Of all the countries in Central Asia, Kazakhstan was the one that least interested me, simply because I had no idea what to expect from it.

While I had some basic knowledge about all the other -Stans, Kazakhstan was terra incognita for me, the only thing I could think of there was the endless steppe.

I didn’t plan to visit it properly, I was only supposed to shortly stop there on my way to the neighbor Kyrgyzstan. But the moment I arrived in Almaty – a former capital and the largest city in Kazakhstan – I knew I’m gonna enjoy it there.

Eventually, I’ve spent 5 days visiting Almaty, much longer than I usually stay in one place during my travels and I was so sad when I was leaving for Bishkek.

There aren’t any spectacular things to see and do in Almaty but the city just feels right, at least for me.

Here is a couple of reasons why you should visit Almaty, Kazakhstan and why I loved it there so much!

Almaty, Kazakhstan – the easiest introduction to Central Asia

Not only Kazakhstan is the biggest country in Central Asia but Almaty airport is the biggest one in the country.

Most European major airlines fly there, Air Astana – the national airline of Kazakhstan and one of the best in Asia – has a hub in Almaty too.

That gives you plenty of opportunities to get to the country and finding a good deal isn’t so difficult.

I, for example, flew with Turkish Airlines (Prague-Almaty, Bishkek-Prague) for some 300€ but saw tickets for half of this price too!

By train you can directly travel to Almaty from Russia, China, Uzbekistan and numerous destinations in Kazakhstan.

Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, is some 5 hours by minibus away (and those depart every half an hour or so, once the bus is full).

Almaty, Kazakhstan was one of the most European cities outside of Europe I’ve been to. Everything there just felt kind of normal to me.

If you traveled to some post-Soviet cities before (like Tbilisi, Yerevan or Chisinau) you will find Almaty much easier to deal with – it’s not so chaotic, drivers let you cross the street, bus stops are clearly marked and the city is easy to navigate.

But at the same time, Almaty has this exotic vibe you might expect in Central Asia, just at the very light level.

I can’t think of a better starting point of any journey in the region!

When you visit Almaty you will get familiar with the reality of Central Asia, limit the culture shock and prepare yourself for the rest of your trip in the area.

Welcoming people of Almaty

Everywhere I went to in Almaty people were extremely friendly and willing to help.

I didn’t even have to ask, they’ve seen I’m a tourist and on numerous occasions they approached me, asking if I need help, directions or advice.

On the bus stops people made sure I took the right bus, the drivers made sure I arrived when I wanted to, even when I took the wrong entrance to the metro station (because the ATM was there) I was stopped by the young guy who was concerned I was lost.

In every cafe, restaurant or shop people were really friendly and welcoming and everywhere I felt really taken care of.

The most epic situation was at the train station when I wanted to exchange my free train ticket from work for the actual ticket to Astana and accidentally I caused mini-riots there.

Lovely women working there didn’t really know how to deal with my ticket, I blocked one of the three working ticket offices for 3.5 hours yet they didn’t chase me away.

Patiently they tried to figure out how to issue me the ticket, they abandoned their lunch break, called to the headquarters, at some point invited me for the tea to their office.

Eventually, I had to buy the ticket anyway (I was ready to do that half an hour through the whole issue but didn’t know how to tell that seeing how involved they were) and they still kept apologizing they couldn’t help me.

On the contrary in Astana I didn’t encounter any nice situation with people, they all seemed cold and didn’t smile at all.

Visit Almaty and enjoy its laid-back vibe

I found Almaty to be a super laid-back city.

People didn’t seem to rush, even on the main streets (with the exception of the area around the Green Market but these are always a whole different universe).

There were numerous green spaces to chill out and the view of the mountains just south of Almaty gave a refreshing feeling.

Even if it’s the biggest city of Kazakhstan it didn’t overwhelm me, not even once.

My favorite thing to do in Almaty was to walk around, taking random streets lined with trees and just enjoy the place and its atmosphere.

Mix of architecture in Almaty

The first settlement in the area of Almaty, Kazakhstan was founded in the Bronze Age, however, the city was first mentioned in the 13th century when it was one of the stops on the Silk Route. You won’t find many remnants of the great past in Almaty though.

The majority of the architecture is a great example of the Soviet past and if you like Socialist realism style you’re in for a treat.

In the former USSR this style is much richer than in Central Europe, e.g. there’re small patterns on the blocks that make the place so much more beautiful.

In Almaty, it’s not difficult to spot these details and even the most random concrete structure can look special.

