Almaty used to be the capital city until1997 when the Republic moved thecapital to Astana. The city is in themountain range so is the climate doesvary. In the end of August, themornings and evenings were cool(about 15 degrees) but the days wereabout 26 degrees. The city itself is areal mixture of old and new. SinceKazakhstan declared itself anindependent country in December 1991,there has been more of a Europeaninfluence in the architecture, alongsideolder Soviet-style infrastructure.

The City – Almaty

Flight Centre Hong Kong 48 hours in Almaty

Panklov Park and Zenkov Cathedral

One of the highlights of the trip wasthe visit to Panklov Park and ZenkovCathedral which is the second tallestwooden building in the world and isthe most vibrant of colours – theyrepaint it every year! Only a shortwalk from Panklov park is the GreenMarket and Chocolate Factory. TheGreen market is where the locals goto buy their meat and preserves. TheChocolate Factory is amazing! Thequality of chocolates is up there withthe best in the world yet doesn’t costan arm and a leg (Only paid aboutHK$67 for 6 gift packs)!

Flight Centre Hong Kong 48 hours in Almaty

The Mountains – Medeo and Chimbulak

Only 15Km from the city centre is Medeo which hasthe highest ice skating rink in the world at justunder 1700m above sea level. Unfortunately, therink is only open during winter. Medeo is where thefirst of the gondolas start to head up the mountainto Chimbulak Ski Resort. The ride was about 20minutes over sweeping hills. By the time wereached Chimbulak, we were at about 2200m abovesea level. There is a ski village with one small resortand some nice cafes and restaurants – a great spotto hang out for a while. During the summer, thisarea is great for hiking.

Flight Centre Hong Kong 48 hours in Almaty

Food

Almaty has a wide range of food, andwe got to try everything from Chinese,Russian, Uzbek and Kazak food. Thelocals eat a lot of mutton, and forspecial occasions – horse meat.Specialty drinks also include theobvious, vodka, as well as camel’s andhorse’s milk. Alasha is an Uzbekrestaurant that provides goodentertainment with locals dancing. Thelast night we were in the city were alsolucky enough to eat at a place calledKazak Aul which was a local restaurantin the mountains which had 3 yurts(local houses) set up for diners.

Flight Centre Hong Kong 48 hours in Almaty

Shopping

For those keen on shopping, we went to a

new mall full of high street fashion brandslike Top Shop, Nine West, Aldo and KarenMillen – and it was cheap! I purchased awallet and 2 necklaces from Aldo forHK$250 – worth going just for theshopping!As the country is opening up they arestarting to attract more tourists. So if youlike to travel off the beaten track, thinkabout heading there sooner rather thanlater before the city is crawling withtourists!

Flight Centre Hong Kong 48 hours in Almaty