For the second leg of our adventure across Asia, we spent four nights in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Our visit to Almaty was the main purpose of this trip as Mrs. ATX has family here that she hasn’t seen in quite some time. Her mom and grandmother made the trip over from Dallas and Detroit respectively and we all met in the city.
This will be a bit different than my typical adventures as we split our time roughly 50/50 between sightseeing and visiting family. Therefore, you may find a few breaks in the action here and there.
Day 1: Kok Tobe and Nayurz Celebrations
After arriving in Almaty on our Air Astana flight from Dubai, we headed over to visit some of my in-law’s friends for dinner. After a long day of travel, we headed to our apartment for the night before waking up the next day to go explore the city. After visiting some of Mrs. ATX’s family in the morning, we headed over to the Kok Tobe Recreation Area.
The recreation area is located at the top of a large hill overlooking the city and can be accessed via road or by a cable car. The cable car is the quickest, and coolest, of the two and picks up passengers next to Hotel Kazahkstan in the city.
Living in the United States, most of my experience on gondolas comes from skiing and I can’t remember ever using one in an urban area. It was interesting basically going over the tops of peoples houses and crossing highways on the trip up.
At the top of the hill we found a small amusement park, restaurants, a small zoo, some shopping, and viewing platforms.
Unfortunately, during our visit, the weather didn’t want to cooperate with us and it was overcast and hazy all three days. We still managed to get some good views of the city and I even spotted our hotel for the last night of our trip, The Ritz-Carlton Almaty, in the distance.
Depending on how old your kids are, you could easily spend 3-4 hours here with the attractions and rides. ATX Jr. was too small for any rides at this point but he did enjoy the small zoo which features animals from the region. For a small fee, you can get feed for the animals who are very friendly.
Near the zoo, for a reason I can’t find, you’ll find a statue of The Beatles on a park bench. This was a popular spot for tourists to take pictures and had a short line most of the time we were there.
After seeing the attractions and doing some shopping, we took the cable car back down to the bottom of the hill where we grabbed the car (shoutout to one of Mrs. ATX’s family friends for being our driver and tour guide for the trip) and headed back towards our apartment.
Along the way we passed the Palace of the Republic and the church where Mrs. ATX was baptized, St. Nicholas Cathedral. Suddenly it made a lot of sense where she got her love of turquoise.
The weather for the rest of the afternoon was nasty as it poured down rain. Temperatures were in the 40s so we hunkered down in the apartment for a while before heading off to dinner with some other friends.
Thankfully, at some point in the evening, the rain stopped and after returning to the apartment and putting ATX Jr. to sleep (his grandmother stayed with him), Mrs. ATX and I headed out to explore the Nayurz festival celebrations which were happening on the pedestrian street of Zhibek Zholy just around the corner.
Nayurz occurs around the Spring Equinox and is meant to celebrate the arrival of spring, and the renewal of nature. We were here on the last night of the festival and while things were starting to settle down, there were still plenty of action with food vendors, entertainers, and even some kids doing an archery demonstration in the street.
We ended up making a big loop and passed the Opera House as we made our way back to the apartment. We also spotted a shop selling some late night eats which we snacked on while we walked.
Full and exhausted, we headed back to the apartment and turned in for the night.
Day 2: Downtown Almaty
Our second full day in Almaty was spent mostly with family, so this section won’t have too much detail. We also spent a lot of time inside as we awoke to snow falling that was more wet than fluffy.
Around lunch we ventured out and grabbed a bite to eat from a nearby restaurant. Our eyes were clearly bigger than our stomachs as the food just kept on coming but everything was delicious.
That afternoon, things cleared up a bit and we strolled around Downtown Almaty. Eventually we ended up at Ascension Cathedral, a large Russian Orthodox church that was built in 1907. While constructed out of wood, it strangely has no nails as part of the structure. The sun was starting to set and it was overcast but
While the area around the church wasn’t busy, there were families out enjoying the evening and horse drawn carriages were taking people around the surrounding park. As someone from the southern United States the scene and the weather reminded me of Christmas even though we visited at the end of March.
The cathedral is located in Panfilov Park, which is named after Panfilov’s Twenty-Eight Guardsmen, 28 soldiers from an Alma-Ata infantry unit of the Red Army who reportedly died during World War II in the Battle of Moscow. The park is filled with various monuments and memorials for the troops that served and died during World War II.
That night, we went for dinner at one of Mrs. ATX’s relatives house and once again a massive feast was prepared. This was just for five adults and a couple of kids under the age of three and doesn’t include the second round that was on the grill outside.
After heading back to our apartment and getting ATX Jr. to bed, Mrs. ATX and I left him in the care of his grandmother and great grandmother and headed out to explore a little of the nightlife.
It was late and we weren’t looking for anything crazy but we stumbled upon Hoper’s Bar, a craft beer bar with a huge selection. This place was awesome. We ordered beers and started chatting with some of the folks at the bar.
It was an eclectic group that included a guy from Cincinnati who was backpacking from New Delhi towards Croatia to maybe meet up with an on-again, off-again girlfriend, a girl from Russia who was eager to practice her English, and the bartender who was showing off his King of the Hill tattoos.
One of the strangest things in the bar was the bottle of Bayou Rum from the tiny town of Lacassine in South Louisiana. Even the bartender had no clue how it ended up there.
After a couple of beers we decided to call it a night and ordered a Yandex Go (Kazakh Uber) to head back and turn in for the night.
Day 3: Shymbulak Ski Resort
On our third and final day in town we once again went to visit family for breakfast before heading up the mountain to the Shymbulak Ski Resort. The resort is located on the south side of town on the edge of the Trans-Ili Alatau mountain range. It’s the largest ski resort in Central Asia and, if you didn’t know better, you might mistake it for Vail.
After parking, we bought lift tickets and hopped aboard the gondola for the ride up to the resort’s primary base camp. The weather was nasty at the base with a heavy fog surrounding us.
As we approached the base camp, we had gotten high enough that we broke through some of the fog and clear skies started to peek through the clouds.
The base area was filled with people taking a lunch break from the slopes. Multiple shops and restaurants surrounded the area and there was even a Mastercard Lounge, though I have no idea what you’d need to get in.
After coffee and pastries we were warmed up and ready to continue our journey up the hill. Near the next gondola station, there was a traditional nomad tent set up for folks to take pictures.
One of the coolest things about Shymbulak is the fact that they have enclosed gondolas going all the way to the top of the mountain. As we went higher they became more interspersed with standard chair lifts so skiers didn’t have to takeoff their skis. As we continued climbing, the view got better and better.
At the second transfer area we got a good look at the Almaty area which was covered by the clouds below.
After a third gondola ride, we finally arrived at the top of the mountain which gave us panoramic views of the resort and the surrounding peaks. This is the edge of the resort and is located at an elevation of 10,500 feet.
By the time we made it to the top of the mountain it was 3:00p and we were starving. We made our way back down to base as fast as possible, a roughly 45 minute trip, and then headed over to a nearby restaurant for a late lunch (or early dinner).
We made our way over to Auyl, which is located at the base of the mountain, and found a very unique dining experience. The restaurant is designed around the open kitchen and has won numerous awards across Asia. The dining area is very traditional with seating on the floor and low tables. ATX Jr, who had just learned how to stand on his own prior to the trip, loved it!
Summary
Overall, we had an amazing time in Almaty. We went in not knowing what to expect and were blown away by the city and the people. Everyone we met were extremely friendly and welcoming. While we went into the trip thinking we may not return, we can’t wait to go back and explore more of Kazakhstan’s largest city.