Have you ever been to a city called “City of Apples“? Have you ever seen a wooden Orthodox cathedral? Apart from these two questions, we have many more things to share about Almaty, its culture and the fascinating people. Till then you need to be seated as we take you all on a fascinating trip to this beautiful city of Almaty.
In case you don’t know who we are……
We call ourselves Travel Freaks……
Returning to our story, we were at the Shymkent Railway Station the previous night. There were many food stalls within the Railway Station Premises. We bought a few snacks and tea from one of the randomly chosen shops and waited patiently for our train to arrive by 10:45 PM. The station manager helped us with the platform number where the train would arrive, as all the announcements were being made in Russian Language.
Tip: If you are vegetarian, try to carry instant food packets (noodles, poha, etc) with you as you might find it challenging to get suitable food options.
As per the scheduled time, the train arrived sharp at 10:45 PM. The best part of travelling by train in the Central Asian Region was that there was a dedicated ticket examiner for every specific coach. We presented our ticket and then he allowed us to enter the specific coach.
Now that we entered the coach, you might be curious to know about……
Table of Contents
1. How was the train journey from Shymkent to Almaty?
As it was an overnight journey, it was a sleeper coach. We found the coupe to be quite interesting. In every coupe, 4 persons could sleep. There was a door and a wash basin for every coupe. The bedding provided was also quite comfortable. Every coupe had a warm air blower located at the ceiling. We also noticed personal portable food tables kept at the bunk of every coupe. Every coach has a single washroom that resembles the one from Flight. There was also a facility for warm and normal drinking water in every coach. Food facility was there within the train.
This was a unique experience for us. We slept off within one hour from the departure at Shymkent. It felt as if we were in a hotel. The next morning we woke up by the sunrise at close to 8 o’clock. We had some cookies and snacks to have for breakfast. We had a memorable experience as far as the train journey was concerned. When it was close to 10:40 AM, we arrived at Almaty 2 Railway Station.
As soon as we got off the train, there was a chilled breeze blowing despite being sunny weather. Slowly, we exited the station complex and booked a Yandex cab for our hotel.
Now the obvious question…..
2. How was our stay at Almaty?
The stay was quite close to the Railway Station. It took us hardly 10 minutes to reach. It was a three-star hotel that we booked. The hotel staff were well versed in the English Language. The best part was that the hotel had its own restaurant where we had our lunch.
Soon after lunch, we checked into our rooms and had a few hours of rest before we started exploring the beautiful Almaty City. The rooms were comfortable.
Let’s begin exploring the Almaty City. The first on our list was…….
3. Kok Tobe Hill
It was around 3 o’clock when we left our hotel for Kok Tobe Hill. It was a 20-minute Yandex Cab Ride. We loved the Yandex Cab Service in and around the Central Asian Region. Soon after getting out of the cab, we hurried towards the Gondola Cable Car Counter. The ticket price for to and fro tickets was 5000 Tenge per person.
The cable car ride was around 15 minutes ride. The ride was fun-filled as we witnessed a breathtaking view of the Almaty City with sunset on the backdrop.
On reaching the top of Kok Tobe Hill, we found the place to be filled with foreign nationals enjoying the pleasant evening weather. There were a few rides on the Kok Tobe Hill.
A few viewpoints were also there on the top of the hill where you can get good snaps of the mountains and the city. A few food outlets were also there to have good food. Travellers were renting tricycles to have fun. At the summit of Kok Tobe stands the Almaty TV Tower.
After close to two hours, we decided to go downhill and head for our next destination on the list. It was around 5:30 PM when we reached the Gondola Cable Car Ticket Counter. We booked a Cab and reached…….
4. Park of 28 Panfilov Guardsmen
It was a 10-minute ride to reach the entrance of the Park of 28 Panfilov Guardsmen. When we got out of our car, it was already dark. The park was dedicated to the Panfilov Heroes, specifically the 28 soldiers of the Soviet Army who defended Moscow during the Second World War in 1941. This park is centrally located within the Almaty City. You could even choose to take an evening stroll in the park if you wish.
The best feature of the park was the statues of a group of 28 soldiers with each one holding a weapon and standing in a defensive posture. We even observed a flame that is officially known as the eternal flame burning in the memory of the martyred soldiers. The park was huge with some beautiful greenery to admire. We loved the ambience and the atmosphere.
There was a museum within the park that provided historical evidence of World War II and the contributions of the Panfilov Guardsmen. It was already 6:30 PM and we had to explore more of the Almaty City. Hence, we decided to move to our next destination on the list…….
5. Zenkov Cathedral
The cathedral is located in the Panfilov Park. We reached the Zenkov Cathedral while exploring the Panfilov Park. We were amused to see the size of the cathedral. It was difficult to believe that it was made out of wood. The Zenkov Cathedral is also considered as one of the tallest wooden structures in the world.
The surprising fact was that despite being made out of wood, the cathedral survived two major earthquakes in the 20th century. The style of the Cathedral reflects Russian Architecture.
The weather was getting colder, so we went to a nearby cafe to have hot coffee with donuts. After enjoying the hot coffee it was already 7:30 PM and we decided to explore a few local stores before heading to our stay. We would like to mention about the people of Almaty, they are really helpful, be it the cafe staffs or the local people, they try to help you out in case of any needs.
We found most of the local stores on the verge of closing and a few branded outlets were open by that time. We visited one of the randomly chosen stores and bought jackets. Do reach out to us, if you would like to know more about it.
Now that we were returning to the hotel by 9:00 PM, we felt you might be keen to know……
6. What attractions did we miss in Almaty?
Even though we tried to get a glimpse of the Almaty City in a short span of time. We were really happy to cover the places that we had desired to visit. Of course, if you have more time, you can add the following attractions to your list:
- National Museum of Kazakhstan
- Kazakhstan Museum of Arts
- Almaty Zoo
- Almaty Opera House
- Al-Farabi Avenue
- First President’s Park
We hope you got a small glimpse of the Almaty City and will be able to plan your itinerary of the Almaty City. Of course, we are always there to help you out. We are just a click away. Do follow us for the final part of the Kazakhstan Trip.
We are not going anywhere without this last question……
7. What kind of help are we going to provide?
Let us inform you that we prepare itineraries not only for anywhere in India but also for Asia. We have been travelling since we were toddlers. So here in our blogs and stories, we will give you a glimpse of our journey and help you plan your trip.
Read about our Uzbekistan blogs.
Read about our Kazakhstan blogs.
Read about our Singapore blogs.
Read about our Vietnam blogs.
Read about our Cambodia blogs.
Read about our Bali blogs.
Read about our Kuala Lumpur blog series.
Read about our Sri Lanka blogs.
Read about our Nepal blogs.
Read about our Char Dham blogs.
Read about our Ladakh blogs.
Read about our day trip to Hyderabad.
Read about our Madhya Pradesh blogs.
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by mitkau