Travel Guide to Almaty in Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan, a beautiful country surrounded by snow capped mountains located in the Central Asia region have gained independence from Russia in 1991. Needless to say, as a non Russian speaker, I had my fair share of difficulty communicating. However, you got to visit Kazakhstan with its wonderful scenery and friendly people around the city.

I had chanced upon the website: Travellocal.com that offers interesting facts about the country. Have a read on this link before embarking on your next adventure into Almaty! Almaty is famous for its apples and that was how it gotten its name too. Having tasted their apples, I got to say it was the most delicious apple ever eaten in my entire life for now.

Almaty is famous for its apples and that was how it gotten its name too. Having tasted their apples, I got to say it was seriously the most delicious apple ever eaten…

Below is based on my 6 days spent in Almaty formerly known as Alma-Ata, the largest city in Kazakhstan.

Day 1: 

Having arrived the night before at 10pm, there wasn’t much to do except spent time bonding with my new found hostel mates. They were from Kazakhistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Russia. Some of them were not in this picture as Russians are mostly camera shy.

I had arranged via a tour guide. The contact details as shown below. It will be easier to arrange tour online before reaching Kazakhstan given the fact that I didn’t see tours outlet offering sightseeing  packages and like I mentioned before, people do not usually speak English making it difficult to find your own way to the tourist attractions. In fact when I was at the supposed call tourist attractions outside the city, there weren’t many people. I had added the guide  (Name: Dima) who speaks good English on “What’s App” to communicate. Alternatively, email :manager@discoverkz.com

The first visit was to Charyn Canyon. Maximum number of people: 3

Tour price: USD70 per pax

Include: Transport, Guide, National Park Fee. Food cost on your own.

0900H: Leave Almaty city

1130H: Stop at the bazaar to buy light food for lunch later at the national park

1300H: Arrive Charyn National Park

1300H-1600H: Hike to valley and to the river, enjoy picnic by the river

1600H: Leave National Park

1930H: Arrived back to Almaty

The Charyn Canyon is situated in Southeast of Kazakhstan, 200km away from Almaty, in the direction towards China. Charyn River runs in a deep canyon with unique rock formations in the shapes of castles on top steep rocky walls.

It was a fun filled ride along the way to the Canyon as the guide, Dima shared with us on the history and jokes in the country. 30% of the population in the country are Russians. We were only 200km away from China border in the eastern side of the country. People were selling wild onions on the road and the scenery along the way was breath taking!

We stopped by at the market to grab some food and explored the food that Kazantzakis usually eats.

Just before entering the National Park, we were greeted by wild horses roaming…

As I had visited in April, flowers were booming in the vast countryside land and falcons were seen flying freely. As the wind was very strong at the Charyn Canyon, one need to be extra caution when opening car door. Strong wind had ever blown a car off the cliff and I did experience it with my car door swing open.

It was an hour slow walk down later with pictures taking along the 1.5km route to the river picnic area. The Kazahs love to picnic in the wild with BBQ pits can be found commonly.

Day 2

0830H: Visit Respublika Alany

0930H: Visit Central State Museum

1100H: Visit Kok-Tobe (Cable up to hill top)

1530H: Visit Panfilov Park

1700H: Visit Arasan Bath& Spa

Respublika Alany 

The day started early with a walk to Respublika Alany from my hostel. The ceremonial square main attraction is the tall Independence Monument. The stone column is surmounted with a replica Golden Man standing on a winged snow leopard.

Central State Museum 

The Respublika Alany  is only within walking distance to the Central State Museum which opens from 0930H-1800H. Being early usually means weather are clear and allows one to witness the magical beauty of  the snow capped mountains surrounding Almaty. The Tian Shan Mountains range are clearly visible in this part of the city, so do look out for photo opportunity.

Entrance Fee: 500 Tenges (Approximately Singapore Dollars $2). There are separate fees if you would want to visit certain exhibits inside the state museum. The museum is certainly big enough comprising 3 levels and 1 basement floor area. One will learn more on Kazah history, culture, filled with pictures, its diplomatic relations with countries, the famous Golden Man discovery in Kazakhstan and even dinosaurs bones found in the country. I took my time and had spent around 1.5 hour in it.

No photos are allowed but as I was not aware at the beginning, I took some and was stopped by the guards later. The exhibits are mostly either in Kazah or Russian language thou.

Kok-Tobe 

The 1100 meters hill is located in the city’s southeast edge. It is visible from almost all corners of the city with the hill characterized by a 372 meters high TV Tower. Kok -Tobe can be accessible by buses. The cheaper way to go up is by Bus 95 (opposite Ramstor on Furmanov) or Bus 99 (south up Abylay Khan) costing around 500 Tenges for return trip. Otherwise, the easiest and common way is to ride the cable car which costs 2000 Tenge (around Singapore Dollars $8) for both ways.

It is easy to locate the base of the cable car station and offers glimpse of the Almaty city as one travels upwards to the hill top. Kok-Tobe has a fun fair atmosphere with many activities for kids. It can get pretty crowded during weekends where kids enjoy their day out. The scenery was fantastic too with snow capped mountains and restaurants are available for one to eat & admire the scenery at the same time. Mini-zoo can be found on top the hill too.

Panfilov Park 

The main attraction in Panfilov Park would be the Zenkov Cathedral. This colourful cathedral was built in 1904 and is now functioning as Russian Orthodox Church. Both the interior and exterior are stunning with the surrounding park giving it a unique charm. (Free admission)

There were many children playing in the park, one of the popular area for the locals. By the way, the Kazah people seem to love outdoor and parks are plentiful. People like the outdoor. Many pigeons can be found in front of Zenkov Cathedral with them performing flying stunts every few minutes, flying in flocks around the square.

