Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
cable car lifts you smoothly and panoramically
from medeu to Chimbulak in 25 minutes. It may
close for maintenance for a couple of weeks
just after and before the ski season, which runs
from approximately early November to mid-
April, depending on snowfall.
Around Almaty
æ
Sights
1
Ile-Alatau National Park Entrance ......A2
2
Kosmostantsia ......................................B3
3
Sunkar Falcon Centre .......................... A1
4
Tuyuksu Meteorological Station.........C2
Ozero Bolshoe Almatinskoe Area
Окрестности Большого
Алматинского озера
West of and parallel to the Malaya Almatin-
ka valley lies its 'big sister', the Bolshaya Al-
matinka valley. The paved road south up this
valley starts beside the colonnaded entrance
to the First President's Park on Al-Farabi on
the southern edge of Almaty. After 7km you
reach the entrance to the
Ile-Alatau¨Na-
tional¨Park
(admission per person 373T)
. Imme-
diately before the park gate is the
Sunkar¨
Falcon¨ Centre
(
%
727-269 12 35; admission
200T;
h
10am-last client)
. Sunkar also keeps
hunting dogs and caged wolves and is worth
a look any time, but the real attraction is the
entertaining display of trained raptors in
flight (1000T) at 5pm daily except Monday.
About 1km past the park gate is the res-
taurant complex
Tau¨Dastarkhan
(
%
727-
275 91 40; www.tau-dastarkhan.kz)
, with half a
dozen midrange and top-end restaurants in
a pretty woodland water-garden setting. The
road forks 250m past here, at a spot known
as GES-2 after a small hydroelectric station
nearby. The right branch heads to the settle-
ment of Alma-Arasan (4km). The left branch
follows the Bolshaya Almatinka River up-
stream, passing another small hydroelec-
tric station, GES-1, after 8km, and reaching
Ozero¨Bolshoe¨Almatinskoe
(Big Almaty
Lake) after a further 7km. The picturesque
turquoise lake, 1.6km long, rests in a rocky
bowl at 2500m altitude and is a good bird-
watching spot, especially during the May
migration. Border guards are often present
around the lake so it's not advisable to walk
along its east side (this path eventually leads
to the Kyrgyzstan border), though a ramble
on the west side is usually acceptable.
Two kilometres up the track to the west
from the lake, at 2750m, is the outlandish
Tian¨ Shan¨ Astronomical¨ Observatory
,
sometimes still referred to by its Soviet-
era acronym, GAISh. This has the second-
biggest telescope in the former USSR, with
magnification of around 600 times. It only
operates at part-capacity now due to short-
age of funds, but when the astronomer is
in residence he'll give tours (in Russian) of
Ø
Activities, Courses & Tours
5
Chimbulak Ski Resort........................... C1
6
Medeu Ice Rink...................................... C1
ÿ
Sleeping
7
Alpiyskaya Roza....................................B2
Hotel Chimbulak ........................... (see 5)
8
Samal Resort & Spa ............................. C1
9
Tian Shan Astronomical
Observatory........................................B2
ú
Eating
Assorti ............................................ (see 5)
10
Avlabar ...................................................B2
Tau Dastarkhan........................... (see 10)
Trader Vic's Island Bar & Grill ..... (see 6)
Assorti¨
INTERNATIONAL $$$
(www.assorti.kz; Chimbulak; mains 1400-4500T;
h
10am-9pm mon-Fri, 10am-11pm Sat & Sun;
E
)
Chimbulak's rustic shashlyk stalls disap-
peared with the Asian Games, replaced by
a small collection of medium-to-expensive
small-chain eateries. Assorti, offering every-
thing from pizza to
plov
to steaks in a large,
semi-lounge-like space, is a reliable bet.
Trader¨Vic's¨¨
Island¨Bar¨&¨Grill¨
INTERNATIONAL $$$
(medeu; mains 1500-6000T;
h
noon-midnight)
Medeu has a few snack stalls but for any-
thing more substantial head into this tropi-
cal-island-themed spot in the bottom of the
ice-rink building, where you can get any-
thing from a spinach salad to fish tacos to a
fillet steak, and plenty of tropical cocktails.
8
Getting¨There¨&¨Around
Bus 6 runs to medeu (80T, 30 minutes) every 30
to 45 minutes (6.30am to 8pm) from Dostyk, op-
posite the Hotel Kazakhstan, in Almaty. If you're
heading straight on up to Chimbulak in the cable
car, get of at the cable car station, 1km before
medeu ice rink. The last bus back down leaves
medeu at 8.40pm
Medeu-Chimbulak Cable Car
(round-trip
adult/child 2500/1500T, combined roundtrip
ticket with Chimbulak Kombi 1 & Kombi 2 ski
lifts 3500/2000T;
h
ski season 9.30am-6pm
mon-Wed & Fri, 9.30am-midnight Thu, 8.30am-
midnight Sat, 8.30am-6pm Sun, other months
noon-8pm mon-Thu, 10am-10pm Fri-Sun) The
