December 2024
VISA free to Almaty with Air Astana,and have a distinctive skiing experience
Kazakhstan currently visa-free to Chinese citizens. Almaty, the pearl on the Silk Road, is known as the “world’s greenest city” in summer, and has beautiful ski resorts in winter, its infrastructure is also the standard of the Winter Olympics.
Ski resort introduction
Shymbulak Alpine Ski Resort is only a half-hour drive from Almaty. It is the largest ski resort in Central Asia and has been certified by the International Ski Federation FIS. The ski resort is located in the Tien Shan Mountains, with an altitude of 3,500 meters and a drop of 900 meters. The slope of the ski slope is more than 20 kilometers long, with an average snow thickness of 1.5 meters. The best skiing time is from November to April of the following year.
The altitude difference here is huge. The cable car can take you from the Medeu Ice Rink at an altitude of more than 1,000 meters to the glacier at an altitude of more than 3,000 meters. The scenery on both sides of the cable car 🚡 is beautiful, with majestic mountains, snow slopes and evergreen Tien Shan fir trees appearing in front of you.
The characteristic of the Shymbulak ski resort is the variety of routes, including gentle slopes for beginners, long ski slopes for trained skiers, FIS downhill trails, unspoiled snow and half-pipe ski slopes, extreme turns for professionals, and special mogul tracks. New routes appear in Shymbulak every year. The ski resort in Shymbulak is certified by the International Ski Federation (FIS). The downhill track and giant slalom track are naturally listed among the top ten most difficult tracks in the world.
Flight information
Air Astana (flight code KC), is the national airline of Kazakhstan and the largest airline in Central Asia, has direct flights from Beijing and Urumqi to Almaty, with 5 flights per week from Beijing to Almaty and 4 flights per week from Urumqi to Almaty.
Before April 15, 2025, passengers departing from China on Air Astana can check in one piece of snow equipment weighing less than 23 kg for free🆓. The Beijing to Almaty/Astana route is operated by Airbus A321LR, and passengers can experience Air Astana’s fully flat business class and economy sleeper products.
The A321LR has 16 business class seats, with a staggered layout of 2+2 in odd rows and 1+1 in even rows, of which 4 seats provide extra spacious personal space. The economy sleeper product provides three consecutive seats lying flat, with mattresses, duvets, pillows, and access to the business class lounge. The travel kit is also configured in the same way as the business class.
Latest promotion: There is a special discount for round-trip flights from Beijing to Tashkent, Almaty, Bishkek, Dushanbe and Tbilisi on Air Astana between December 10 and 20, 2024, with travel dates from December 20, 2024 to February 28, 2025.
New Business VIP Lounge The Shanyraq
Air Astana’s new 24-hour lounge located in Terminal 2 of Almaty International Airport has been opened. It covers an area of 600 square meters and can accommodate 100 people. It includes a work area, a mother-and-child room, a shower area, facilities for passengers with limited mobility, flight information display and a dining area.
Transit ski destination recommendation
Through Almaty, you can also transfer to ski resorts in Tbilisi, Bishkek and other places through Air Astana’s route network.
