Hiking three peaks in the Tian Shan Mountains

One of my favorite hikes in Kazakhstan was a hike that covered three peaks - Furmanov Peak, Panorama Peak, and Shymbulak Peak, all around 3000m in height. I had the opportunity to hike this in early July with two friends I had made during my Steppe Spirit trip, Kazu and Satori, who are traveling from Japan. We had bonded during the Steppe Spirit trip and wanted to end our time in Almaty with one last hike in the beautiful Tian Shan mountains. I hope you enjoy the photos!

Figuring out which way to go. Maps.me and AllTrails are two apps I highly recommend to use whenever you’re hiking, especially when you need offline navigation.

A view of the valley at the beginning of our hike

Looking down into Almaty from the mountains. It seemed that the city was always covered in some type of smog/clouds, but it wasn’t clear to me whether it was pollution or something else.

Happy hiking! Note how white this shirt is - writing this post now (a month later), I can definitively tell you that shirt is no longer white.

We encountered several horses on our way up to the first peak. Not sure if they are wild or tamed, but they made for a pretty photo

The view from Furmanov Peak (3053m), our first peak of the hike (there were three).

Classic May photo

Same pose, different view from Furmanov peak. I loved being in the mountains and seeing the snow-capped peaks in the distance.

A close up of part of the Tian Shan mountains

Seeing snow on the hike was very exciting, especially because it was still summertime! We began encountering snow on our way to the second peak, Panorama Peak (3260m). I may have happily added my footprints to the snow like a little kid.

Panorama Peak with a panorama view

You can kind of make me out in the distance despite the harsh glare of the midday sun. The sun in Central Asia is no joke!

My favorite moment in this hike was when we all sat down and meditated. I had missed my morning meditation and asked Kazu and Satori if we could take time at Panorama Peak to meditate. We were the only ones at the mountain top and the air was clean and crisp. Breathing deeply, in and out, surrounded by friends and Mother Nature, I felt so at peace.

Satori (L), Kazu (R), and I full smiles at Panorama Peak.

We’d originally planned an out-and-back hike where we’d hike to Panorama Peak then head back to the city, but when we saw that Shymbulak Peak was only several miles away, we decided to go for it! Some locals told us that if we were able to hike up to Shymbulak and then hike down to the ski lift before 4:30pm, we could catch the ski lift back to town and avoid having to walk back the way we came.

On our way to Shymbulak Peak, and of course I’m quite excited to do some hiking in the snow!

It was not an easy hike up! There were lots of unstable rocks that made the hike up tricky and it was very steep. I used to think that hiking poles were only for old people or those who weren’t physically fit (silly silly May), but the moment I started using them I realized how amazing they are. They are especially great in reducing pressure on your knees, especially for going downhill or hiking with a big backpack, and are now always part of my hiking packing list.

Another view of the hike up to Shymbulak Peak - not easy!

During this challenging uphill, Kazu kept on chanting “Cheesecake! Noodles! Cheesecake! Noodles!” with each step up the mountain in order to motivate himself. We took this to heart and would later treat ourselves to - you guessed it - noodles and cheesecake at the end of the hike

Made it! And isn’t the view gorgeous? Shymbulak Peak sits at 3450m.

Three successful hikers celebrating making it to Shymbulak Peak (the third on this hike) and for making it in time to catch the ski lift right before it closes - hurrah! Otherwise we’d have to walk an additional 45 min.

One last view before heading down to the ski lift

The promised noodles! We had lagman (the local noodle dish) for dinner and this was probably my favorite meal in all of Almaty. The portions were huge and I loved my plate of fried noodles (bottom). They were cooked with Chinese spices that reminded me a bit of a Sichuan stir-fry and included beef, pepper, and Chinese celery. The restaurant was frequented by locals (we were the only foreigners!) and is called Lagmankhana Urumchi

And we couldn’t forget the promised cheesecake! I had bragged to Kazu and Satori about finding the best cheesecake in Almaty and took them to Whoopie Cakes cafe. Needless to say, the cheesecake did not disappoint. It was beautifully crafted with a thick graham cracker crust and perfectly smooth NY cheesecake-style filling.

You’ll note that Kazu is holding two cheesecakes, but he ended up saving it for breakfast for the following day.

When I came back to my hostel, it turned out the owner was throwing a party to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the hostel’s existence!

The hostel is named after Tomiris (also spelled Tomyris), a queen who reigned over Central Asia around 500 BC and is famous for leading her army into war to successfully defend her people.

The owner (far right with glasses) had watermelon and cake to celebrate, but much to my disappointment I was way too full to partake in the celebrations, so I rolled off to bed. I did get gifted a chocolate bar featuring Tomiris’ image though!