From Wikitravel

Almaty is the former capital of Kazakhstan.

Contents 1 Understand 2 Get in 3 Get around 4 See 5 Do 6 Buy 7 Eat 8 Sleep 8.1 Budget 8.2 Mid-range 8.3 Splurge 9 Get out 10 Money

Understand

Almaty is the former capital of Kazakhstan, and is still its largest city. Because of this, most countries with diplomatic representation in Kazakhstan maintain their embassy in Almaty.

Almaty is also the financial, economic, and cultural center of Central Asia.

Get in

By Air

For people from most countries, the easiest way to get to Kazakhstan is by air. Several airlines have regular flights into Almaty. Lufthansa, KLM, British Airways and Turkish Airlines, to name a few. It's roughly a 7-8 hour flight from Europe. Kazakhstan Airlines is no longer operational, leaving Air Astana the national carrier of the country and operator of most domestic routes. Visas are now available on arrival at the airport, but long lines mean it may be better to get it in advance from an embassy.

By train from Urumqi, China

The N955 train leaves every Saturday and Monday night (11.58 Beijing time) direct to Almaty. To buy the ticket in Urumqi the office is in a hotel to the right of the main station. Tickets need to purchased a few days in advance and cost just over 500 Yuan (about $62.50 USD). The trip takes 32 hours, six of which are spent clearing Chinese and Kazakh immigration. Taking the bus, or flying, are better options.

By Bus from Urumqi, China

Buses leave from Urumqi and take 14 hours to get to the border at Korgas, and from the border it's another 12 hours into Almaty. They cost Y106 (about $13.25 USD).

Get around

Remember that the mountains outside of town are critical to direction. When someone tells you to head "up," they are telling you to head towards the mountains. When someone tells you to head "down," they are telling you to head away from the mountains.

• Public buses and trolleys can take you around much of the city for affordable prices.
• Marshrutki (Russian: Маршрутки) are small privately owned vans which serve much the same purpose as buses, but at a higher price. But you can stop it as a taxi in any place.
• Taxis come in two types, those with "Taxi" painted on the side, and every other privately owned vehicle. If you want to go somewhere, stand on the curb and stick your arm out. Pretty soon someone will stop. Tell him where you want to go and negotiate a price (somewhere between 150 and 300 tenge (1-2 US Dollars) is a normal price for a foreigner taking a short trip).

See

• Alpine park. Outside town, on the road to Chimbulak. Medeu skating rink is on this road too.
• Presidential Palace. You will not be allowed to go inside. Nonetheless, the scenery and architecture is breathtaking.
• Kazakh Museum. Opposite to Presidential Palace. Blue-roofed. Features displays on Kazakh history, from prehistoric times through the Mongol periods to the present. 45-minute guided tours available (in Russian only).
• The 28 Panfilov Heroes Memorial Park. Honours the men from Kazakhstan who died on the battlefields of the 2nd World War against Nazi fascism. There is an 'eternal flame' by the war memorial where schoolchildren put flowers on the last day of school, and newlyweds also come to have their photos taken there. In the park is an Orthodox church built in 1870 without a single nail, painted in dollhouse colors with a metallic steeple. You can often hear the beautiful singing coming from inside.
• Old orchards. The orchards give Almaty its name. Ironically, most have been destroyed in recent, ill-thought out building developments, but a few remain.
• Republic Square/New Square. Former administrative center. Since the capital was moved to Astana, this square has been renovated. TV stations occupy some buildings. There are flower gardens. There is also a Kazakh memorial, consisting of a tall statue of the golden boy, an early Kazakh figure, whose name is Altyn Adam, and circled by metal bas relief panels recounting the history of Kazakhstan, from the time of the fierce Amazon-like queen, to independence 10 years ago.
• Arbat. Almaty’s artist row on a tree-lined pedestrian street. "Arbat" - is a nickname of the street. The real is Zhybek-Zholy (Silk road). On the same street you can visit the big mall - TsUM (in Rusasian - ЦУМ - Центральный Универмаг)
• Chocolate factory. Tours possible.
• Medeu. The highest olympic sized ice stadium. More than 180 world records were made on this ice. Fun to visit in winter. Tipsy teenagers teeter across the ice, coloured lights and loud pop create a slightly surreal but fun ambiance. There is also a large mountain-water swimming pool just below the ice rink, open in summer. The water is extremely invigorating, about 15 degrees celsius!
• Chimbulak. Ski-resort. Opened from November till April-May. A base for some great hikes. You can hike up to the top to get a great view of the city. Or you can bypass Chimbulak and carry along the road, past the hotel and walk up to the dam and then the glacier. A tough but beautiful walk. Hiking is definitely a highlight here.
• Charyn Canyon. The second largest canyon in the world. Located 200km to the east of Almaty. Recommended for tours more than one day.