Among these, I’ve also found some true gems of brutalism as well as some old and pretty wooden houses.

But the most beautiful building you will see in Almaty is the Zenkov Cathedral – second tallest wooden building in the world.

It was finished at the beginning of 20th century and looks like from a fairy tale with colorful rich ornaments.

Don’t forget about Almaty metro too, it might be new but built in the grand Soviet style, with marble floors and beautiful Kazakh ornaments.

Cafe culture in Almaty

It was the most surprising thing about Almaty and the one I enjoyed the most there. The city has an exceptional cafe culture!

Every afternoon I tried to visit a different cafe, I even had a “cafes day” on Sunday where I spent most of the time writing in few places and every single one I visited in Almaty was amazing!

Not to mention they were all really affordable!

Usually for a coffee and cake I paid around 5-6€, much cheaper than in similar places in Poland.

Every cafe had also some decent food options.

As always Foursquare was a great help with finding the best spots!

My favorite cafes in Almaty were Nedelka, Urban Coffee, United Coffee, and Traveler’s Coffee while Coffeeroom and Marrone Rosso weren’t really my kind of places.

Just like in Yerevan, I dare to say that Almaty, Kazakhstan might be a perfect destination for freelancers, with affordable prices and good wifi in the cafes!

Speaking of food – Almaty has a very diverse food scene and even being a vegetarian isn’t a problem there.

While the local non-meat options might be tricky to find there’re top world’s cuisines to choose from anyway!

I had Georgian, Indian and Italian food in Almaty as well as bought so many local goodies at the Green Market! And again everything was at very reasonable prices!

Quirkiness in Almaty

I like unusual places and tracking down quirky and alternative spots is always big fun for me!

In Almaty I didn’t have to look too hard for them, quirkiness was everywhere around!

Weird sculptures, interesting architecture, Soviet circus, a big smiling face or painted carpet with typical Kazakh patterns on the pavement, metro stations turned into small galleries, love locks, bird feeders and uncountable small, weird details here and there… Almaty was all about quirkiness for me!

My top 3 weird things there were:

• Ticket machines in buses (sadly they are gone now).

  I’ve never seen something like that before and I don’t even know how to describe them properly!

  It consists of two machines connected with wires. A big one is a massive case with no screen, just a couple of diodes – that’s where you insert the coins (can be all at once!) and where you collect the ticket.

  Another part looks like candy disposer in the shops and that’s where you collect your change if you inserted more than the fare (it was 80 tenge for a ride, 0.20€!).

  Sometimes the machine is broken and doesn’t give you the ticket, then you still insert money there and the driver gives you a piece of paper that is your ticket!

• The Soviet Monument to World War 2 heroes! A masterpiece of Soviet propaganda! I loved every single detail of it!
• Apples! Did you know that Almaty is the supposed to be the birthplace of apples? Even the old name of the city, Alma-Ata, means the father of apples!

Almaty is a perfect base to explore the incredible nature around!

First of all – don’t make my mistake and don’t visit Almaty in November!

While I loved the city I couldn’t experience all it had to offer to the fullest!

One of the reasons why you have to visit Almaty for more than just a day or two is the huge variety of trips around!

A friend recommended me an Ecotourism Information Center that offers good and affordable tours and their offer really was impressive but most of the tours run from April/May till October.

The only one that was likely to take place was Charyn Canyon but it was canceled too due to the lack of people (the price was 13€ for the whole day!).

Even if I didn’t really use this company they were really easy to deal with (and spoke good English!) so I can recommend them.

And I know I will visit Almaty again in future to go to the following places around:

• Charyn Canyon
• Big Almaty Lake
• Kolsai Lakes

Fortunately, when visiting Almaty there’s no need to go away from the city to experience the amazing nature!

Right in the center, there’s Kök Töbe, a nice hill with lovely views over the city.

Unfortunately, in November the cable car to get there was under repair so I had to skip the trip there (next time!).

But a short bus away (no.12 from in front of Hotel Kazakhstan) can take you to Medeu – the highest Olympic sized ice stadium in the world where almost 200 world records were made!

Not only it’s an interesting spot, but it’s also a starting point of the hike (or cable-car ride) to Chimbulak – a ski resort with breathtaking views.

I was determined to hike there but the weather started to change for worse and it became too slippery so I’ve decided to return. Still, views that I could see were pretty amazing!

You can learn about Kazakh culture when visiting Almaty

Just outside Almaty, you can find Hunn village – the etno center showing the culture and traditions of Kazakh. It is such a fascinating place that you shouldn’t miss when visiting Almaty!

