You fly in from Tashkent: nonstop flights take about an hour and a half, and Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are on the same time, UTC+5. If you come from another city, we meet your flight into Almaty just the same.

At the airport your driver meets you and takes you to your hotel.

The rest of the day is yours. Almaty lies at 700–900 m in the foothills of the Zailiysky Alatau, and on a clear day the snow peaks stand right above the streets.

Good to know: We book the flight from Tashkent for you on request, on the current schedule.

Overnight in Almaty

After breakfast, Panfilov Park in the centre of the city. In the middle of it stands the Ascension Cathedral, built of wood in 1904–1907; the architect Andrei Zenkov led the work, and locals still call it the Zenkov Cathedral. It is 56 m high and came through the earthquake of 1911 with little damage. You see it from outside, as a monument of architecture. In the same park is the carved wooden building of the Museum of Kazakh Folk Musical Instruments.

Then up into the gorge to Medeu, at 1,691 m. The high-mountain skating rink opened here in 1951, and in winter its ice is open to skaters. From Medeu a gondola runs for about 4.5 km up to the Shymbulak ski resort, at about 2,260 m. If the upper lifts are running, you can go on towards the Talgar pass, at about 3,200 m, for the widest view of the peaks.

In the evening, Kok-Tobe, a hill on the edge of the city with a park and viewpoints: from the top the whole of Almaty lies below you as the lights come on.

Good to know: For a few weeks a year, between seasons, the lifts at Shymbulak stop for maintenance; we check the dates for your trip. Up there it is much cooler than in the city, so take a warm layer.

Overnight in Almaty

In the morning, the transfer to Almaty airport and a domestic flight north to Astana; we pick the flight for your dates. Your guide meets you on arrival.

First, the National Museum of Kazakhstan on Independence Square. In its Hall of Gold is the Golden Man: the costume of a Saka warrior covered with gold plates, found in the Issyk burial mound near Almaty, shown with other gold of the steppe. Across the square you see the Palace of Peace and Accord from outside, a 62-metre pyramid designed by Foster + Partners.

Then Baiterek, a white tower crowned with a golden sphere; a lift takes you up to the observation deck inside the sphere. From the tower Nurzhol Boulevard runs as a long pedestrian axis to Khan Shatyr, a huge transparent tent, also by Foster + Partners. You walk the boulevard with your guide and finish at Khan Shatyr, with free time for a coffee and the shops.

Good to know: Museums in Astana close one day a week; we plan days 3 and 4 around it.

Overnight in Astana

In the morning, Nur Alem, the central pavilion of EXPO 2017: a glass sphere 80 m in diameter, now the Museum of Future Energy. Each of its eight floors has its own theme: space, the sun, wind, water, biomass and kinetic energy, with a national section at the base and the future city at the top. The top floor is also an observation deck over the EXPO grounds and the new districts of the city.

The afternoon is free: a walk along the embankment of the Yesil river, a coffee in the centre or a return to Khan Shatyr.

Overnight in Astana