Do

• Medeu Ice-skating stadium. Outside town, on the road to Chimbulak. Skate rentals are available.
• Ski or snowboard at Chimbulak ski resort.

Buy

• On the Arbat street you will find 'Tsum' (stands for 'Centralniy Universalniy Magasin'). Every post-Soviet town has this department store. It's filled with hundreds of identical little counters selling electronic goods on the first floor, and souvenirs and really horrible clothes can be found on the second. There is a good selection of souvenirs.

• The green market, or 'Zelyoni Bazaar' in Russian, has fresh vegetables, dairy products, and meat, as well as a number of non-food household items. Fruit and vegetables are on the lower level. On the upper level you will find dried fruits, nuts, spices, honey and plants, as well as cheese and meat. The meat section includes horse sausages and is a bit challenging to the nose, so vegetarians beware.

• Handmade carpets. From Bukhara-carpets.com

• In Almaty there is also a market place called "The Baraholka" aka the Craphole it is 4km long and 10 rows wide and can be seen easily it is a very busy place. You can find virtually anything there.

• Almaty is not a good place for clothes shopping. Most clothes shops are on or around the Arbat

Eat

The American Bar and Grill

• Modern restaurants. A modern restaurant designed to carry the feeling of a Kazak yurt. Features "five fingers", a traditional Kazakh food.
• Georgian restaurant. Features katchipuri, cheese filled bread, eggplant stuffed with nuts, spinach and nuts.

• beer:

Tien Shan, local brew brewed in a modern factory by German brewmasters - pretty good.
Russian Baltica, numbered from 0 to 9. There's no alcohol in Baltica 0, a lot of it in Baltica 9. Numbers 3 and 5 are quite good and close to what most people are used to.
Also be sure to sample Alma-Ata beer, brewed in Almaty.

• wine:

Try the local variety, a good one can be had for less than $ 4,00 a bottle. Foreign wines, even Georgian ones, are very costly. Do not drink wine in restaurants, its usually sickly sweet and very expensive.

• vodka:

Very good vodka at 4-5 $ per bottle - an alcoholic's paradise. In restaurants that do not usually cater to foreigners you get 200(!) cl if you order a vodka, smaller servings not available.

• tea:

Tea is widely available, mostly very good and often quite strong. If you are on a budget this is the thing to order with your food. Tea is culturally important in Kazakhstan - "chai" time is one of the most important things a visitor can engage in to learn about the culture.

• Meat:

Shashlik (Russian: Шашлык) is the most tasty Kazakh food. It is a kebab that is made out of chicken or lamb. Shashlik is not fried, but is grilled over charcoal. Shashlik is popular throughout this part of Central Asia. You can also easily find "donor kabob" at any number of stands through the city.

• coffee:

Don't! Unless you like Nescafe. Exception: Modern coffee houses and western style cafés are appearing in Almaty. They serve good coffee at western prices. Coffee Delia (Kalinina/Furmanova) is very popular with expats and does ok coffee.

• water:

The municipal water is more or less drinkable, with no real nasties, but try to boil it if possible. Bottled water is cheap and easily available.

• supermarkets:

Almaty has many modern supermarkets, offering everything from a bakery section to toiletries to vodka. Any food you could possibly want to find is readily available.

Sleep

Budget

Visitors to the city can rent an apartment for a single night for about 3000 tenge. Apartments are located downtown, making them ideal for the tourists wanting to see the city. Apartments also come fully furnished with bedding, a kitchen, television, and a fully operational bathroom.

Mid-range

Splurge

• Hotel Dostyk, 162 Furmanov Street. Tel +7 (3272)582270. Big old and well maintained hotel in the center of the city - a classy if not cheap location. Rooms cost Tenge 27300 (200$) for a double including an excellent breakfast.

Get out

Nearby Chimbulak is a skiing village. There are a number of ski resorts in the area.

There are the gorgeous Tian-Shan mountains and lakes around Almaty, the most famous of which is the beautiful Big Almaty Lake.

There is a nearby desert park with a giant canyon, although it does not approach the Grand Canyon in size. It also has petroglyphs and waterfalls.

Money

As of 1 Oktober 2006, $1 equals about 127 tenge. As a comparison: a Snickers bar is 60 tenge; a cinema ticket for a movie about 850 tenge; a small trip about 10 minutes in length in a taxi - 200-300 tenge.

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