Things To Do In Almaty

Things to do in Almaty

Almaty, Kazakhstan's largest city and its capital until 1997, sits at the foot of the snow-capped Zailiysky Alatau, and the mountains are the reason to come.

Take bus 12 up to Medeu, a high-altitude outdoor skating rink at about 1,700 metres, then the gondola on to Shymbulak, a ski resort in winter and a hiking base in summer, with cable cars up to over 3,000 metres. The Kok-Tobe cable car, from the centre, climbs a hill for views over the city and the peaks.

In town, Panfilov Park holds the Ascension Cathedral, built in 1907 almost entirely of wood and one of the few buildings to survive the 1911 earthquake. The Green Bazaar sells dried fruit, nuts, horse meat, kurt cheese balls and Korean salads. The Central State Museum covers Kazakh history, nomadic culture and the Golden Man, a warrior's gold-covered costume. The Arasan baths, a Soviet-era bathhouse, have Russian, Turkish and Finnish steam rooms.

Big Almaty Lake, a turquoise reservoir at about 2,500 metres, is about an hour and a half away; swimming is not allowed, and access depends on the road and season. Charyn Canyon, about three hours east, has red rock walls and the Valley of Castles. The Kolsai Lakes and Kaindy, a lake with a sunken forest of spruce trunks, are a two-day trip.