Korgalzhyn State Nature Reserve is a nature reserve in Akmola and Karagandy Provinces of Kazakhstan, located west of the city of Nur Sultan. It is part of the UNESCO heritage site Saryarka — Steppe and Lakes of Northern Kazakhstan, Ramsar site and biosphere reserve. It protects about 5432 km2 of lakes, steppes and semi deserts. The biggest lake is Lake Tengiz.
The wetlands are home to pelicans, cranes and the northernmost population of pink flamingos. Altogether there are more than 300 bird species in the reserve. The steppes of the reserve are home to wolves, saiga antelopes and bobak marmots.
Korgalzhyn a wetland paradise, the centuries-old culture of Kazakhstan, a wealth of attractions and unique nature charm visitors not only with their beauty but also with their uniqueness. In the very heart of Kazakhstan, 160 km northwest of Nur Sultan, awaits the Korgalzhyn National Preserve. Korgalzhyn National Park is the largest preserve zone in Kazakhstan, occupying an area of about 258.9 million hectares, including 198,000 hectares of wetlands.
Despite being under 3 hours from Nur Sultan and possessing a collection of birdlife that has recently attracted a nomination for UNESCO World Heritage Site status, the Korgalzhyn area remains surprisingly unknown, even within Kazakhstan.
The vast wetland area, a combination of virgin steppe and lakes, is home to wolves, marmots and saga. However, it is the birds, and the pink flamingo in particular, that are the real attraction.
Spring and summer (mid April to September) provide the best opportunity to see the wide range of bird life. Flamingos should be resident during the whole of this period. For a fortnight at the end of April and start of May, the steppe bursts into color as tulips come into bloom. Ice fishing is popular during the winter months.
Here exists the most beautiful feather-grass steppe. The territory of the preserve is the connection of two large lakes, Tengiz and Korgalzhyn. The word "tengiz" in its translation means "sea". The total area of wetlands is 159,000 hectares, which is twice as large as Lake Geneva in area, and its water mineralization exceeds the oceans' saltiness by 5-6 times. The preserve's flora counts about 350 kinds of plants, 90% of which are grasses. The fauna includes some 82 types of birds, 33 of which are included in the "Red Book"; they are the black lark, great bustard, crane, gyrfalcon and steppe wind hover. This is the northern nesting habitat of the pink flamingo.
In the territory of the Kurgalja Preserve the luckiest travelers may come across black stork, whooping swan and brand goose; and in the reed-beds wild boars are hiding. From time to time, forest dwellers from Northern Kazakhstan and Western Siberia, such as lynx, roe and elk visit this remote territory.
It is made unique by the pink flamingoes, nesting on the islands of the ancient lake. Here lives the world's furthest northern colony of these wonderful birds. They lived here even in the Paleocene Period, when the whole Tengiz-Kurgaljinski Depression was covered with the Tetis Sea.