At the back of the church, 5 minutes walk away lies the war memorial , Museum of Military History, Museum of the folk musical instruments.

Arasan Bath& Spa 

Just opposite the park, there lies the Visit Arasan Bath& Spa. Enjoy  a steam and sweat it out in variety of saunas. Massage is available at extra costs. Opening hours are Tuesday through Sunday from 0800 – 2400. It is very much naked once step inside the bath area although men and women have separate areas. Depending on the day of the week you visit, the entry price is from 800 – 2,000 Kazakh tenge.(About $5 – $11) It is more expensive on weekends.  If you do not bring your own towel, bathing cap or rubber slippers (all of which are mandatory), you can hire them for a modest fee.

Day 3

0900H: Visit Almaty Big Lake by public bus

1030H: Reach Almaty Big Lake

1045H: Leave Almaty Big Lake to take public bus

1140H: Arrive Almaty

1400H: Visit Green Bazaar & Central Mosque

1500H: Visit Almaty Zoo

Almaty Big Lake 

Although the name might suggest it is a big lake, in reality it is one of the most picturesque lake in Kazakhstan with only 1.6km wide.

Getting there was a challenge if you chooses public transport like me. Firstly, take bus #28 from the roundabout at Al-Farabi and Navoi up Dulati Street. If you are boarding the bus, locals board the bus first and pay only when they alight. Tell the bus driver you are heading to the last stop, entrance to the big lake. However, please be mindful that you will still need to hike up 15km to the lake or take a hitch ride if you can find one in the small villages road. I was hiking up alone in the cold crisp morning and keep looking over my shoulder for passing car.

As I do not speak Russian, I draw a lake with water and the word written “BIG” in it. Pointing to the 4 cars that drove past and stopped for me, all was not heading to the direction until the 5th car came along and I was lucky to hitch a ride. Private vehicle have to pay 200 Tenges (About Singapore Dollars $0.80) to enter. As I was about to alight, the car next to us was moving off. The driver that I hitched on a ride will not bring me down to the public bus, so I had to use my sign language skills and quickly have a quick tour of 5 minutes and hitched another car which is going down to the base. There was not a single soul except for the car that I took a hitch ride down. But all was worth it with a view of the sparkling water surrounded by snow capped mountains.

Alternatively, one may hire an Almaty Taxi charged 5000 KZT just for the one-way ride only to GES-1. From where it takes 45-90 minutes walking to the dam of the lake. You still have to walk. To cut down the anxiety,leg work and confusion, would suggest hiring a tour guide who can drive you up. You may look for Mr Dima, previously shared his contact above. He charges USD100 for 4 persons, a duration of 6 hours tour, visiting Falconry farm along the way.

Green Bazaar & Central Mosque 

Back to the city, the Green Bazaar is like a street shopping area where clothes, mobile sim cards, shoes are commonly sold. Be careful of pickpockets thou just like any other crowded bazaar in the world. There wasn’t many things I could fancy in my opinion. The Central Mosque is just a street away, the largest one in Kazakhstan which can be visited everyday except Friday.

Almaty Zoo 

As I had some time, I decided to explore the zoo after hearing positive comments from fellow traveller meet on the road. It is located next to the Central Recreation Park. In fact, the park was such a beauty to admire and sit at one of the many benches hearing birds chipping away.

The zoo was huge with all kinds of animals ranging from tiger, elephants, polar bears, many types of birds etc. It was not that well maintained thou in my opinion, only if one have nothing much to do, you might not miss much if you skip this attraction.

Day 4

0900H: Explore the streets of Almaty

1000H: Visit Pedestrian Street

1100H: Chill at the cafes

After some days of travelling, the best way to enjoy Almaty is simply to chill at one of the many cafes found there. With the weather in early April around 13 degree Celsius, cafe hopping is a popular activity. What better way than to chill at the cafes found along Pedestrian Street. Buskers, shopping centers, people selling artwork/paintings can be found along this stretch.

Day 5

0900H: Pick up by guide to visit Turgen Waterfall

0930H: Visit Golden Man museum along the way

1130H: Continue journey to Turgen Waterfall

1230H: Arrive Turgen Waterfall & Trek to the waterfall

1430H: Depart waterfall to visit Trout Farm

1500H: Tasting of Trout and having lunch

1700H: Depart back to Almaty

1815H: Arrive back to Almaty city

It is 60km car journey from Almaty to visit Turgen Waterfall. However, along the way we visited the “Golden Man” museum historical site in the village of Eick. This well known Golden Man is believed to have died at the age of 17 years old and was found recently. He was believed to be the ruler of the country at that young age. The average life span at that time was 45 years old. As he was the ruler, when he died, he was covered with gold plated shirt as the ancient people believe that being dressed in such a way would allow them to reborn as a ruler the next life.

After which, we continue our journey to the Turgen Waterfall. We witnessed Golden man and snow leopard statues.

The hike to the waterfall took about 30 minute on average for each way. Leeches can be seen along the way. The waterfall was majestic in its own way.

A visit to the nearby trout farm was a good choice as the fish tasted heavenly with it being deep fried. One could fish there and ask the chef to cook it for you.

Day 6

It was my last day for me before I take the afternoon flight back. I took the opportunity to explore the metro in the city after hearing so much. There was no regret as the long deep underground escalator lead me to the train platform. It was a full 1 minute ride from ground to the platform below.

It was an art lesson for me as one explore the metro station. Walls and floors are beautifully decorated as what one can expect to see when taking the Russian Moscow subway station too.

It was definitely worth visiting Almaty, Kazakhstan. I took in the city at my slow pace and if you are rushing for time, I would think 4 days would be alright to visit this beautiful city.

Categories: Asia Region