I arrived early in the morning just as the sun was rising over the Trans-Ili Alatau mountains that towers up south of the city. Half-jetlagged, alone and with no comprehension of the cirillic letters that cover the streets and buildings of the city, I was doubting how I was going to spend an entire month in the region having made no other plans or bookings than three nights at a hostel. However, after two hours of extensive googling at a cafe and a chat with a British girl from my hostel who had biked all the way from the UK through Europe and Centralasia, my iteniary was packed.
I spent the first part of my time here getting familiar with Almaty. With a population of about two million people, it used to serve as the country's capital until 1997 when Astana replaced it. Still, it is one of the most important, modern and lively metropolitans of the region. After a couple of days of walking on concrete and finding the best americano in the city, I finally ventured into the mountains.
Mountains fit in nicely in urban settings
Late one evening, I got on a tour bus that arrived in a small village on the edge of the mountains at 2 AM. Here, the other participants, local and international, and I would be staying for the next two nights. Our meals consisted of delicious homemade dishes and foods (when I travel I turn in my vegan diet for a vegetarian one so I did not miss out on the dairy-packed Kazakh cuisine). While eating dinner, our guide asked us Europeans and Americans WHY we had chosen to go to Kazakhstan. This was a good question as turism still is very minimal here and I guess my answer supported that reality. I replied that I did not know ANYTHING about Kazakhstan or the region so I was curious to explore some (at least to me) uncharted territory.
Early mornings in Kazakh villages are magical
On our first day, we hiked ten kilometers from the first Kolsai Lake to the second (there is also a third one just across the Kyrgyz border) and back again enduring close to freezing temperatures in the morning and napping in the warm afternoon sun. I was a bit nervous that I had come to close to winter to be able to enjoy the kazakh mountains but those snow-covered peaks towering behind the second Kolsai Lake were amazing!
The first Kolsai Lake
The second Kolsai Lake
One the second day, we rode in 40 years old Soviet jeeps that took us over rocks and bumps and through mud and streams to Kaindy Lake. Here, dead trees preserved by calcium from the surrounding rock rise from the turquoise water. Our final stop was Black Canyon on the edge of Charyn Canyon National Park before we headed back to Almaty as the sun was setting painting the mountains all kinds of orange and gold.
In the back seat of a Soviet jeeps
Kaindy Lake
Black Canyon
Back in the city, I shared an Uber with two girls from my hostel that took us to Big Almaty Lake. Fortunately, one of the girls were Russian and therefore was able to speak with our kazakh driver who had never been to the lake himself and joined us wandering down to its shore. However, he obviously had not known that he would go to a mountain lake that day and had not brought a jacket. Luckily for him, I always buy large men's sweatshirts so he could borrow mine.
Big Almaty Lake
You cannot see it properly but our driver is rocking my red Grand Teton sweatshirt
My last days in Almaty were spent checking out some must-see sights like Medeu, the highest ice skating rink in the world (1691 meters above sea level) and Kok-Tobe Hill with a pretty decent view of the city even in the rain as well as spending time with some new friends. The latter being the moments that you really remember like an evening of Georgian food and wine in the company of a Russian girl getting a degree in turism and an American girl who studies the post-soviet space in deep conversation about the political agendas of Russia and Chechnya or drinking beer whilst talking Argentinian football with a passionate Italian and discussing religion and Danish beer with an Uzbek guy who lived in Flensburg.
Medeu
Pretty views from gondola between Medeu and Chimbulak Ski Resort
View of Almaty from Kok-Tobe
Ascension Cathedral
Walking to the train station was bittersweet. A little more than a week ago, I had doubted my decision to come here but now, walking through the somewhat familiar streets past the Georgian restaurant and the coffeehouse where you can get WiFi without needing a local phone number, I felt sad to leave. Nevertheless, it is time for a new city and a new adventure!