We really didn’t know anything about Almaty before we arrived. In fact, it was a last-minute addition to our trip through Central Asia. Having arrived quite unprepared we ended up finding a lot of things to do in and around this bustling city. We really enjoyed discovering the sites of Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Here are our recommendations for sites you should consider on your next trip to Almaty, the largest city in Kazakhstan.
Russian and Soviet Buildings
For much of Kazakhstan’s history, nomads roamed across its high elevation steppes. It is believed that it was on those steppes that horses were first domesticated. Much later, farming became popular as people settled into towns and villages.
In the late 1800s, Russian czars moved in on the fertile lands and changed the crops from food to cotton, forcing many of the local Kazak farmers to move. The Russian take over resulted in the death of 1.5 million Kazaks. During Soviet times even more Russians moved in until there were more Russians in Kazakhstan than Kazaks. Eventually though as with all of Central Asia, Kazakhstan gained independence and went about repairing the country.
In the city’s downtown there are still a few elaborate buildings from the Russians’ time in Almaty. The first is the Russian Orthodox Church. Zenkov Cathedral’s colourfully painted argyle designs and domed roofs gives it a gingerbread house appearance. Inside, the sanctuary is covered in an amazing amount of golden glitter.
The church is surrounded by Pnflivoc Park where there are memorials to WWII fighters. Apparently, the park used to house Lenin’s statue but it has been moved to a less prominent park.
As we walked around the city, we passed many other Russian buildings in the downtown such as colourful houses with lace-style trim, an opera house as well as government and university buildings.
As well as old Russian buildings there are hundreds and hundreds of utilitarian-style Soviet buildings in the city’s downtown. Almaty has done something different with these stale old buildings though. The first floors of many have been converted to be more modern. They are often filled with luxury shops, high-end restaurants and cafés. Walking along the tree-lined streets, the city looks as if it’s trying to modernize itself.
Almaty Metro
A new addition to the city seems to have been inspired from a Soviet tradition. Built in 2011, Almaty’s metro stations are decorated with fancy tiles, artwork and chandeliers. They’re not as flashy or elaborate as those in Tashkent, but there were a few that made us smile.
Tickets were only 80 Tenge (18 cents USD) and you could ride as many times as you like, travelling between stations as long as you didn’t exit.
Arbat Pedestrian Mall
Today Kazakhstan is quite wealthy from their rich supplies of oil and gas. This wealth can most definitely be seen in some of Almaty shopping districts. Not far from Zhibek Zholy Metro station is a great example of how the city is much more wealthy than other Central Asian countries. Arbat Pedestrian Mall is a long outdoor mall with upscale cafés and shops selling luxury goods. Nearby, the streets have boutique shops selling high end brands like Rolex, Tiffanys, Armani and Saks Fifth Avenue.
Not far from this swanky mall, we spotted a lady selling fermented mare’s milk, called kumis, out of a bucket. It was a stark contrast of Almaty’s old customs with its new, progressive developments.
Shymbulak Ski Resort
After being disappointed by Kyrgyzstan’s ski resort Kashka Suu, we weren’t sure if we wanted to visit the one outside Almaty. We could see the Zaiilsky Alatau Mountain Range from town so thought we should give it a look.
The ski resort is above the sport complex called Medeu, which is located at 1,691 meters elevation. In winter it has the highest skating rink in the world.
To reach the ski resort, most people will take a gondola which begins near Medeu and climbs to the ski resort above. There is also a shuttle that runs every 20 minutes. The other option is to walk and enjoy the gorgeous scenery on the way. This was the option we took. There is 580 m elevation to gain over 4 km, and walking takes approximately 1 ½ hrs.
The Shymbulak Ski Resort is much different from the one in Kyrgyzstan. In fact, it is more similar to a European resort with new gondolas, high end restaurants, boutique chalets and a general up-scale feel.
One of the gondolas has the strangest set up that we’ve ever seen. It’s actually a gondola/chair mix. On the same cable were 2 chairs between each gondola.
From the resort base at 2,200 m, it takes 2 gondolas to reach the top at an elevation of 3,200 m. As we rode up we could see steep ski runs between the rugged rock walls of the mountains. We thought it looked like a great area to ski. Getting that high meant it was significantly colder. There was still a bit of snow on the ground at the end of June.
