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Almaty
Largest city in Kazakhstan

Almaty

Almaty is the most populous city in Kazakhstan, with more than two million residents.

Plan a trip to Almaty→From Taraz

It was formerly named Alma-Ata.

Get in

Getting to Almaty

  1. 01
    Almaty International Airport
  2. 02
    Almaty-2 Railway Station

    These are from Astana via Karaganda (6 per day, the quickest taking 13 hr), and from Tashkent every second day (16 hr via Taraz and Shymkent).

  3. 03
    Almaty-1 Railway Station

    Richard Sorge (4 km northeast of centre in Turksib district, towards the airport).

  4. 04
    Sayran Bus Station

    This is the station for long distance routes.

See

Worth seeing

  1. 01
    Ascension Cathedral
  2. 02
    St Nicholas Cathedral

    It was used as stables for Soviet cavalry horses but reopened as a church in 1980.

  3. 03
    Central Mosque

    Grand mosque with marble walls and spacious decorated interior.

  4. 04
    Sophia Cathedral

    Built 1893-95 after its predecessor was destroyed by an earthquake, the church became the centrepiece of a monastery, but the complex was crushed by the communists.

  5. 05
    Holy Kazan Cathedral
  6. 06
    Museum House of Akhmet Baytursynov

    Akhmet Baytursynov (1873-1937) was a Kazakh intellectual active in politics, poetry, linguistics and education, so inevitably he was shot during Stalin's "Great Purge".

Do

Things to do

Saunas or banyas are where folk relax and socialise during the miserable cold months. These have different styles eg Moroccan, Nordic or Russian (where half the fun is flagellating yourself with veniki leaves). A two hour session with various extras might be 5000 tenge in 2024.

  1. 01
    Kok-Tobe Park

    Small Soviet-esque fun fair perched on a hilltop, where the highlight is getting there on the cable car.

  2. 02
    Tau Spa

    Year-round mountain spa with pools and cabin accommodation.

  3. 03
    Medeu Ice Rink: see Chimbulak

    Ski & snowboard at Chimbulak, Ak-Bulak and Tabagan ski resorts, open Nov-April, lifts closed Tuesday.

Eat

Where to eat

Kazakh cheap places are plentiful, selling shashlik, soup, salad and so on. Burgers are popular fast food, typically with sliced kebab meat on a hamburger bun with pickles and garlic sauce. Bahandi is a burger chain with 8 city locations, the most central is at Baytursynova 61, two blocks south of Tole Bi. Alasha, Ostpanova 20,. Daily 12:00-00:00. Uzbeki restaurant.

  1. 01
    MiMi

    Little canteen where local people go for lunch.

Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see file page), Wikimedia Commons.