Root›My Kazakhstan›Cities›Almaty
Казахстан

Almaty

Cosmopolitan, which culture combines ancient traditions and modern trends

Almaty is called the southern capital of Kazakhstan, the most important national, cultural and scientific center, where major national universities are situated, including the Science Academy, national theatre and hundreds of monuments and fountains. The city is situated at the foot of snowy mountains of Zailiskiy Alatau at the south-east-most of the Republic, at the northern Tien Shan chain. Alpine meadows, Tien Shan fir-trees, gardens, serve as its fancy decoration and attract with their unique nature. Beautiful high buildings successfully inserted in mountain view, form the wonderful architectural city complex that widely applies natural culture elements and modern construction techniques. In spring, when everything starts blooming, Almaty is especially wonderful. Blooming trees cover the local mountains and go down to the dense city quarters. Rich city history is reflected in lots of sights, cultural and historical monuments, in contrast city architecture – from ancient serf-style buildings to super modern high-rise complexes.

Mountains are the favorite resting place of Almaty residents. In winter, they are attracted by sliding and skiing routes, in summer, it is green blooming glades. Ropeway will easily take you to the peak of Koktobe. From this picturesque point that provides the complete panoramic view of the southern capital, one can observe the big city life. You can visit one of small cafes and try wonderful tasty Kazakh national dishes.

Almaty Highlights
img

Charyn Canyon

Charyn Canyon is the unique nature monument in Kazakhstan, around 200 km to the east from Almaty. Canyon is included in the national park Charyn. It is widely popular among tourists. Charyn Canyon was formed from sedimentary rocks, which are around 12 million years old. Height of the canyon walls reaches 150 – 300 m. Canyon length is 154 km. The most interesting place for tourists is the so called Castle Valley, which length is around 2 km, width – 20-80 m. It is the ancient place that still preserves the real relict flora. In particular, you can see the unique aspen grove here, which survived the Ice Age, and at present, it was formally declared as the nature monument. In addition, Charyn Canyon is one of the most beautiful places in Kazakhstan. Like a magnet, it attracts ecotourists and travelers. Landscape is ever changing, that provides the huge biological diversity. There are more than 100 types of birds nestling here, and the plants reach up to 1500 types. Charyn Canyon is the real paradise for hiking lovers and wild life fans.

img

Kok-Tobe ropeway

The unique ropeway connects Almaty city center with the mountain Kok-Tobe, starting point is the station on Dostyk avenue, upper station is in the park Kok-Tobe on the mountain slope. It takes around 6 minutes to ascend, road length is 1,727 m. Ropeway height over the ground at some sections reaches 80 m, moving speed makes up 6.2 m per second. The object was commissioned on November 4, 1967. Nowadays, upon reconstruction, the ropeway complies with international safety and quality standards. As a ropeway passenger, you can watch the city life from up – high scrapers, private houses, streets, gardens. Here you can see the amazing panoramic view to the whole city and snowy Alatau.

img

Ascension Cathedral

Ascension Cathedral is an orthodox church, the monument of ancient architecture of Kazakhstan. It impresses with its expressive and amazing beauty. After the strong earthquake in 1887 in Almaty, almost all new structures were from timber, and the Ascension Cathedral was no exception. It was built in 1907 from blue Tien Shan fir-tree. It was designed by the architect К.А. Borisoglebskiy and engineer A.P. Zenkov, under the project of Pavel Gurde. Internal interior was decorated with objects manufactured in the best Moscow and Kiev workshops. Iconostasis was painted by the artist Khludov.

img

Chimbulak

Ropeway Medeo-Chimbulak is one of the modern ropeways in Kazakhstan, it was laid for Winter Asian Games in 2011. It is situated in the center of Ile-Alatau national park, not far from Almaty, and is the important structural element in the ski resort system of Chimbulak. Together with other four ropeways, it ascends tourists to the highest resort point – Talgar passage. It passes between two popular resorts of Kazakhstan, the ski resort Chimbulak and sport center Medeo, and its length is 4.5 km. New gondola line provides maximum speedy lifting to the ski resort routes, around 30 minutes. At one time, the line can hold up to 115 cabins, for 8 people each. Gondola line capacity is 2000 people an hour.