Almaty

largest city in Kazakhshtan

Almaty ( Kazakh: Алматы; Kazakh pronunciation formerly known as Alma-Ata (Kazakh: Алма-Ата), is the largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of about 2 million. It was the capital of Kazakhstan from 1929 to 1936 as an autonomous republic within the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic as part of the Soviet Union, then from 1936 to 1991 as a union republic and finally from 1991 as an independent state to 1997 when the government relocated the capital to Akmola (renamed Astana in 1998, Nur-Sultan in 2019, and back to Astana in 2022).

Medeo

Medeu Medeo (kaz. Medeu - support; support) is a high-mountain sports complex located in the high mountain tract Medeu at an altitude of 1691 meters above sea level, near the "southern capital" of Kazakhstan - the city of Alma-Ata.

Medeu is the world's largest high-altitude winter sports complex with the largest area of artificial ice field - 10.5 thousand m². The high mountains and the purest mountain water for pouring ice contribute to the achievement of high results in speed skating. Medeu remains the leader among stadiums in terms of the number of world records set here at all distances among men and women (320 records in the period from 1952 to 1988). The Almaty skating rink bore the title of "factory of records". It is a state monument of urban planning and architecture of Republican significance.

SHYMBULAK

Shymbulak (Cyrillic: Шымбұлақ), also known as Chimbulak (Russian: Чимбулак, Kyrgyz: Чымбулак) is a ski resort near Almaty. It is the largest ski resort in Central Asia. It is located in the upper part of the Medeu Valley in the Zailiisky Alatau mountain range, at an elevation of 2,200 metres (7,200 ft) above sea level. The resort area is about 25 kilometres (16 mi) south of Almaty city by Medeo road. It is popular for its mild climate, large quantity of sunny days and great amount of snow through the winter (from November till May).

Kok Tobe is the highest point in the city of Almaty standing on a 1100 m hill at the south-east edge of the city. It is worth a visit to Kok Tobe because of its panoramic view of the city from all directions. To reach the Kok Tobe hill, one should take a cable car ride which starts near Hotel Kazakhstan and goes over some of the oldest parts of Almaty and the magnificent fruit growing gardens. Once you reach the Kok Tobe hill, you would see the famous 372 m high TV Tower which is visible from far and offers great views of the mountains and the city plus a few attractions at the top.