Why Shymbulak is a great choice for a ski holiday (2025 update)

Shymbulak, one of Kazakhstan’s best resorts, is a great choice for skiers and snowboarders of all levels, as well as the non-skiers!

If you’re staying in Almaty then you’ll want to see the mountains, so why not visit Shymbulak Mountain Resort. In the winter, it is a great choice for skiers and snowboarders of all ability levels. While not the only ski resort accessible from Almaty, with Oi Qaragai taking about the same time to reach by car, Shymbulak is certainly the most popular. It has a great vibe, a number of bustling restaurants, and a large ski school. There are so many great reasons to choose Shymbulak for your next ski holiday! And at 3200m above sea level, it also has the longest ski season of all of Kazakhstan’s resorts.

Shymbulak is your best choice in the Almaty region if you want to ski or snowboard early or late in the season. The season generally lasts from November/December through to April. This 2024-2025 season started in early December, which is a moderately late start (but similar to the year before!). Also many of the side slopes didn’t open until late December which was unexpected. However, I would expect the season to continue until at least late March.

Is Shymbulak a great choice for beginners?

Shymbulak has a steeper main run than the other resorts in the region, however, it’s a still fine ski resort for those who are at beginner and intermediate levels. There are two beginner slopes to the left as you exit the gondola, and one to the right of the gondola. The ski school is right next to the gentlest slope on the left, part of the same complex as the Cashier and Information Desks. If you fancy a a nice blue slope then Talgar Pass is over on the non-city side of the mountain. To get to Talgar you must take the chairlift all the way to the top (to the 3,200m mark!) and then ski over to the other side of the ridge. You will be rewarded with the incredible views of the Tien Shan mountain range.

Shymbulak is a great choice if you need an instructor. Both my kids are now taking lessons with some of the wonderful English speaking instructors from the ski school. My son (4) is on the smaller beginner slope and my daughter (6) has advanced onto the main slope (though she prefers the less challenging T Bar slope!). I have only used the ski school myself here once before but I have spent a lot of time practicing on the main slope. Living in such close proximity to the resort has given me a great opportunity to become a better skier, and so now I am on my way to reaching an intermediate level! And I have enjoyed Shymbulak from the start, even when I was a beginner.

As I mentioned, there are three beginner slopes at the base of the slope. The true beginner slope goes across the mountain, and has two magic carpet lifts (one on either side of the run), one of which appears to be for classes and instructors only. Next to it is a slightly more advanced (longer and steeper) slope with a T Bar lift going up the mountain. Across the main slope (up and behind the KKD4 lift entrance) is another beginner slope, with a covered magic carpet lift.

All of Shymbulak’s slopes are usually well-groomed making them manageable for various ability levels. The chairlifts run from 9am to about 4pm/5pm (the chairlifts further up the mountain close closer to 4pm).

Is Shymbulak a great choice for expert skiers?

Expert skiers and boarders may not feel as challenged at Shymbulak as they would in some of the world’s bigger resorts. While I think the slopes here are pretty good, I am not an expert skier. There is one main run, which, while challenging to beginners, can be easily conquered by folks with lots of skill and experience. The main run does have some smaller paths off to the sides, and they offer some more excitement.

But do not fear, my expert skiers and boarders, the Shymbulak area is a great choice for you too – consider joining a ski tour group in the back country if you’re looking for a challenge. While I am nowhere near the level required to take part in these trips, I do hear they are fun! I would recommend contacting a local ski tour company such as Top Trip or Freeride (though my husband has had some trouble getting a response from the latter group).

If you’re busy during the day, Shymbulak is a great choice for you as night skiing is available several times per week during ski season. The chairlifts stop for an hour for the pre-night ski grooming on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday nights (for the 2024/25 season anyway). Then the lifts run 7pm till 11pm. Night skiing is super popular here so do be prepared for a crowd.

Can children enjoy Shymbulak too?

Yes, Shymbulak is a great choice for young skiers as well as little non-skiers. Visitors with small kids aged up to 12 years can find a fabulous creche called El Kiddo next to the ski school. According to the website it is 4,000 KZT for the first hour, but I’m sure recently it has gone up to 5,000, at least for peak ski season. This is about 10USD. The price per hour gets subsequently cheaper. Kids 3 and under need a babysitter or an accompanying adult (adult entry is a small fee around 500 KZT). The babysitter was an additional 4,000 KZT/hour last time we checked.

