Diverse experiences await travelers in Kazakstan

A block north is the Green Market, a giant, quintessentially Central Asian market that is a must-visit, and one of the city's best people-watching spots.

A few hours' drive northeast of the city is Altyn-Emel National Park, a 4,600-square-meter UNESCO World Heritage site. Though it takes a while to get to, Altyn-Emel is one of the most accessible and convenient options to get a taste of the glorious scenery of Kazakhstan's vast empty spaces.

Among Altyn-Emel's wonders are the otherworldly red, orange and white-colored hills of the Aktau Mountains, and all manner of rare flora and fauna including wild donkeys, Persian gazelle, Siberian toad and the 700-year-old "sacred tree". Most incredible of all is the "singing Dune", an ancient 150-meter-high geological oddity rising up from the steppe that makes a sound like an organ when its sands move. There are many guesthouses in small towns near the park, and passes to enter must be bought in advance.

Whether its hiking around Altyn-Emel or pounding the pavements in search of yet another Soviet-modernist architectural wonder, weary travelers in Almaty can take a trip to the Arasan Baths to get some welcome rejuvenation.

Immediately to the west of Pankilov Park, Arasan is, from the outside, a hulking Soviet brutalist complex covering almost an entire block, but the atmosphere switches from imposing to comforting once inside the building. A huge menu of massage treatments is available, and for about 7000 KZT (around $15) customers can spend as long as they like in the spa's many saunas and steam rooms, and cool off in its ornate grand circular pool.

If time permits, it is worth visiting the marvels of Charyn Canyon. Over millions of years, the swift Charyn (Sharyn) River has carved a truly spectacular canyon reaching a depth of 300 meters in the otherwise flat steppe some 200 km east of Almaty, and time has weathered it into unique and colorful rock formations.