We were surprised at how busy it was on a Wednesday in mid June. It seemed as if half of Almaty had come to look at the views from the top of the resort. A few even ventured onto the snow.
Shymbulak Summer Fees
Understanding the multiple fees to explore the resort can be complicated, so here’s a breakdown. To take the gondola from Medeu to the resort base is 3,000 Tenge ($6.75 USD) up and 2,500 Tenge ($5.60 USD) down.
Separate tickets are required to take the gondolas from the resort base to the mountain top. The price is 4,000 Tenge ($9 USD) return.
Finally, there is a shuttle from Medeu to the resort base. Shuttles run every 20 min and cost 700 tenge ($1.60 USD) one way.
Getting to Shymbulak
Medeu is 20 km from city centre and is very easy to reach if you have a car. By city bus, catch the #12 bus from the bus stop near the intersection of Dostyk and Kurmangazy streets. It will take you to Medeu and runs every 30 minutes between 7 am and 8 pm. The cost is 250 Tenge (60 cents USD).
Other Sites in Almaty
Sunkar Falconry Centre – One of our favourite places in Almaty was the Sunkar Falconry Centre. In fact we liked it so much, we’ve dedicated an entire post to this bird refuge. You can read about our visit to Sunkar Falconry Centre here.
Big Almaty Lake – We wanted to visit this picturesque lake, but unfortunately the road to Big Almaty Lake is closed indefinitely.
Kók Tóbe – We had intended to visit this park in the middle of the city but when we saw it from below we realized it was just a glorified amusement park. We decided not to visit.
Getting to Almaty
Almaty is a business hub for Kazakhstan and is very easy to reach. It has an international airport, train and bus stations. Flights are quite inexpensive. Our reason for adding Almaty to our itinerary was because we could fly cheaply from Almaty to Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Trains travel within the country and internationally to Tashkent, Uzbekistan. We were told that the trains are very slow though. We arrived in Almaty by bus from Bishkek for 500 KGS ($5.75 USD), 5 hours. Getting through the land border is very easy. There are ATMs on the Kazakhstan side. Once you reach the Almaty bus station, there are many shops selling SIM cards and ATMs.
Getting around Almaty
The ride share app Yandex makes it very easy to get around this large city. The metro system is also very efficient, but we found that it doesn’t have stops near the sites we wanted to visit.
Where to stay in Almaty
Try to stay within walking distance of Zenkov Cathedral. That way you will be close to most restaurants and sites.
Where to eat in Almaty
We fell in love with Georgian food in Bishkek so we were excited to find one in Almaty. Darejani Restaurant not only has tasty Georgian food, it also has great décor displaying traditional Georgian artifacts. It was so good, we went twice.
Tips for Visiting Kazakhstan
- Visa – Citizens of many countries do not require a visa to visit Kazakhstan, but a few still do so check the policies for your country when planning your trip.
- The best time to visit Almaty is between late spring and early Autumn (June-September).
- The ride-share app Yandex is widely available. There is also a great metro system, but it’s not extremely close to most sites. Public buses are very efficient and travel from the city to the mountain parks on the edge of town.
- It was easy to purchase a SIM card. We purchased a Beeline SIM card and data for 5100 Tenge for 6 GB plus 200 Tenge registration fee (total $11.90 USD)
- Kazakhstan is not a democratic country but as a visitor you would hardly know the difference. There were only a few times when we noticed its controlling policies. For example, hotels have to register foreigners with the police. Also, when you get a SIM card they take your phone’s IMEI number. The last way we could tell is because we were told to always have our passports with us in case the police stop us on the street to ask (this never happened).
- Almaty is more expensive than other Central Asian countries. This is especially true for hotels which are much more expensive for their level of comfort than the rest of Central Asia.
- Even though money and prices are often in the thousands, they don’t use commas making it very difficult to quickly count your money or determine prices.
- It was interesting to see that there are quite a few young, male Russians in Almaty since Russia invaded Ukraine. They were living in Kazakhstan to avoid the draft.
This article is now featured on GPSmyCity. To download this article for offline reading or create a self-guided walking tour to visit the attractions highlighted in this article, go to Walking Tours and Articles in Almaty.
Coming Next – Sunkar Falconry Centre
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To read about more of our adventures go to Destinations.
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