After spending a couple of days in Karakol, I decided that it was time to head to Almaty in Kazakhstan. My return flight was only a few days away after all. The shortest way to get there is via the Kegen border. Now this border isn’t open all year, it’s only open from May to October— basically when the weather is warm enough. It also isn’t open all day— it’s only open from 8 AM to 6 PM. Also, if you need a visa to enter Kazakhstan, you need an actual visa sticker on your passport. E-Visas are not accepted. There are lots of things to consider if you plan to cross this border.

I’ve read on several travel blogs that there are marshrutkas heading to this border, but I’ve asked around. Maybe it’s just the time of the year, but in early June there weren’t any. Everyone was saying that I should get a taxi or hire a private driver to the border, then get another taxi or hitchhike once I’ve crossed it. As a solo traveler, hiring a private driver would be expensive. No one at the hostel was also planning on going to Almaty. So I opted for the less complicated way— I decided to take a marshrutka back to Bishkek… I loved Bishkek anyway, so I didn’t mind spending more time there. The marshrutka would drop you off at the western bus station, where you could then hop on a bus to Almaty. A trip back to Bishkek would take about 6 hours, then it’s another 4-6 hours to Almaty (depending on traffic and depending on the number of people crossing the border). If you take the first marshrutka to Bishkek from Karakol (this costs 500 Som which is about USD 6), you could be at Almaty on the same day. A one way bus ticket from Bishkek to Almaty costs 600 Som (about USD 7). The first bus leaves at 8 AM, and there’s a bus leaving every 2 hours. The last bus leaves at 6 PM. There’s a cheaper way— take the marshrutka #285 or #333 near Tsum Shopping Center. These marshrutkas go to the Korday border crossing, the same border crossing you’d have to pass through if you took the bus. You can then hitchhike once you’re on the other side. But c’mon… why go through all that trouble when a bus that takes you all the way to Almaty only costs 7 bucks?

So yeah I took a bus. You need to buy a ticket inside the bus station first, you can’t just hop on it. I decided to spend one night in Bishkek, then I took the 12 noon bus the next day. This seemed to be a good time to cross the border because there weren’t many people crossing. It got a bit confusing once we crossed the border though because we couldn’t find our bus— apparently we had to transfer to a different bus which was waiting on a parking lot about 5 minutes away on foot from the border crossing. Take note of the people with you on the bus and follow where they’re going. Many locals travel through this route frequently so they know where to go.

We arrived at the Sayran Bus Terminal at around 4:30 PM. This is Almaty’s long distance bus station. There are ATMs here so getting your hands on some local currency won’t be a problem. I saw a currency exchange office but it was closed. I’m not sure if they’re open earlier in the day, or if they’re closed permanently. There’s also a shop that sells prepaid SIM cards from all the major carriers. I’ve been told that Beeline has better coverage in remote areas so that’s what I bought. I just wanted to get to the hostel as soon as possible so I booked a ride via Yandex. Yes, it’s still incredibly cheap in Kazakhstan. If you’re on a very tight budget though, you can take a local bus to your destination for only 200 Tenge each way (about 40 US cents). If you plan on staying long in Almaty, it would be even cheaper if you have an Onay Card. The card itself costs 500 Tenge (about USD 1), but each bus ride only costs 100 Tenge if you use this card to pay! I’ve been told that these cards are sold in many new stands. You can’t buy these at Metro Stations— they only sell Metro cards at Metro Stations, not bus cards. Speaking of the Metro, it’s not as extensive as the one in Tashkent. There’s only a couple of stops and these are far apart. But these stations are also beautiful, I’d suggest checking them all out if you have time to spare.

Almaty is Kazakhstan’s largest city, and it used to be the capital. Even though the capital has been moved to Astana, Almaty remains to be the country’s financial, commercial, and cultural center. Fun fact: apples originated in Kazakhstan, and Alma-Ata, the former name of Almaty, literally means “full of apples”. Not that the apples here are anything special, they taste the same as apples you’d find anywhere else lol. Almaty is one massive city. Some people complain about pollution, but I dunno. Maybe it’s cause I stayed in a good area so I never noticed it. What I noticed were the numerous wide open green spaces. There are lots of trees and parks, similar to Bishkek and Tashkent. I’ve mentioned that I’m not fond of cities in general, but I loved the cities in Central Asia that I’ve visited mainly because of how green they are.

For sightseeing, I’d suggest starting at Republic Square, the main square in Almaty. Here you’ll see the Independence Monument, the mayor’s office, and a couple of beautiful parks.