My kids are always keen to visit to the creche. There are arts and crafts, a cubby house, sports equipment and a tv with beanbags. There are also a range of club programs you can enrol your kids in. The “Skier” programs incorporate a ski lesson, but if you have a preferred instructor you can book them separately, and then arrange for them to do pick up and/or drop off at El Kiddo. There is a big choice of instructors at Shymbulak, and many of them speak English. Interestingly, you might notice that classes do not tend to be run with large groups of small children here. Instead, instruction is typically done one-on-one, or one instructor will take 2 children.

Where to eat at Shymbulak?

Shymbulak is a great choice if you’re a foodie, or if you’re just hungry! There are so many great restaurants here at Shymbulak, most of them around the base of the main chairlift. Some of Almaty’s city restaurants have opened franchises up here (Big Chefs, Paul) but there are also some standalone ones, such as one of our favourites, Chalet. There are also some great restaurants up the slope. Le Mont Hotel (formerly known as Sneg) has a restaurant in the middle of the slope, to the left of where you exit the first chairlift. Across the slope you can find La Skala, which you can access by the rather slow KKD-4 chairlift. On the mountain top sits Syn 32, with its unique dome shape, just to the left of the chairlift exit. Syn 32 stands out for me due to 1) they do the most lovely hot chocolates, and 2) their brand chef is from south London. About 50m further down the slope is Shymbulak Yurt 3200, at the end of the Tenir Eco Hotel chalets, serving traditional Central Asian cuisine, with a deck overlooking the gorgeous Tien Shan Mountains.

If you’ve been to Shymbulak before, you may be wondering why I haven’t mentioned the beloved Oblaka restaurant. I’m sorry to say that it burnt down in early 2023 and is yet to be rebuilt.

There are plenty of bathrooms at Shymbulak

If availability of bathrooms (and their cleanliness!) is important to you then Shymbulak is a great choice for you! They are all western style toilets here, and are easy enough to find and free to use. At the base of the slope there are some public ones in the ski school reception and at the exit point of the basement ski rental shop. There are also some at the top of the mountain, to the right of the chair lift exit as well as downstairs from Syn 32. To the right of the stairs up to Le Mont Hotel you will also find some public restrooms. Most of the restaurants have indoor bathrooms as well. All the public and restaurant toilets are clean, warm and are well maintained.

Time your visit: Get there early!

Shymbulak is a great choice if you’re an early bird! I’ve been here since 2021 and it still surprises me how busy Shymbulak gets in the afternoons. Almaty folks sure enjoy getting out of the city, but not till lunchtime! So time your visit for earlier in the day if you can, and – especially on a weekend – the earlier the better! The gondola opens at 8.30am.

Previously if you’d bought a morning pass, the gondola would stop working for you by 2pm so you would need to buy a new ticket to get back down the mountain. Shymbulak has wisely changed this, to allow skiers to use the restaurants after their ski pass finishes. The morning passes end at 13.30 but if you think you’ve got more in you, then I would just buy an all day pass, which, at 17,500 KZT (~29 USD) for a weekend day, is only slightly more expensive than the morning pass at 13,000 KZT. Please check the Shymbulak cable car page for up-to-date ticket prices.

Also worth noting is that the resort has its own IOS app where you can buy ski and gondola tickets, pay for parking etc. You can even use Apple Pay! There’s also an Android app.

Bring your own equipment or rent!

If you have your own equipment, that’s amazing. If you don’t, rent instead! It’s often cheaper to rent down in the city and bring your kit up with you. I can recommend Skadi (adults), on Dostyk Avenue, and Fischer (kids), located in the Rits Palace development, for ski equipment rental. But you can rent on the mountain too. There are two main rental shops at Shymbulak: one at the gondola base, and the second in Shymbulak Village, almost directly underneath the gondola (turn left after exiting the gondola and then find the stairs going underground about 20m on). The rental shop at the top of the gondola is likely to be outrageously busy – even first thing in the morning! Even on a weekday morning! Therefore, please do consider getting your kit at the gondola base and taking it up with you. Or from one of the ski rental places in town.

