Hiking in the mountains is the favorite form of entertainment of city residents. You will not find a single Almaty citizen who’s never gone to the mountains. Although many complain that they get out into nature less often than they would like. There are thousands of routes of very different complexity for people with different physical training and each of them is beautiful in its own way.
Top 3 popular places for hiking near Almaty:
Kok Zhailau
The gorge of stunning beauty is located mere 20 kilometers away from the city. You can get there from the side of the Almarasan gorge, or from the direction of Medeu, and many tourists like to enter it from one side and exit from the other. People often stay overnight in tents, and the low difficulty of the route makes it easy to conquer even for children and pensioners.
Butakovsky waterfalls
The waterfalls located near Medeu Tracts are a popular weekend hike: they can be reached in just 3 hours, and the stunning view of a stream of crystal-clear water, breaking from a height of 30 meters, is fascinating and worth all the effort. The route is also suitable for visits with children, and thanks to the wide trail it is difficult to get lost there.
Furmanov Peak
One of the easiest city peaks which makes it one of the most popular with tourists. Its height is only 3200 meters, and the rise is quite smooth and comfortable. By the way, at this peak there are famous swings, and many make it to the top just for the sake of taking a photo on them. From the mountain, you can see stunning landscapes of the city and the mountains of Zailiski Alatau, while the tourists with the most endurance can try to get to the next peak – Panorama.
