Skiing, shady avenues and Stalin’s legacy: Almaty in Kazakhstan, where nature is never far away and food runs the gamut from Georgian to Uygur
- With its breathtaking mountain views, wealth of leafy parks, and food from across Central Asia and the former Soviet Union, Almaty is an entree to the ‘stans’
- An ornate Russian Orthodox cathedral, a bazaar packed with produce from near and far, and the world’s highest ice rink are among the city’s curiosities
Towering over Almaty, the former capital of Kazakhstan in Central Asia, is the snow-capped Trans-Ili Alatau mountain range that separates the country from its southern neighbour Kyrgyzstan.
From turquoise lakes and reservoirs high up in the mountains, ice-cold water bubbles and flows through two rivers and innumerable gullies, watering the many parks and tree-lined boulevards that make the city green and shade the ubiquitous Soviet-era concrete blocks of flats.
The mountains provide the best skiing in the region, and excellent opportunities to walk and relax amid wild tulips, marijuana plants and apple trees – all of which are believed to have been first domesticated in the region. The apple trees that once covered the lower slopes gave the city its name, “alma” being the Kazakh word for apple.
My anticipation of the breathtaking views and mountain air help distract me from the initial discomfort of the bus ride up the slopes. There is standing room only; it seems as if half the city is heading to the mountains. But the US$0.60, 20-minute ride up Dostyk Avenue is a small price to pay to gain easy access to hiking trails, mountain streams and picnic spots.