There is a second rental shop in Shymbulak village in the ski school area, across from the reception. It’s often far less busy than the rental shop downstairs. However, this is only available to those who have booked an instructor.

How to get to Shymbulak

Shymbulak is a great choice given how close to Almaty it is. Door-to-door from Al Farabi, its about 45 minutes. A 20 minute drive from Al Farabi to Medeu gets you to the base of gondola, and another 20 minutes gets you to the first chairlift, Combi 1. The gondola is a fun way to travel up to Shymbulak, and if you’re travelling with kids, they’ll be spellbound. For an all day pass on the gondola and resort chairlifts, you’re looking at around 17,500KZT (~35 USD). Kids under 6 ride for free. 

To reach the gondola station, you can drive yourself, take a Yandex taxi, or catch the bus. I prefer to drive myself. Usually spots close to the gondola are found quite easily, and parking is very affordable at approximately 500KZT (~1USD) for the day. Alternatively, Yandex taxis are a couple thousand tenge and so are quite affordable. They have a very straightforward app which allows you to use a range of payment methods (they have both IOS and Google versions).

I haven’t caught a bus here before, however, I know plenty of people who have and it is super affordable. To get to Shymbulak by bus you’ll need to catch Bus 12, which you can do from Dostyk Plaza, or anywhere up from there long Dostyk Avenue. Then get off the bus one stop before Medeu Skating Rink. Many buses on their way up to Medeu on weekends and holidays have standing room only, so do take that into consideration.

You can also catch an electric taxi from just outside the Medeu Skating Rink entrance and it’ll drop you off right at the top. In fact you could take an electric taxi the whole way up from town. Yandex now offers an electric taxi option in their app. I would still recommend going up on the gondola instead, as it’s a fun experience and very straightforward.

Flights to Almaty are served by many well known airlines: Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines, Lufthansa. National carrier, Air Astana is also a great premium option, with flights most days from London Heathrow.

Stay for the day or stay overnight

You can do Shymbulak in a day or spend the night in one of the resort hotels. Here are three hotels I’ve stayed in, in order of position on the slope:

Base of the slope: Shymbulak Hotel, an alpine style lodge, on the left as you exit the gondola. It has a restaurant, heated pool and a sauna, and a complimentary breakfast buffet. There are a range of rooms starting from the budget style ‘Standard’ up to “Suite +” range of rooms. We’ve always had rooms with balconies that face up the main slope which is fun. It’s the only hotel in this list where you can take a taxi from Medeu to the reception.

Midway up the slope: Le Mont Hotel, formerly known as Sneg, is halfway up the slope, next to the end point of the Combi 1 chairlift. It is another, slightly smaller, alpine-style lodge. Look to the left as you approach the exit at the end of the chairlift and you can’t miss it. Please note you cannot take a taxi to this hotel. Your proximity to the slope is good here, with a semi ski in/ski out set up. We haven’t visited the hotel since its rebranding, but we will do so soon. The rooms definitely used to be lovely, and being a bit further up the mountain the views were great, so as long as they didn’t go too crazy with the change I think it’ll all still be wonderful. The rooms were slightly bigger than Shymbulak Hotel and so last time our bathroom, for example, had a sauna.

Top of slope: Tenir Eco Hotel is the newest and most modern looking of the hotels. At the top of Shymbulak’s main run, it has a stunning vista of the surrounding mountains. Access is via the chairlift, and taxis cannot get up here. Each room is a detached cabin, giving guests a little more privacy. You can check in at the first of the cabins which serves as the reception. The cabins have saunas and access to the slopes so you can ski in/ski out easily. Children under 8 are not allowed as guests. 

What do I know about Shymbulak?

I’ve been living here and visiting Shymbulak since mid 2021 with my family. Visit my About Me page to understand more about my perspective. And check out my Kazakhstan page to find out more about why I think why you should travel to Kazakhstan!

Also, I have the following blog posts on skiing generally in Kazakhstan!

• The Best View In Shymbulak: Le Mont Hotel Review
• The best place to stay in Shymbulak Mountain Resort
• Kazakhstan should make your list for great ski destinations
• Oi Qaragai Resort is an excellent option for your next ski holiday
• The best place to stay at Oi Qaragai Resort
• Why I think you should visit Ak Bulak Ski Resort