Almaty Tour: mountains, an ethno village, and the city [Museum of National Folk Musical Instruments + Eternal Flame] · 2 days

A guided tour of the Ykhlas Museum of Musical Instruments with a collection of 1200 dombras, kobyz, and zhetygens. The guide will play a kui, Kazakh instrumental poetry best understood live. In the first half of the day, stop at the Eternal Flame in Panfilov Park, a memorial composition of granite, fire, and silence in memory of the soldiers of the Great Patriotic War. Closer to lunch, visit the Green Bazaar, operating since 1875, a true eastern market with piles of dried apricots, apricots, and raisins, rows of kazy and shuzhuk (horse sausage), barrels of honey from the jailau, and friendly vendors who let you taste everything before you buy. In the second half of the day, make a short stop at the Rahat chocolate brand store, the oldest Kazakh brand, with gift boxes in a 1970s design. An ideal place for souvenirs and gifts to take home. After lunch, visit TSUM, a Soviet-era department store on Zhibek Zholy, where you can still find souvenirs, felt goods, and local clothing at a good price. By evening, ride the cable car up to Kok-Tobe (1070 m), the city’s signature viewpoint. All of Almaty lies before you, with the Alatau Mountains behind your back; sunset is especially striking, when the peaks turn pink and the lights of the metropolis begin to glow in the valley. Return to Almaty by evening.

Visit the Medeu ice rink at an altitude of 1691 meters, the world’s highest mountain stadium. In winter, the ice is perfectly smooth, while in summer it becomes a cool mountain amphitheater with a walk along the dam and views of the gorge. In the first half of the day, ride up to the Shymbulak mountain resort (2260 m) on a three-stage cable car that takes 25 minutes to reach 3200 meters and opens up a full panorama of the Trans-Ili Alatau. In winter, come for skiing and snowboarding, in summer, for hiking and cafés with a view.