You can learn there all about the history, culture and traditions of Kazakh people, see how the kumiss is done, watch the horse games and witness the incredible bond between the eagle and his owner.

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Pictures in Hunn Village, as well as pictures of metro and from Chymbulak, were taken during my trip to Almaty in December 2019, when I was testing the new mirrorless Nikon Z50 camera. It’s a perfect camera for travelers – easy to use, handy and takes amazing pictures! If you are looking for the new camera – I can definitely recommend it!

Almaty – one of my fave cities!

I’m really picky when it comes to naming a destination “my favorite place”. In my top 10 list I have maybe 7 cities and that’s all.

After I had a chance to visit Almaty and get to know it a little bit I can with no doubts include it in this very elite list I have!

It’s still not close to being Prague, Yerevan or Sarajevo for me but it has a very solid position in my heart.

And just like with the other cities, I can’t really say why I enjoyed it so much. It was a combination of many things, listed above, and the fact that I just felt right there.

I even dare to say I can imagine living there for a while (which of course will never happen as I like my life in Poland too much).

When, after 3 days in Astana, I returned to Almaty I felt like coming back home.

Silly, I know, but I was just happy to be there again. Being in this city brought a smile to my face, just like that.

On my last day in Almaty, I woke up to the most perfect winter wonderland.

The sun was shining, the city was covered in snow and it was even more beautiful than before! I couldn’t say “good-bye” to Almaty, it was only a “see you”!

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Visit Almaty – practical information

• I stayed in Alma Cinema Hostel, recommended to me by a friend.

  Unfortunately, when I check recently they are no longer operating which is a huge shame! But there are still lots of options to choose from!

  Click here to check the best deals on the best accommodation in Almaty!

• When arriving at the airport the taxi drivers might tell you there’re no buses running to the city.

  It is kind of true as there’s no connection from the terminal itself but you can walk some 5 minutes and you will find a bus stop.

  From there bus no.92 will take you to the center: Raiymbek Ave, Almaty 2 train station and Abay Ave.

  If you don’t feel like dealing with taxi drivers and confusing public transport in the new city you can prebook the airport transfer – click here for details!

  From the Almaty 2 train station, the trolleybus no.5 will take you to Abay Ave., the Raiymbek batyr metro station is around 10 minutes walking from the train station.

  If you come by minibus from Bishkek you will arrive at Sairan bus station from where you can take trolleybus no. to Abay Ave.

• There are numerous ATMs around and I had no problem with taking the money from them.

  I also had US dollars with me (that’s the most convenient currency when traveling in Central Asia and the exchange rate is really good) and exchanged it a couple of times in various locations: at the airport, on Dostyk Ave close to Satpaev and on Gogol Str. Everywhere, including the airport, the rate was similar and pretty good.

• As always the best source of information about restaurants and cafes was Foursquare
• I spent hours reading about registration procedure and I’m happy to report that if you come from the country that doesn’t need a visa or can go through a simplified visa procedure (Poland qualifies here) and if you arrived in Kazakhstan by airplane and got 2 stamps at the border control (or if you managed to get 2 stamps at the land crossing, it’s not so easy apparently) you don’t need to register.

  Otherwise, you have 5 days after arriving in Kazakhstan to register with the Migration Police – if you fail to do so you might be in some serious trouble.

  I was pretty nervous if this really is true as I didn’t register after all but when I was leaving to Kyrgyzstan the only concern of the border control was if I need a visa to Kyrgyzstan as they couldn’t find it in my passport (we don’t need one).

  As of 2017 citizens of numerous countries can enter Kazakhstan visa free!

• Insurance – I never travel without the insurance as you never know what might happen on the road and better safe than sorry (I’ve learnt my lesson).

  I can recommend SafetyWing that offer the insurance dedicated to travelers just like you and me.

  Click here to get the insurance policy for Kazakhstan here.

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For the end I left a few announcements that might interest you:

• If you don’t want to miss new posts and news from me click here to sign to my newsletter! You can also follow me on Bloglovin!
• Join my Facebook group about Eastern Europe, the Balkans and former USSR and connect with fellow travellers and enthusiasts of these regions – just click here!
• I’ve included a few handy links of services and products I personally like and use so you can plan your own trip to Kazakhstan too. They are often affiliate links. This means I will get a small commission if you book/purchase anything through my links, at no extra costs for you. If you like what you are reading and seeing here and would like to support me and my blog please consider using those links. It would be like getting me a virtual drink that you don’t have to pay for! Thanks!

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