#1 Shopping at Green Bazaar

If you were in Almaty, but did not visit the Green Bazaar, then you did not see the lion's share of the local national coloring. This market, designed in oriental traditions, amazes with the abundance of goods of all kinds and varieties, here you can find any spices, plants and tinctures, oriental sweets and fruits, meat, game, seafood and much more. In one day, it is hardly possible to see and appreciate everything that is sold here. 

#2 Try the National Dish

Beshbarmak, Kazakh national dish; chunks of long-boiled mutton or beef served atop flat squares of pasta with onions and potatoes, which in translation from Kazakh means "five fingers" since traditionally you are supposed to eat it using your hands. Modern versions of this dish usually substitute horse with any other meat, but the original recipe calls for kazy.

#3 Snack with Baursaks & Shelpeks

Baursaks and shelpeks are traditional bread products.Baursaks are a kind of Kazakh donuts, which is prepared from fresh or yeast dough. Sometimes cottage cheese baursaks are also cooked. These small fried pies are made and served with main courses. Shelpeks are flat cakes - a traditional Kazakh dish, which has several varieties. Usually they prepare shelpeks in the amount of 7 pieces, sometimes 9. Home-made cakes without yeast are prepared with only three ingredients (flour, water, salt). Shelpeks are fried in a pan for a few seconds. They are not greasy inside, since the dough does not absorb oil.

#4 Drink Horse's & Camel's Milk

Kazakhstan’s national drink is fermented mare’s milk. Kazakhs have a long tradition of drinking ‘Koumiss’ (fermented mare's milk). Kazakhs and Kyrgyz like a thick, yeasty, slightly fizzy concoction called bozo, made from boiled fermented millet or other grains. Turkmen, Kazakh and Karakalpak nomads are also like to drink ‘Shubat’ (fermented camel’s milk). Camel’s milk can be fermented because it has a high sugar content. Koumiss & Shubat, this is a sour bitter-tasting milky drink, made by adding yeast cultures to a mare’s milk mixture. It generally has an alcoholic content of about 3%.There is a popular opinion among locals that koumiss makes your eyes sharper, feet stronger and soul younger. It is regarded as a healthy drink full of protein, minerals, and vitamins. Shubat is a sour-milk drink made from camel milk. Compared to kumis, it has a higher fat content.

#5 Exploring the Apple Forests

The apples that we buy in our supermarkets are very likely descended from Central Asian ancestors that still grow in the wilds of Kazakhstan. And the search is on to bring more of these exotic varieties to the world.It might seem strange to think that the common apple was not originally a universal fruit, but in fact it has its roots in one specific region of the world. The ancestor of the domestic apple is the Malus sieversii, which grows wild in the Tian Shan Mountains of Kazakhstan.Today, reserves throughout the Tian Shan mountain range keep the last wild apple forests growing safely—except from foraging bears. The apple forests only exist in patches along the Tian Shan mountain range now. There are various protected sections in the Ile-Alatau National Park, but hiring a guide to take you there is recommended as they are difficult to find.

Check out more interesting Kazakhstan travel itineraries here!