Fun things to do in Kazakhstan

2 more images

Kok Tube is a mountain near the downtown Almaty. It's quite peaceful up there. One side of the mountain is just green hills while the other side is view of the city of Almaty.

Once our car got up to a small parking lot, we got off and got onto different mini buses which took us to Kok Tube. I was told the souvenir shops here were cheaper than other places. There are only about 5 or small shops so not that great of variety but I think they were pretty cheap.

3 more images

I spent two delightful days hiking in the Aksu-Jabagly Nature Reserve near Shymkent. My visit was arranged by Svetlana Baskakova, who is Director of the NGO “Wild Nature. Ms. Baskakova met me at the train station in Tulkubas in the early morning after an overnight trip from Almaty. (The train is an antique no doubt dating to the Sovier era, but my bed in the two-person first-class sleeper compartment was not bad, and the experience itself was interesting.) "Wild Nature's" program accomodates tourists in homes in the village. My accomodations were completely satisfactory, the food was good, and my hosts were gracious. Their young daughter spoke English, Turkish, Russian, and Kazakh (wow!). The meals were excelllent., and there were other backpackers there to chat with--a plus since I was travelling alone. Ms. Baskakova guided both hikes, one down into a deep dry canyon with a beautiful glaciar-fed, fast-moving river and the other upwards into a beautiful green mountain valley with more butterflies than I have ever seen. Ms. Baskakova is a trained botanist who has acquainted herself with the fauna in the area as well. I'm no naturalist, but she would be a great guide for those who are. For me, just the experience and scenery were well worth the trip. The service was exceptional and the price was quite reasonable. These two days were the highlight of my trip to Kazakhstan.

Whilst the Museum of Traditional Instruments is the most attractive museum in Almaty, it is by no means the only one worth visiting.

The Central State Museum is a huge, gloomy building just off Republic Square. There is quite a lot of interesting stuff here with exhibits dating from prehistoric times through to the modern era of independence. There are good displays of everyday objects and applied folk art -including a stunning yurt hanging encrusted with embroidery and coral beadwork. The signage, like a lot of the lighting, is barely adequate but a visit will leave you with a fair idea of the history of the country.

The Art Museum houses fine and applied arts - with the applied arts section - textiles, jewellery and costume - probably being more interesting than the fairly ordinary paintings on display unless you are interested in the rather esoteric study of the recent development of figurative art in the region or the particularly stolid style of official Soviet art..

Refer to the website given here for contacts and addresses of artists currently working in Almaty.

Both museums have good handicraft and carpet shops.

Located on an outlying foothill of the Tien Shan Mountains, the Alma-Ata Tower (best seen by enlarging the picture) is Kazakhstan's tallest structure and can be seen from throughout Almaty. (Alma-Ata is the former name of Almaty). Built by the Soviets in 1983, and used for telecommunications, the 1,219-foot (371-meter) tower is the tenth-tallest telecommunications tower in the world.

Visitors can take a cable car up the hill to the Alma-Ata Tower, where there is an outdoor cafe with a panoramic view over Almaty, and which offers such Kazakh specialties as shashlik, spiced mutton grilled on a skewer.

All the capital cities of the old Soviet Union staged huge parades in a massive square watched by the Party leaders and their apparachiks from a central podium. Almaty was no exception but now the square is named for the Republic (Respublika Algany) and, although the podium is still there, the monuments that adorn the space celebrate Kazakh history.

A tall column in the centre - the Monument to Independence - is topped with a replica of the famous Golden Warrior, so symbolic of Kazakh pride in their past, and there are large bas-reliefs depicting the great moments in the country's history and some nice sculptures of an old-style Kazakh man and woman.

The Presidential Residence - known as the White House - is on the square, and the State Museum is nearby.

Zelyony Bazaar (aka the Green Market) is the main market in Almaty. Mountains of fresh fruit and vegetables lovingly arranged in pyramids of different colour - try the white apricots if you are there in early summer, they are delicious; dried fruits and nuts in abundence; caviar; Korean salads of every combination of vegetable you can think of; kumys (fermented mare's milk) and shubat (fermented camel milk); salty white balls of cheeses -Safeway was never like this.

There are several cheap eating places here.

The other areas of the market are a bit depressing, jammed as they are with cheap and shoddy goods and anxious people, both buyers looking for a bargain and sellers looking for a sale.

Surrounded as it is by mountains, it's only a short drive to one of the city's favourite recreation areas - Medeo. Whether you come in the summer for the cafes, the walks and the fresh mountain air, or in the winter to skate on the huge ice rink (open on weekends to the public), it will only take you half an hour to get here.
aT 1700m, Medeo is always cooler than Almaty,and if it's raining in the city, it wil be snowing in the mountains, so come prepared for the rapid changes that alpine regions can, and do, experience.

Weekends are always busy, so if it's real peace and quiet you are after, come on a weekday.

A cable car ride up to the top of Koktyube -one of the hills hill overlooking Almaty is a pleasant outing. At the top you'll find several outdoor restaurants where you can get a snack or a drink while you decide whether to take the ride down or walk. The view all around is lovely, it confirms the impression you will already have of just what a green and attractive place this is.

The TV transmitter on top of the hill is an Almaty landmark.

This is a popular weekend outing with the locals and therefore very busy.

The cable car leaves from a small station beside the Palace of the Republic between 1100 and 1900.