Where is Oi-Qaragai Kazakhstan?

Oi Qaragai is located near the village of Besqaynar, 35km east of Almaty in the southeast part of Kazakhstan in the Zailiyskiy Alatau Mountains at the foothills of the Tien Shan mountains.

The main day trippers base is at Aport Plaza, whilst most of the lodging is a few minutes further up the road in the Lesnaya Skazka village.

Flights

The gateway airport for Oi Qaragai is the Almaty International Airport (IATA code: ALA) which receives direct flights from various international destinations including Istanbul, Dubai, Frankfurt and Moscow. You can look at flight routes and options here.

The Almaty International Airport is 25km northwest of Oi Qaragai Ski Resort.

Driving to Oi Qaragai

The main day trippers base at OQ, Aport Plaza, is 35km east of the Almaty city centre, a drive that can take 40 to 60 minutes depending on traffic. A little further up the road is the Panorama Plaza. The drive is easy as the road is the road is well maintained by Central Asian ski resort standards.

Day trippers need to pay for parking, whilst overnight guests can park for free.

Private Transport

For overnight guests, the resort can organise private door-to-door shuttles from and to the Almaty Airport or Almaty City.

Bus to Oi Qaragai

There is a bus that runs between the Baluan Sholak Sports Palace in Almaty (44 Abai Ave., corner Baitursynuly St) and Oi Qaragai that takes one hour. The bus 210 runs regularly on weekends, whilst it’s more sporadic on weekdays. Combined with the low likelihood of your Almaty hotel being within walking distance of the bus stop, it’s probably much easier to get a taxi to Oi Qaragai via Yandex.

Getting Around the OQ Ski Resort

Getting around the different base areas of the ski resort is easy enough on skis, although the return from Aqtas to the older part of the ski resort is very clunky. After downloading the Aqtas gondola you can get a shuttle back to Lesnaya Skazka or the Aport Plaza, but they only go every 55 minutes, so you might want to get a taxi instead.

For overnight guests, the resort uses golf buggies to transport guests between reception and the accommodation.

Other Ski Resorts Nearby

• Ak Bulak Ski Resort is 25km by road to the northeast (50 mins)
• Shymbulak is to the southwest and 49km by road (1:15 hours)