The new metropolis in the steppe and the city between the sky and mountains (Kazakhstan)

Capital and Almaty among mountains

Day 1 Astana

Arrival in Astana. Transfer to the hotel.

Astana, today’s capital of Kazakhstan, is a city that has been developing very dynamically in the past 20 years. Before Astana became the capital of Kazakhstan, it was one of the regional centers in Kazakhstan. At that time it was hard to foresee that Astana would one day develop into this large capital. The presidential decree moved the capital from Kazakhstan from Almaty to Astana and gave the city all the opportunities for rapid development.

City tour: You will see the city’s landmark, Baiterek tower by British architect Norman Foster, the entertainment center Khan Shatyr (the largest tent in the world, 150 m high, made of sun-permeable plastic with shutters, wild water rink, spa center, restaurants, cinema and much more), Opera, Atameken and others sights. Return to the hotel.

Day 2 Astana -Almaty

Free time in the morning. Check out at 12pm.Excursion to ALZHIR (35 km from Astana).

The historical museum of the «Alzhir» camp is located in the Akmola settlement, where thousands of family members of state officials lived and died in the 1930s. In spring 2007, on the commemoration day of the victims of the political deportations the Museum of the History of Political Deportations and Totalitarism «Alzhir» was opened in the Akmola settlement. Return to Astana.Transfer to the train station.Night train to Almaty.

3rd day Almaty

Arrival in Almaty in the morning. Transfer to the hotel.

Today you will discover Almaty, the former capital of Kazakhstan.

Almaty is the cultural, financial, educational and tourism center of Kazakhstan and is located in the foothills of the Tien Shans. Almaty is a city with modern architecture, green parks and cozy streets lined with flowers and trees. On the city tour you see most important and beautiful sights of the city and visit the following places: President’s residence, Republic Square with Monument of Independence, Abai Opera and Ballet Theater, 28 Panfilov Heroes Park,Voznesenskiy cathedral, Museum of National Instruments, Green bazaar, Abai square. Medeo and Koktobe mountain with cable car ride.

4. Day Almaty – Medeo – Kok Tobe

Today you have the tour to Medeo. Famous open air skating rink Medeo (skating rink works in winter) is surrounded by high mountains.More than 190 world records were set up to now in this skating rink. There is a wonderful look at Medeo and the surrounding mountains.

Next stop — KokTobe. KokTobe lies on a height of 1130 metres about the sea level and means into Kazakh language «the green top». From several view platforms you can take a marvellous look at Almaty and the snowy tops of Zailiysky Alatau. (F.M).

Day 5 Charyn National Park

The Charyn National Park is often compared to the Grand Canyon — this is similarly bizarre, but is slightly smaller than the Grand Canyon. The Charyn National Park is located 195 km east of Almaty near the border with China. The canyon stretches 154 km along the Charyn River; the sedimentary rocks are up to 12 million years old. The height of the gorges is up to 300 m.

Lunch is on the way in a café.

Day 6 Flight home

Transfer to the airport and flight home