The largest city of Kazakhstan, unofficially called the Southern capital of the country, is considered their home by more than one and a half million people. Together with the suburbs of Almaty, it occupies more than 700 sq. km. and is the economic and cultural center of the republic.
Far from the noise of the city …
The largest city in the country can hardly be called ecologically safe, and therefore its residents prefer to rest in the suburbs of Almaty, where nature has been preserved in its original form and magnificent landscapes are still pleasing to the eye. The Ile-Alatau National Park on the northern slope of the Zailiyskiy Alatau ridge is a variety of landscapes and climatic zones, where there are alpine meadows, mountain peaks, pure glaciers, and turbulent rivers.
More than 1000 plant species are found in this reserve, 36 of which are listed in the Red Book. More than 100 bird species nest in the park, and eleven of them are also especially rare and protected. In the Ile-Alatau Nature Reserve, travelers manage to observe snow leopards and roe deer, see marals in their natural habitat and meet stone martens and Pallas' cat.
For sports and active
In the southern suburbs of Almaty, fans of active winter holidays like to spend their holidays or weekends - the local ski resort Chimbulak on the Zailiyskiy Alatau ridge is quite worthy of flattering reviews. The sports slope here stretches for 3500 meters, and the giant slalom track - for 1.5 km. A modern cable car instantly delivers skiers to the starting point, and at the rental points you can pick up the equipment necessary for a safe and comfortable stay. For fans of snowboarding, an excellent fan park is equipped in Chimbulak, where boarders have a chance to hone their skills and practice in performing the most difficult pirouettes on numerous figures and trumpets.
Record holder in its class
High-mountain skating rink Medeu in the suburb of Almaty is the holder of many world records:
- The world's largest complex for winter sports, built in the highlands, has an ice field of more than 10 hectares.
- It was nicknamed "the factory of records", because during its existence since 1972, the skating rink has given the world 200 world achievements at different speed skating distances.
- 170 km of pipes with coolant were laid under the Medeu ice field.
- More than 2, 5 thousand visitors at the same time can comfortably skate on the ice rink arena.
