Adventures in Asia: Apples in Almaty, Kazakhstan

The story about Almaty's name is that it is derived from the Kazakh word for "apple." In fact, there seems some doubt about the veracity of this story, but nonetheless at least some folks in Almaty have embraced the "apple" identity, and one manifestation of this is in public art!

Adventures in Asia: Ile-Alatau National Park, Kazakhstan

Almaty is on the doorstep of an incredible mountain range, and the Ile-Alatau National Park is actually technically within the city limits. You can see the snow-capped mountains right from downtown.

A municipal bus takes you from downtown up into the park and it is easy to get to several trailheads. So, today I decided to hike up to Kok Jailau.

At breakfast my credit card declined, and I found out it has a daily maximum number of transactions. Good to know. I was short of cash now, and realized my daily limit would reset at 9:00 Almaty time (midnight in Toronto), so I waited a bit until then, then tested the card by placing a delivery order for groceries. This worked well, and voila, a picnic:

Once packed up, I caught the bus and rode upwards and out of the city. The trailhead is a short walk up a side road from the bus stop.

Here is the really impressive sign at the trailhead. The trail can take you right to the top of Kumbel peak, but my goal was Kok Jailau, a meadow at 2,230 metres above sea level, or a climb of about 600 metres over about 5 kilometres. I started out just before 10:30.

Just like the trailhead, the trail is well-signed.

It is also very steep, at least at first, but well maintained, with stairs in the steepest places.

It was a truly glorious day for a hike and the scenery was spectacular. 

At some spots you could see Almaty way down below.

At noon I reached Kok Jailau, where things really open up into a large, undulating meadow.

I climbed up a few minutes more to where there is a waterfall next to the meadow, and sat in the peaceful shade here to eat my lunch.

After lunch I descended a little and then climbed to an outlook, where you could look down on Almaty easily. In some ways it is actually too high to get a good view of the city!

After a pleasant forty-five minutes, I began descending the way I had come.

It took me an hour to get back down. The stairs are even more helpful in descending than they are for climbing. This photo gives a sense of how steep certain sections are!

Shortly after 14:00 I was at the bus stop . . .

. . . and by 15:00 back in the centre of Almaty. Unfortunately I began feeling very poor on the bus ride, and I assumed I was suffering from dehydration and heat stroke because it was a hot day. I rehydrated well at a cafe, but began feeling worse so returned to my hotel room. For the next two hours I went between the bed and the bathroom; obviously, something I had eaten did NOT sit well, and I began to suspect the carrots I had bought and eaten during my hike. I think I probably inadequately washed them and perhaps a fertilizer or pesticide was not making my insides happy. It was a miserable couple of hours, but surprisingly I bounced back extraordinarily well around 18:00 and decided I felt well enough to go back out. There was not much left inside me anymore, anyway! Having so enjoyed the Arasan baths last night, I headed there again . . .

. . . and then had a nice final dinner in Kazakhstan. I was hungry now, but I tried to keep it light and healthy. 

Very early tomorrow morning I will be flying to Amsterdam and closing out my adventure across Central Asia. Roughly, this was my something-like-3,000 kilometre overland route over the last ten days--Ashgabat to Khiva all by car and Khiva to Almaty all by train. 

Adventures in Asia: Almaty, Kazakhstan

After arriving in Almaty, I walked a few blocks, enjoying the morning and stretching my legs. Eventually I ended up at the Raiymbek Batyr metro station.

Almaty just has the one metro line, and I only needed to ride two stops to get to my hotel.

Almaly station is nicely decorated . . .

. . . and it is DEEP underground!

Once above ground, I sat at an outdoor cafe. The morning was really nice, and the fresh air and fresh coffee in a lovely setting was a great way to soak in some initial Almaty vibes. 

Around noon I walked another block to the hotel. I was not able to check in, but I dropped off my bag and then caught a taxi to the Kok Tobe cable car. The cable car takes you 1,600 metres up the hill above Almaty.

Things are a bit hazy, but the view is great nonetheless, and the mountain top a nice place to spend some time, especially for families.

I drank another coffee up above the city.

I opted to not come down on the cable car and took a bus instead, but this did not work out as well as I had hoped. Once off the bus I needed to take a taxi, and I decided to take it to a money exchange place which I thought would exchange my Uzbek som, which had proven more difficult to exchange than I expected. Luckily, I was able to exchange it. Then, it was time for lunch. I had one of my Central Asian favourites, crispy eggplant salad.

After lunch I walked some leafy blocks . . .

. . . to the Moscow metro station.

Back at the hotel, I checked in and rested up for an hour or so, then headed back out. You can see that in many places Almaty is a wonderful place to walk, at least in May.

By the way, since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, McDonald's is no longer franchised in Kazakhstan, and they have been converted to "I'm." Here is one that I walked by on my evening walk.

Nowadays Kazakhstan is 70% Muslim, but there are still many Christian Russians living in Almaty, and there were many more prior to the collapse of the USSR. Ascension Cathedral is one of the Christian landmarks whose origins predate even the creation of the USSR and goes back to Russian Empire days. It is a gorgeous building and is surrounded by a wonderful park. 

Just last week Victory Day was evidently celebrated here.

One of the places I was most excited to visit in Almaty is the Arasan bathhouse. I think it is a gem!

The Arasan is very much a Soviet landmark, dating from 1984. It seems that they have really preserved the 40 year old style. 

One of the unique experiences you can have at Arasan is the Russian banya, and part of the banya experience involves veniks, these bundles of leafy branches.

I purchased one and paid for an attendant to beat me with it so I could really see what it is all about. There are videos on YouTube you can watch to get a sense for it. It is quite the experience, and extraordinarily hot!

After the banya you can cool off with buckets of cold water or, even more fun, by dunking into a barrel full of cold water!

Besides the banya, I spent time in the pool, the steam room, and the Finnish sauna before showering off. I had a blast. 

It was dark when I left the bathhouse. I ate dinner, and then joined throngs of people walking along Panfilov Street . . .

. . . up towards the Opera house. 

From there I walked back to the hotel to call it a night. I really enjoyed my first day in Almaty!