These are the best places to travel this summer

Almaty

Lonely Planet's Best in Travel 2025

Shop

Get even more with a Lonely Planet guide.

Shop Book
Gold onion domes on turquoise St. Nicholas church (Nikolsky Sobor) on Baytursynuly street.

Getty Images/Lonely Planet Images

LONELY PLANET’S RECOMMENDED eSIM

Stay connected in Almaty

with

Saily is an affordable eSIM service that helps you stay connected and secure, anywhere in the world.

Get your eSIM

Overview

The leafy city of Almaty (Alma-Ata; Алматы), with a backdrop of the snowcapped Zailiysky Alatau, has always been among the more appealing Russian creations in Central Asia. Today Almaty's new rich have expensive suburban apartments, large SUVs, glitzy shopping malls, Western-style coffee lounges, expensive restaurants, dance-till-dawn nightclubs and new ski resorts to help them enjoy life to the full. Meanwhile, others from the city's outer districts and the countryside squeeze into packed buses and rickety marshrutkas around the Green Market (Zelyony Bazar) or Sayakhat bus station.

Must-see attractions

Planning Tools

Expert guidance to help you plan your trip

Best Things to Do

A perfect start to your Central Asian adventure, Almaty, Kazakhstan has something for every traveler! Here's our round-up of things to do in this vibrant city.

Read article

Day Trips

Explore beyond Almaty with these top day trips into the wilderness of the Tian Shan mountains.

Read article