scan them somehow-I'll post a photo of Erzin, the road to Kungurtuk, the Keskeybal pass.There are no grayling plants there-in Erzin-all the rivers flow into salt lakes.For example, Ubsu-Nur.Did you catch Oeneis sapozhnikovi,O. brunhilda,O. elwesi there?Where were these species found on the territory of Mongolia?I caught Parnassius phoebus in a gorge near Shurmak(it doesn't look like the Altai and Sayan ones).But I didn't describe it then in 1995-I didn't dare-a complex butterfly.Lukhtanov well done-a super vividly expressed species (not a subspecies) Oeneis diluta described.I was in Sush and Begredinsky gorges in 1995-it wasn't a year of them-there were very few of them-isolated cases.Erzin and Sush-on the map nearby, and how different are the biotopes and Kites well done-Oeneis sapozhnikovi described-O. tarpeia in Sush-similar, but completely different butterflies. O. lederi from the Temnik River is also light, but different. O. brunchilda and O. diluta are similar species, but different.The places and nature there are very original and beautiful.

28.11.2009 20:34, Yakovlev

Parnassius apollonius was a very interesting find in Kazakhstan.Creutzberg described ssp alikae.This place is out of touch with the mountains of Asia-super interesting.In Mongolia, this species is unlikely to be found.There is a Parnassius clarius in Mongolia-it is close to P. clarius (ariadne) clarus from Saur, Tarbagatai.Externally, toje is a subspecies.

we were looking for something similar to Alika in the Altai Territory. Ha has one locus of Pseudosedum lievini , a forage plant of apollonius. Mongolia has this pseudosedum. The places for Apollonius are lovely. Well, just like on Kurchum... You need to search. And deadlines... it is very important to hit them. In Mongolia, everything is floating. On May 10, we shook off the snow in the desert at the latitude of almost Bakanas. And in Bakanas on May 3, they hid behind the UAZ from the heat.

And here is where it is clarius in Mongolia... Who caught it. What collection they are in. Where were you caught? There are instructions, but I take them as a bluff.