I’d been really looking forward to this tour in Kazakhstan and despite my high expectations, the trip didn’t disappoint. The skiing at the ski resorts was predominantly on-piste as the snow base was at low tide even though it was late January, yet it didn’t really matter because there was plenty of snow at the cat skiing destination, and one of the main objectives of the trip was to ski in a country with a very different culture, and it ticked all the requisite boxes.

DESTINATIONS
It was great that the trip started with city experiences and Almaty ski resorts, then moved regionally, and then really remote where the culture that I’d been anticipating felt the most apparent.

Almaty was a reasonably modern city and I didn’t find it particularly wow worthy as far as attractions went (especially compared to cities such as Tashkent and Samarkand) yet I really enjoyed going to the market, people watching, and the diverse cuisine at the restaurants. The Almaty ski resorts are on the cusp of major development, and it was nice that there were still plenty of laid-back aspects to the ski resorts that you’d expect for Central Asia. You can see my reviews of Almaty, Shymbulak Ski Resort and Oi Qaragai Ski Resort.

The drive out east was enjoyable, watching the regional towns pass by and the landscapes change. The Valley of Castles of the Charyn Canyon was a beautiful spot to get out for a long stretch of the legs for the 4km return walk to view the dramatic red rocks either side of the gorge. It was snowing lightly during most of the walk which added to the experience. A bit more of a drive towards the China border where I’d been hoping to see some camels, but alas it was not to be. We arrived at the hot springs resort which felt like a collision of Thailand and Kazakhstan. The natural hot springs were “natural” with respect to the water and were essentially swimming pools of different temperatures. The pool with the volleyball net didn’t seem in keeping with the relaxation theme, whilst a couple of the hotter pools were perfect, and being just a stone’s throw from my room for a post-soak shower made it all very convenient.

The next day we headed to the cat skiing destination, which not surprisingly was the highlight of the trip. It was delightfully raw and rustic – it’s not called the Ski Adventure Kazakhstan for nothing. I loved it! You can see my cat skiing review here and a little video. 

I skipped the last day of the trip that headed back to Almaty, as I was dovetailing into the Ski Adventure Kyrgyzstan tour and went across the border from the cat skiing to Karakol.

GUIDING
Our guide was a local from Kyrgyzstan with Russian ethnicity. I wasn’t too familiar with the typical style of hosts with a Russian background which others explained to me during my time in Central Asia. He didn’t provide much information regarding the plans for the day or during the day, and the expectation was that we’d ask questions if we wanted more information. This is all good and well unless you don’t know what you don’t know. For example, it would have been handy to know how days worth of bottled water we’d need for the regional part of the trip, and when we’d next be visiting a shop to buy more. We relaxed more further into the trip and got into the culture and became more used to the laissez-faire approach to guiding (and asked more questions).

At the ski resorts, it was more hosting than guiding, so there was plenty of flexibility to ski with the whole group or break off into smaller units, which worked well considering the diversity in ability levels in the group. At the cat skiing our host became an extra guide, whilst the main guiding came from the local mountain guides.

All pre-trip communication was incredibly professional and organised, and the establishment of the WhatsApp group was key for group communication.

ACCOMMODATION & MEALS
We stayed at the Renion Park Hotel in Almaty. Firstly, it was lovely that on the first day we were able to do a very early check-in, so after travelling from Zurich to Munich to Istanbul and arriving in Almaty in the morning, it was divine to have a shower and change of clothes before embarking on the city tour.

The hotel was quite nice and probably better than my expectations for such a well-priced tour. The hotel room was decent sized and the bathroom massive. The buffet breakfast was reasonably good and it had a good choice of fare. Some of the other tour guests used the pool and sauna for some relaxation, without going the full hog with the massage services.

We visited a couple of Almaty restaurants that were walking distance from the hotel, whilst another we visited on the way home from one of the ski resorts. The restaurants were modern Kazakh, Georgian and Chinese, and each had plenty of dish options and there was flexibility for the guide to take the lead with ordering and guests to also put some requests in. We could buy alcoholic beverages at a couple of restaurants, whilst another was alcohol free.

The one night stay at the hot springs was very relaxing, and some of my fellow group members did partake in a massage whilst there. The guest room was very simple but functional, and it was decadent to be so close to the hot springs. We had meals in the dining room. There wasn’t the same diversity of cuisine compared to the city because we had set dishes, including some traditional Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan fare such as plov and 5 Fingers. A beer would have topped off the relaxation of the hot spring resort, but alas we weren’t aware that the restaurant didn’t serve alcoholic drinks.

The lodge near the cat skiing was rustic as expected, and it provided a nice authentic Kazakhstan mountain experience. The rooms were small yet warm and comfortable, and it was a bit of a shame that the drop toilets were a decent walk away. The sauna was used to warm up in between splashing a bit of snow around to bathe, and luckily it wasn’t really necessary to bother washing the hair when a beanie or ski helmet sufficed. A couple of the staff spoke great English and whilst others didn’t, the service was incredibly attentive in a range of ways. The home cooked dishes for breakfast and dinner provided more insight into the local foods, and there was ready access to vodka.

Overall I really enjoyed this tour, which provided a taste of both city and rural Kazakhstan culture. I was travelling solo, but I was so fortunate that the others in the group were good fun, like-minded and up for an adventure. I’d give the Fun Factor rating a 10 if that was possible. Thanks crew and Ryce for an awesome time!
See our video here