If you’re looking to go for a walk in Almaty without actually having to exercise, look no further– I walk to school every day, and it’s come to be one of my favorite things about living in Almaty. The walk is about 2.1 miles (3.4 km), and it usually takes me about 40 minutes. Since we have classes at 8:00 almost every morning, I leave the apartment around 7:15, which means I get to walk in the sunrise. Most days, the temperature is around 60॰F (10॰C) and sunny, and the flowers are in full bloom. So, put on your favorite walking shoes and let’s go!
The most important thing to know about walking in Almaty is that there are two basic directions: “up” the mountains and “down” the mountains. These terms are used to give directions, so it’s important to remember. Don’t worry if you forget, though; the mountains are almost always visible, and if they’re not, just ask yourself whether it feels like you’re out of breath a bit sooner than usual– if you are, you’re probably walking up the incline of the mountains!
Luckily, the walk to school is all down the mountains. We’ll start by walking down a small paved alley for about 5 minutes, which has fences on both sides of the road. The fences are all different colors depending on the house, and the houses are all very short. Lilac bushes burst over the fences and make small, sweet-smelling arches to walk under. The fences and the lilacs create a colorful walk, which is only amplified by the pink and yellow tones of the sunrise. Cats often dart into the alley in the morning, and I like to keep track of the animals I see.
The alley ends at the intersection of a road, which we’ll cross, and then we’ll turn left onto Yuri Gagarin avenue. This is a busy street, so you’ll see lots of cars, buses, and trolleybuses transporting the residents of Almaty. It can be a bit loud, but if you look behind you, you’ll be able to clearly see the mountains, which are still covered in snow. It’s a gorgeous view!
We’ll walk on this street for about ten minutes, and then we’ll cross the street on the crosswalk. Always make sure you cross the street on the crosswalk in Almaty; cars are only required to stop for pedestrians if they’re in a crosswalk, and they likely won’t stop otherwise. The cars here drive super fast, and they don’t make an intention of slowing down, so you have to be both careful and confident crossing the street. Make sure a car is far enough away that it can stop, and when you begin crossing the street, it probably will.
Now that we’ve crossed the street, we’ll pass by the giant flower store, and then we’ll take a right into another alley, where we’ll walk for about ten minutes. The road is paved with asphalt, but the sides of the road are gravel, so if a car passes by, they’ll usually kick up a dust cloud. It’s quiet along this alley, though, and we’ll walk right up to the busy street that runs perpendicular to the alley. We’ll turn left onto this busy road, but don’t worry if the noise bothers you– we’ll only be on this road for about 2 minutes. If you look down to your right, you’ll be able to see the little canals that run through Almaty, called aryks. When it’s raining, you can see the water rush down the incline of the mountain in these canals, pouring into the rivers of the city.
After walking for about two minutes alongside the traffic, we’ll cross the busy road at the intersection. Since this crosswalk is pretty big, the crosswalk sign has a timer that shows you how much time you have left to cross the street or how much time you have to wait to cross. I think this is a nifty feature on some of the crosswalks here– oh look, it’s green!
We’ve crossed the street, and in about one block we’ll arrive at the back end of Atakent Park. This is a medium-sized park in Almaty, and it’s my favorite part of the walk to school. Giant pine and oak trees line the path through the back of the park, and after about five minutes we exit the tiny forest and come to the manicured part of the park. There are fountains (though they’re still dry from winter), bushes, benches, and the sound of birds chirping. If you turn around, you’ll see an incredible view of the mountains!
We’ll walk through the entire length of the park, and at the very front you’ll see the giant Atakent arches, five metallic arches about as tall as a three-story building. As the sun slowly comes up, the orange light reflects off the metal of the arches, and they appear majestic and beautiful.
Here, I’ll show you my shortcut– Atakent Park is along a major avenue where our university is located, and there are plenty of storefronts and restaurants. The university is to our right, so we’ll turn right, but we’ll walk behind the restaurants and stores to avoid the crowds and the noise of the traffic. This is the path for the trucks that deliver goods to these stores and restaurants, but at this time of day, there are never any trucks, so it’s safe to walk on the black paved backroad tucked away just behind the buildings.
This main avenue, called Timiryazev, will take us right to our university, so we’ll stay on it for the last twenty minutes of our walk. Once we get closer to the university, the sidewalk widens, and there’s another sidewalk for scooters, bikes, and skateboards that’s separated by a patch of grass and trees from the pedestrian sidewalk. The pedestrian sidewalk is paved with bricks, and along the way you can see the botanical garden on the right. We’ll be walking parallel to the mountains the entire time, so you can sneak a quick peek of the mountains through the fences and trees of the botanical garden!
Phew, we’ve arrived! Now it’s time to head to the philological department for class. Thanks for keeping me company on my walk. I hope you enjoyed our little jaunt through Almaty!
Until next time,
Grace
