How to hit the trail in Central Asia

While Central Asian countries may not make it to a lot of Hongkongers’ travel bucket lists, Kazakhstan has much to offer for tourists both historically and architecturally through its former capital Almaty, which is considered the most beautiful city in the country, and its newly established cutting edge modern capital Astana.

Despite only having gained independence from the USSR in 1991, Kazakhstan has been inhabited by nomadic tribes since the Paleolithic era, contributing to the region’s incredibly rich cultural and archaeological history. As of today, there are 130 different ethnicities living in Kazakhstan, including Russians, Turkics, Uzbeks, Ukrainians, Uyghurs, and even European nationals like Germans and Poles, rendering the region a multicultural melting pot.

Kazakhstan’s natural landscape is concentrated with steppes – vast areas of dry grasslands – that have molded the country’s culture. The Kazakhs’ diet, for instance, primarily consisting of meat and dairy products from horses, camels, goats and yaks, are influenced by nomadic pastoralism. “Almaty has nature and historical architecture, some of the best restaurants in Kazakhstan, and skiing is only 30 minutes away from the city,” said Dosmanbetov when recommending spots for first-time visitors. Astana on the other hand offers a plethora of lakes and mountains to sight-see.