Shymkent: The Gateway to Southern Kazakhstan
This travel guide covers my visit to Shymkent, a modern, thriving city in southern Kazakhstan near the border with Uzbekistan.
A visit to Shymkent
When you travel from Uzbekistan’s capital of Tashkent over the border to Kazakhstan, Shymkent will be the first major city you pass through.
Travelling overland from Tashkent to Shymkent using public transport was straightforward, and I covered the 135-kilometre distance between these cities in 3 hours and 30 minutes.
The primary reason for my visit to Shymkent was simple: The flight back to Europe was significantly cheaper from here than from nearby Tashkent.
Although Shymkent isn’t typically listed as one of Kazakhstan’s top travel destinations, it is reportedly a pleasant place to explore what I had gathered from a couple of guide books, and given that I haven’t visited Kazakhstan before, it did make a lot of sense to visit the city for a day.
First impressions of Shymkent
Indeed, while walking the broad boulevards of the city centre and looking at some of Shymkent’s Soviet-era apartment blocks, it reminded me more of communist-era neighbourhoods of 1970s and 80s Romania, such as the Obor district in my home town of Bucharest, or the Mărăști neighbourhood in Cluj-Napoca.
That’s not much of a surprise if you look at the city’s history.
Shymkent, alternatively spelled as Chimkent, traces its history back to a 12th century trading post and caravanserai, but only really grew into a city after it was conquered and developed by Tsarist Russia.
When the Tsars were overthrown and the Soviet Union was established, Shymkent was selected as the focal point for industrial development in southern Kazakhstan, leading to rapid modernisation of the city.
Shymkent, which has a population of over a million inhabitants, still is the economic hub of southern Kazakhstan and one of the most important cities in the country.
Although Shymkent may lack historic sights, it does mean there is no reason to visit, as it’s a lively city that will give you a good impression of modern-day life in Kazakhstan.
Walking through the centre
Having checked into my hotel, I just started walking randomly through the city centre.
On a boulevard, I walked beneath a large banner bearing the Borat-esque slogan “Increase in the welfare of the people and improving the quality of life” – only the text “Make benefit glorious nation of Kazakhstan” was conspicuously missing.
Apart from that, I encountered a weird diagonal pedestrian crossing which I found oddly intriguing, as well as a giant red tulip fountain, which didn’t contain any water.
Shopping centre
Things started to look up when I went into a modern local shopping centre, which was full of people and had a couple of appealing cafés as well as an ice rink.
If you find yourself travelling on the road for an extended time in Central Asia, Shymkent would surely be a great city if you are looking for modern amenities or need to stock up on certain goods.
Theatre
After a coffee in a shopping mall café, I continued my walk through the centre of Shymkent.
Passing by the university, philharmonic hall and a small park, I made my way to the most important sight in Shymkent at the southern edge of the city centre.
Monument of Mother Earth
Probably the most important sight in Shymkent is the ‘Monument of Mother Earth’ on Ordabasy Square at the southern end of the city centre.
Also known as the Independence Monument, this structure comprises a tall red pedestal topped by a figure symbolising Mother Earth.
From the square, a pedestrian bridge takes you across a busy street into Independence Park.
Independence Park
Located on a hill overlooking the city, Independence Park is also a pleasant sight to explore on your visit to Shymkent.
Within this park, you’ll come across various monuments dedicated to the country of Kazakhstan.
Communist relief
Back in the city centre, be sure to visit the impressive communist relief on the façade of the Shymkent Youth Centre.
In front of this building you can also find a statue of Al-Farabi, a renowned 10th century Islamic philosopher and music theorist born in Central Asia.
Lunch
Being without internet to look up any restaurant recommendations, I just entered a random place for lunch.
Even though the restaurant menu was exclusively in Russian, I had no trouble transliterating the Cyrillic words for manti and shashlik, so that was what I ordered.
For a grand total of $4, I enjoyed delicious dumplings, two succulent shashliks, and a pint of Shymkentskoe Pilsner, the local beer that the city folk of Shymkent take pride in.
Shymkent hotel
For the remainder of the afternoon, I just wandered around aimlessly and made a second time at a local bar for a beer or two.
Though there wasn’t much to see, I did enjoy the laid-back atmosphere in Shymkent, as it provided a welcome relief to take it a bit easier after some intensive sightseeing in the Silk Road cities of Uzbekistan.
In the late afternoon, I returned to my room at the Shymkent Grand Hotel, a refurbished communist-era hotel and one of the more pleasant accommodation options in town.
With a room rate of $30 for the night, I had no reason to complain.
As I had a very early flight the next morning at 5.40am, I decided to turn in early for the night.
I was quite sure that there would soon be another travel opportunity to see more of Kazakhstan than just Shymkent!
Conclusion
Although Shymkent certainly isn’t Kazakhstan’s most interesting destination to visit, the city does have a pleasant atmosphere and isn’t a bad place to linger around for a while.
Serving as the gateway to southern Kazakhstan and the primary economic and industrial hub in the region, Shymkent is a modern and vibrant city with all the necessary facilities for visitors.
With good onward connections by bus and train, as well as an airport with flights across the wider region, Shymkent is also a convenient transport hub.
If you are travelling from places further afield in Kazakhstan such as Turkistan, Almaty, or Astana towards Tashkent in Uzbekistan, then Shymkent is a logical place to stop over.
Trip report index
This article is part of the ‘From Uzbekistan With Plov‘ trip report, which consists of the following chapters:
1. Review: Prietenia Night Train Bucharest to Chisinau
2. Chisinau Guide: A Visit to Moldova’s Capital
3. Istanbul Ataturk Airport and the Turkish Airlines Lounge
4. Review: Turkish Airlines Business Class Airbus A330
5. Tashkent Travels: A Day in the Capital of Uzbekistan
6. Tashkent to Samarkand by Uzbekistan Railways ‘Shark’ Train
7. Samarkand Visit Guide: Travelling Through Silk Road Splendour
8. Review: Afrosiyob High-Speed Train Samarkand to Bukhara
9. Bukhara: Exploring Unique Historic Sights and Timeless Charm
10. Bukhara to Khiva by Train: My Travel Experience
11. Khiva: Uzbekistan’s Unique Desert Oasis City
12. On a Night Train Across Uzbekistan: From Urgench to Tashkent
13. Guide: How to Travel From Tashkent to Shymkent
14. Shymkent: The Gateway to Southern Kazakhstan (current chapter)
15. Sukhoi Superjet: Flying Russia’s Homemade Plane
Hey Koen! Thank you for great info about Shymkent. One question, how did you get from Tashkent to Skymkent? I saw there is train but it takes 6 hours and by car is only 2 hours. Did you manage to find any bus on that route? Thanks!
Hi Kajetan!
Please read the previous article in the series, in which I describe all the transport options how to get from Tashkent to Shymkent and my own travel experience!
https://paliparan.com/2023/12/28/tashkent-to-shymkent-travel/