Kok Zhailau is a plateau in the territory of the Ile-Alatau State National Natural Park located at an altitude of 2251.2 m. It is located between the Small and Big Almaty gorges, 10 km from the city of Almaty. The track is located 1450-1740 m above sea level. Almati, ski resort Shymbulak, the Medeu, and Big Almaty peak can be seen from the plateau.
Flora and Fauna
There is a number of endangered species, insects, and plants that live in the Kok-Zhailau plateau. These include 145 species of diurnal butterflies, 252 species of ground beetles, 110 species of bees, 97 species of burrowing wasps, and 33 species of ants. There are also 105 of birds in the area, including the black stork, the eagle-dwarf, the golden eagle, the kumai, the shahin, the serpoklyuv, the eagle owl, the peregrine falcon, and others. Animals include the Tien Shan shrew, the red pika, the gray marmot, the Tien Shan mouse, the silver vole, the mountain goat, the roe deer, wild boar, foxes and squirrels. Endangered animals include the Tien Shan brown bear, the stone marten, the Central Asianriver otter, the manul, the Turkestan lynx, the Indian porcupine, and the snow leopard. The area includes tulips of Ostrovsky and Zinaida, Alatava saffron, as well as medicinal plants and spices.
Tourism
The Kok-Zhailau plateau is a popular tourist attraction. The area is accessible for hiking, biking, skiing, and horse riding. It is the only reachable area within the Ile-Alatau National Park. The area is major tourist attraction on account of its unspoilt nature. Ecotourism is also prevalent in the area. This also includes scientific ecotourism, cognitive ecotourism, blindwatching, botanical excursions, video and photo excursions, ethnic tourism, and other activities. To climb the Kok-Zhaylau is necessary to make an ascent on the Northern watershed of the gorge. This route is very popular, due to the fact that during one day from the Kok-Zhailau plateau, you can make different hikes: 1) on the Terisbutak river, make a descent to The Big Almaty gorge– to the city along the "Observatorsky comb"; 2) along the Kamenskiy ridge to the health resort "AK Kain" through the Maloalmatinsky and Kamenskoye gorges, etc.
Controversy
The president of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, gave way to build a major ski complex within the Ile-Alatau National Park. This will involve modifications to the Kok-Zhailau plateau and Kumbel mountains. The resort is scheduled to include ski runs, guesthouses and hotels. The region is considered a protected natural reserve area, and thus the project has caused controversy.
'''WHC UNESCO'''
The UNESCO world heritage center recommended that the leadership of Kazakhstan abandon the project to build a ski resort on the territory of the Ile-Alatau national natural Park. At the same time, the great importance of the development of eco-tourism and the nomination of protected areas in the UNESCO world natural heritage list indicate. The President of the world Heritage center Mr. Kishor RAO, requests information from the Kazakh government regarding this project, but there is no answer yet.
