24 hours in Almaty, Kazakhstan

Despite no longer being the capital of Kazakhstan (in 1997 the capital city was transferred to Astana further north), Almaty still retains its status as the countries biggest city, as well as being the scientific, historic, cultural and financial hub of the country. The large and developed city is vibrant and lively and home to around 2 million people.

Considered to be one of the most beautiful cities in Kazakhstan, Almaty has wide, tree-lined, pedestrianised streets, several city parks and botanical gardens, and a great many café, bar and restaurant choices. It also has several world-renowned universities, as well as a lot of museums and interesting architecture. It sits beneath a large mountain range whose snow capped peaks are visible from most parts of the city.

The city first came into prominence as one of the many stops on the Silk Road route and is well visited by tourists today because it is the gateway to the golden triangle - the National Parks which surround it - Charyn Canyon, Kolsay Lakes and Altyn-Emel.

When to go: April - October most temperate and sunny weather. November - March heavy snow, frost and ice. We visited in October and conditions were sunny and warm, but cold at night.

Essentials to pack: Big coat, trainers, hat/scarf

Currency: £1 = 550 Kazakh Tenge

Must see: Central State Museum, Independence Monument, Park of the 28 Guardsmen, Zenkov’s Cathedral, Botanical Gardens, Zhibek Zholy Street

How to get there: There are no direct flights from the UK to Almaty. Fly to Astana in the north of the country (connecting at Frankfurt) - approx. £600 pp return, from there trains to Almaty take 16 hours and cost around £40pp depending on what class berth you book. Alternatively, like us, you could take the most direct route and fly to Tashkent in Uzbekistan - approx. £600pp return, and then get the sleeper train to Almaty which takes 17 hours and costs around £50pp depending on what class berth you book.

Public transport: Busses traverse the city but we did not use them - if you are staying centrally the city is walkable on foot. Taxi’s (and the much cheaper Yandex like Uber) are a good option too, although the traffic in Almaty can get very bad so be aware of this if travelling to the train station.

Where to stay: As the city is so easily traversed by foot due to it’s compactness, staying pretty much anywhere in the city centre is fine. We decided to book a private room in a hostel which was well rated and noted in our lonely planet guide book. Unfortunately as we didn’t research the location it was only when we arrived that we realised it was a good 4km out of the city itself. The hostel provided a good breakfast but it wasn’t very social and didn’t have enough bathrooms for the number of guests - https://www.booking.com/hotel/kz/interhouse-almaty.en-gb.html. As we like walking this didn’t cause too much of a problem and we merely walked to/from the city - we were exhausted by the end of the day though.

24 hours in Almaty:

To do:

Start your day by a walk through one of the parks in the city - South Park which is near to the Botanical Gardens. The park itself isn’t truly remarkable, but it’s inhabitants add some interest and fun to the visit. The place is home to hundreds of red squirrels which look quite different to the ones we have in Europe and in this part of the world seem to be truly thriving. They are confident and will come up to you; one wanted to come up my arm but I was concerned it would rip my clothing or scratch me!

Once you’ve had fun with the squirrels, go to the Botanical Gardens situated just round the corner from South Park. Enjoy an hour of wandering around learning about different plant and tree species they have cultivated and grown here. There is a Japanese style garden which is stunning, as well as a rose garden and greenhouses. There are benches dotted around for you to take it all in. The gardens are open from 10am-7pm and costs around 250 Tenge (50p) per person to enter.

You can either walk the two kilometres on into the city centre or get on a bus. If you walk, I recommend rewarding yourself with a coffee on the way at one of several cafe’s that line Timiryazev Street.

Soon you will come to the Independence Monument on Republic Square. The monument celebrates the independence of Kazakhstan, as well as the role of the city of Almaty as the capital until 1997, and the identity of its’ inhabitants. The statue shows a 6 metre high warrior standing on a winged snow leopard, and is atop a 28 metre high column, so it is quite an impressive sight.

Exterior of the Central State Museum

Just around the corner sits the Central State Museum which is Almaty’s best and largest museum. To enter costs 500 Tenge pp (around £1). The museum showcases several artefacts and takes you through Kazakhstan’s interesting history from Bronze Age burials, to nomadic culture and the countries role in WWII.

Inside the Central State Museum

The building itself is beautiful too - built in 1931 it is huge and features several large columns, glass frontage and blue domes on its’ roof. The inside no less impressive with the domes being extensively patterned in a geometric way.

After you’ve soaked up a good amount of Kazakh culture in the museum, stretch your legs by heading north east a couple more kilometres to the very boutique shops along Kabanbay Batyr Street and go to Alicia’s for an incredible coffee and homemade cake. If you’re still not feeling satisfied, or it’s a rather hot day like when we visited, pop to the Shakespeare pub just around the corner for a drink. If you like sports they also show western football matches here on the screens.

After you’ve refuelled, walk ten minutes further north until you reach the Park of the 28 Guardsmen (also known as Panfilov park). This park was probably my highlight of Almaty - it is large and beautiful with huge trees and the leaves were coming down in the most mesmerising way.

On the Eastern edge of the park is the Memorial of Glory which commemorates 28 soldiers of an Almaty infantry unit who died fighting off Nazi tanks in a village just outside of Moscow in 1941 - the 28 soldiers also give the park it’s name. At the memorial, a large, imposing and fearsome stone edifice, there is also an eternal flame. Nearby to the memorial and just outside the eastern edge of the park is the Military History Museum if you want to know more about the countries involvement in war.

The highlight of the park has to be Zenkov’s Cathedral; the candy coloured structure is made entirely from wood and without a single nail which is incredibly impressive when you stand in front of it and soak up the architectural feat. The building is beautifully coloured and seems to blend into the environment of the park spectacularly well, as if the park has grown around it. You can go inside, but cover your hair and limbs. The cathedral reminded me of the Saviour on the Spilled Blood church in St. Petersburg in Russia - the colours, the height and stature, the decorative domes. It is a definite must see when in Almaty.

After your sight-seeing and leg-stretching today, you deserve a feast for dinner. Go to nearby Fakir’s restaurant on Zhibek Zholy Street, which serves tasty and traditional Kazakhstan cuisine such as Manty dumplings and Laghman noodles with meat and vegetables for a good price. The food was tasty and there were vegetarian options.

Walk off your meal with a pleasant stroll going west on Zhibek Zholy Street, which turns into a tree-lined pedestrianised street free of vehicles after the Silk Way shopping centre. Head south through KBTU park and the Park on Astana Square, and go for a night cap at Afisha Cafe.

Local art is displayed along pedestrianised Zhibek Zholy street

Note: If you have time you could also add on the Kok Tobe mountain and cable car visit but as we were heading into the mountains the following day for a few days we decided not to do this!

Hopefully after your whirlwind tour of Almaty you will see that the city has so much to offer and warrants more time spent to explore it. We will definitely be back!