Then I’d head over to Panfilov Guardsmen Park. It’s a huge park commemorating heroes of World War II and it’s also easily accessible via public transport. Right at the center of the park you’ll find the Zenkov Cathedral, a beautiful Orthodox church that’s definitely worth checking out.

I’ve been told that Astana Square (or Old Square) is also worth checking out, but there were lots of construction and renovations going on when I went. The entire square was practically closed. Maybe in a year it’s gonna be worth a visit. You’d still be able to see the facade of the Kazakh- British Technical University which faces the square.

Late in the afternoon I’d suggest heading to Kok Tobe Hill. It’s basically a mini theme park on top of a hill. There are several rides as well as a mini zoo. It offers panoramic views of the city and an excellent view of the sunset. You could walk up the hill on your own, or you could ride a cable car for 1000 Tenge (about USD 2) each way. A lot of folks ride a cable car up the hill then just walk down to save some money. You just buy a ticket at the Kok Tobe building right by Hotel Kazakhstan. Keep in mind that a lot of people go to Kok Tobe to see the sunset so the line could be long. It would be best to head up at around 4 PM so you wouldn’t miss it.

Many companies offer day trips. You’d see these popular tour packages online in sites like Viator and Get Your Guide. These are way overpriced. For the popular day tours, they’d charge USD 60-70 per person. If you book direct with local companies, it won’t even be half of that. The hostel staff recommended these two companies, and you can check out their tours on Instagram and contact them via Whatsapp:

Panda Travel: +77053701025

JoinMe Asia: +77772999767

The staff from both companies aren’t native English Speakers, but they do know enough English. To make it easy, just screenshot the tours you want to join and send these screenshots on Whatsapp. You’d have to pay for these tours in person at least one day before the tour though, either through cash or credit card— so you can’t just join these tours at the very last minute. These tours also get fully booked . The day tours last the entire day: we left at 6AM, and we got back to Almaty at past 10 PM. I picked the one that takes you to Charyn Canyon (or Black Canyon, depending on availability), Kolsai Lake, and Lake Kaindy— a couple of the most popular natural attractions in the country. We spent about two to three hours in each location, so yeah— we spent a good part of the day inside the bus. Meals aren’t included, so either bring your own meals or bring enough money for a meal. Also, if you decide to ride a horse around the lakes, they’d usually charge around 8,000 Tenge (about USD 16, though I managed to bargain– I ended up paying 5,000 Tenge only). If you don’t want to rush things, there are multi day tours that would take you to the same places, but of course these tours would be more expensive. To be honest though, I found these places a little underwhelming, but it’s only because I’ve just been to Kyrgyzstan wherein the natural attractions looked very similar— but better (at least to me). If you haven’t been to Kyrgyzstan though, this day trip would be totally jaw dropping.

One thing I found amusing— those McDonald’s replacement restaurants all over the city. See, McDonald’s got out of the Kazakhstan market right after Russia invaded Ukraine. I heard it’s something about not having any viable replacement for meat which were sourced from Russia. That reason is kinda sus, but I didn’t really care about their reasons, I just wanted to try it. The overall layout of these fast food restaurants are still undeniably McDonald’s, as well as the food lol. They might as well just let the local franchise holders continue using the name. Kazakhstan isn’t involved in the invasion, and it’s not like the parent company is directly dealing with Russian suppliers right?

The airport is pretty close to the center. It’s gonna take about 30 minutes by car/ taxi, and about an hour if you take a bus. Traffic in Almaty can get pretty bad during rush hour, so try to leave early to avoid getting caught in traffic. Of course taking the bus is cheaper, but there’s not much space for luggage. If you’re not carrying a lot of stuff, it’s easy to take a bus. Check the route of Bus #92 using Yandex Maps and see if it stops anywhere close to where you’re staying. Yandex taxis are real cheap though, it would only set you back about USD 6 from the city center. That would hardly break the bank. About the airport— man it’s probably one of the worst ones I’ve been to. It’s not a huge airport so it’s easy to get through immigration. However, since it’s a small airport catering to a number of flights, it gets really crowded. And they have this weird system wherein there’s just one huge waiting area for everyone. That’s right, there are no waiting areas by each gate. When your flight is about to board, that’s when you can get through the main gate which leads to all the boarding gates. That’s just how the airport was designed so there’s no way around this. They’re building a new terminal though, and hopefully this new terminal has a more efficient layout.

Almaty is certainly the place to visit in Kazakhstan if you don’t have much time to explore the country. Not only is it the cultural capital of Kazakhstan, it’s also in close proximity to a number of the country’s most beautiful natural attractions. You’d get to see and experience the best parts of this massive country if you base yourself here.