Day 1
Medeu and Shymbulak · Tian Shan cable car
The morning starts at the Medeu ice rink, 1691 meters above sea level and one of the highest outdoor speed-skating rinks in the world. In winter the ice is flawless, and in summer the rink turns into a cool mountain amphitheater, where you can walk along the dam and look down the gorge. From Medeu you ride up to the Shymbulak mountain resort (2260 m). Further lines of the cable car lead to the top station at Talgar Pass (3200 m) and open a wide panorama of the Zailiysky Alatau. Shymbulak means skiing and snowboarding in winter, and in summer it offers hiking and cafés with views, so there is plenty of time to linger over lunch at the top. In the afternoon you come back down to Almaty.