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Shymkent
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Shymkent

The Warm, Bazaar-Loving South

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1 dayIdeal stay₹3,150From / night₹1,260Food / dayFreeEntry

Kazakhstan's third city, in the warm south near the Uzbek border: busy bazaars, Uzbek-style plov and samsa, parks and fountains, and SCAT's home airport. It is the base for Turkistan (2-2.5 hours by road), for Sayram, an ancient town on the Silk Road 10 km east where Khoja Ahmed Yasawi was born, and for the Aksu-Zhabagly nature reserve in the Western Tien Shan. About 1.5 hours by air from Almaty, or an overnight train. Tashkent is two hours away across the border (a separate visa question for Uzbekistan).

Highlights

  • Central Bazaar: melons, dried fruit and spices
  • Uzbek-style plov and tandyr samsa
  • Independence Park
  • Sayram's mausoleums
  • Day trip to the Aksu canyon

Things to do

  • Central Bazaar and the old townMorning · 2h 30m
  • Sayram mausoleumsAfternoon · 2h 30m
  • Independence Park at sunsetEvening · 1h 30m
  • Day trip to the Aksu canyon (Aksu-Zhabagly)Morning · 8h

Tours & tickets

Tours & tickets in Shymkentvia GetYourGuideTours & tickets in Shymkentvia Klook

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When to go

Best time: April – May, September – October

Worth knowing

Steppe and Desert Heat

From June to August the south and west of Kazakhstan pass 35-40°C by day, more in the desert. Sightsee at dawn and in the evening, carry water, cover your head, and rest indoors after lunch.

Heads up

Nauryz Holidays (21-23 March)

Nauryz, the spring new year, brings yurt villages, concerts and feasts to every city on 21-23 March. Offices and some museums close, and trains, flights and hotels fill with Kazakhs travelling home: book ahead.

  • Nauryz (Spring New Year) — Kazakhstan's biggest holiday, at the spring equinox: 21-23 March are public holidays. Yurt villages go up in the squares, families cook nauryz kozhe (a seven-ingredient soup), and there are concerts, horse games and fairs; Turkistan and Shymkent celebrate hardest. Offices and some museums close, and trains and flights home are full.
  • Kurban Ait (Eid al-Adha) — The feast of sacrifice, a public holiday on its first day; it moves about 11 days earlier each year (mid-May in 2027). Mosques and the Yasawi mausoleum in Turkistan are crowded with families; some shops and offices close.