Walking Tour: Introduction to Almaty

Duration: 4-5 hours

Price: 40  USD per person.

Discover the biggest city in Kazakhstan with a walking tour of the best spots to see the rich history of Almaty.

Main places you’ll visit on our tour of Almaty:

  • Museum of Almaty;
  • main party area of Almaty in Soviet times;
  • Green Market;
  • Park of 28 Panfilov’s Heroes and main WWII memorial;
  • Zenkov’s Cathedral;
  • Examples of Soviet architecture on Dostyk avenue (previously Lenin street);
  • Almaty subway.

Our tour will begin at the Museum of Almaty with a short introduction into the history of the Almaty region. After the museum we will continue our walk to the eastern part of the city along Kabanbay batyr street, here you will see the best examples of Soviet architecture and feel the vibes of “Brod” pedestrian area – the ‘party’ street of 60-s in Almaty.

We will take a city’ subway and move closer to the Green Market, where you will try some of the examples of Kazakh nomadic cuisine such as kumis – fermented mare milk and irimshik – sweet cheese made from cow milk.

After the market we will walk to one of the oldest parks of Almaty to discover a marvelous orthodox cathedral and a massive Soviet war memorial zone dedicated to the soldiers of WWII.

Our last part of the tour is a relaxed walk along Dostyk avenue, you’ll see more examples of Soviet architecture, including the iconic ‘Kazakhstan’ hotel.

Along the way you will hear stories about buildings, places, parks and about people who built them.  We will also discover some lesser-known places along the way like first hi-tech building in USSR, gorgeous examples of Soviet mosaic or hidden parts of Green Market.

We will finish the tour next to the Koktobe cable car station, so you can continue discovering Almaty further on your own if you want.

We accept kazakh tenge, dollars or euros. Payments can be made in cash at the beginning of the tour.

What’s included:

  • English-speaking tour-guide
  • Ticket to the Museum of Almaty
  • Subway ticket
  • Green Market food tasting (nomadic sweet and salty cheese, fermented mare and camel milk, Korean salads)

In Dostar Trips, we treat each of our guests as a friend we just didn’t meet yet (“dostar” means friends from Kazakh). If you take a trip with us – you can rely on our friendly support during all your stay even after the tour, we will always be happy to help you with anything you need – advise the best place to eat, buy a train ticket, meet locals. Check out what our previous guests are saying about us on TripAdvisor. Let’s be friends!

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TESTIMONIALS

We booked a three week tour of Central Asia with AdvanTour who then contracted out to Friendly Tours for for our day tour of Alamaty. We had the pleasure of having Ola as our tour guide for a 5 hour tour. She was very knowledgeable, friendly, and happy to answer any and all of our questions about Kazakhstan. It felt like we were spending the day with a new friend! If anyone is looking for a great tour of the city with a delightful guide, book with Friendly Tours and ask for Ola!
Keven and Elisabeth
Keven and ElisabethHolland
I did multiple trips with Friendly Tours: a city walk, a hike in the mountains and a trip to the national park. I can only recommend them, they were super friendly and always eager to make the experience as great as possible. Evgenia was a great driver as well (which you need considering the state of the roads). Also, the guides speak English really well which helps a lot.
Christoph
ChristophHolland
I cannot say enough good things about Friendly Tours. During my first visit to Almaty, they were the most helpful and interesting tour guides I have ever had. I took three tours with Olya and Constantine, both of whom spoke perfect English and were the most engaging, warm and interesting guides I have ever had. I did a fascinating walking tour of the city followed by the wonderful 'dinner with a local family' that day. The biggest of the three tours was an all day trip to Big Almaty Lake plus more destinations in the Almaty area. What I enjoyed was that they customized the tours to exactly what my interests were. Of course we saw all the major sites, but I wanted to try the local chocolate, so they took me to the amazing chocolate shop. I wanted to try camel's milk, and they made that happen. Stamps for post cards, voila! A few souvenir gifts, there you go.  I made a personal connection with both Constantine and Olya which I hope to keep long after i have returned home. They were the best guides and I can highly recommend anyone visiting Kazakhstan contact them for any tours
Jim
JimUSA
I booked private day tours for my partner and I to have a guided exploration of Almaty city which included the parks, Koke Tube Hill, the Green Market, Ascension Cathedral, and other points of interest. The guide was very knowledgable of the city, a pleasure to spend the day with, and able to tailor the tours to our specific tastes. She also picked some amazing places to experience the local cuisine and walked us through the menu. The prices were extremely reasonable, the service excellent, and they provided us with a hassle free, zero complications visit. I would highly recommend their services and intend to use them again next year for a longer tour of the countryside.
Paul
PaulUK
Did the walking tour with Olya. I was interested in the Soviet period in Kazakhstan and she tailor made the tour for me at no extra cost! Great service. Olya was an excellent guide - her English was clear and understandable, and she really helped explain the sights we were looking at in detail without too many dry facts and figures. It was more like touring the city with a friend than a guide. The tour was meant to be 3 hours but went on for nearly 5, all at no extra cost. At no point did I feel she was trying to rush through to the end. Pre tour email communication was also really good with no delays. Every city could do with a company like Friendly tours!! Hint - they also organise taxi transfers from the airport at reasonable rates.
Owen
OwenUK
I contacted Friendly Tours by email on arrival in Almaty to ask about doing a walking tour and they responded promptly. We arranged a suitable time and my guide Konstantin met me at my hotel. He spoke excellent English and was a really nice guy who enjoyed talking about his town and country. The explanations of various sights were comprehensive without being boring. The pace of the walking tour was good, Konstantin was happy to go at a pace that suited me. One of the advantages of this tour is that it gives you a great orientation to the city as well as explaining what things are, without this explanation most non Kazak or Russian speakers will struggle to know much about the monuments and main buildings of the city. At $US30 I found this tour really great value and thoroughly enjoyable.
Grant
GrantAustralia
I had a great day and introduction to Almaty with Gaukhar. It was a rainy and chilly day but the two of us made the most of it.  She was knowledgeable and went the extra mile to make sure I had a good day. She even helped me purchase some winter clothes in the Green Market.
RicUSA
Gaukhar spent the day with our group of four in Almaty following a recommendation from another company in Almaty. One of a full day of highlights was a walk with sampling through the Green Market where we lunched on a deliciously fresh lagman. She showed us how to use a few forms of local transport and guided us through the picturesque Malaya Stanitsa neighborhood & numerous city sights.  Having Gaukhar show us around meant we got so much more from our time in Almaty, in terms of time, history and what life is like in Kazakhstan today. I wish Gaukhar every success with her business and would definitely recommend her & support Friendly Tours again for more touring upon any future return to Kazakhstan.
LeanneAustralia
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