almaty zoo

Kids would really enjoy the zoo with exotic animals, on their weekend. There is the famous double humped camel as well, which is the main attraction.

I came here to see a polar bear and white tiger and was overwhelmed with all other exotic creatures I have encountered. Considering the paltry entrance fee, the visit was worth it. I can't seem to justify the seeming unequal distribution of roaming space for animals (some lions would occupy a very big area in their lonesome while some are left in small, seemingly unmaintained cages) but I think it is a work in progress. I hope that in time, they can make more improvements to make it even more attractive. Another downside is the lack of public transport leading to the place. A taxi ride costs about 1500 tengue one way. It is not perfect but has a lot of potential. The variety of animals in the zoo makes the visit worthwhile though.

This is not the kind of place to see animals. Old, dilapidated and tiny cages housing animals that clearly have some kind of depression. Best to avoid at all cost. Very sad.

You can see a lot of different animals and birds in Almaty zoo. White bears from Northern ocean, monkeys from India, kangaroos from Australia, giraffes from Africa, etc. While the territory for animals living is not big.

Well, you can hardly say that this is a zoo. It is quite small and you cannot see many animals. They are confined in very small cages and can barely move inside. The ponies and the camels are the lucky ones as they are used to give visitors a ride in the park. If you are in Almaty jus for a short visit then you can skip this place. But if you live in the area, then the place is a good destination to walk your pet, come for a walk or bring your kids to play around. The Gorky Park is a big and nice park and there is also a designated area for fun rides that kids enjoy anywhere. The zoo is at the other end of the park, so to reach there you need to cross the park, and this is not something bad after all.

I love visiting zoo's and this one was relatively cheap 700KZT a person. They had an interesting selection of animals, they were however in seemingly poor condition. It definitely needs an update and hopefully a little bit better care of the animals. I did have a reasonably good time though. It was interesting seeing some common north american critters as objects of a zoo.

not the usual zoo, but the spa attached is fantastic and very cosmopolitian, not bad prices and lots off staff to look after us.

I'm really not a fan of zoos but since I was wandering around Central Park (Gorky Park) and the zoo is accessed via the eastern end of the park I thought I'd stop in for a look. As zoos go this was fairly well laid out but not large. Curiously, it did seem to have a large number of different raptors many of which I had never seen before (but in small enclosures).

...invest in the Zoo! It's in a pretty bad shape... (( Spend your money on better care for the animals and not on building numerous stupid malls. The zoo hasn't been truly renovated since the Soviet times. Also, the staff has to re-think the whole approach to it. Does it REALLY need exotic animals that the city is not able to take a good care of? The ones that do not weather harsh winters so well. Focus maybe on the endemic species instead? P.S. They need to start with a good map of the zoo placed in a central location.

small cages ,not clean ,animals are not confortable ,needs lot of works to make it a suitable place to keep live animals.

Its nice place for kids, as they do enjoy visiting zoo. It has different chickens, and different birds. Good time pass.but only if you have time.

Yeah sure, it probably was not the best time to visit the Zoo, in the middle of a snow storm, but anytime is a great time to go to a zoo in my opinion. Unfortunately the power was cut and everyone, including the animals seemed rather grumpy, but then I find I can irritate people on nice days, so I given the weather I really cannot judge them harshly. :)The park is pretty well laid out and certainly not the worst zoo I have been in. Like most zoos these days it could do with a revamp and some better enclosures. That being said, the entry price on the day was reasonably low as the person on the gate refused to open the window to take my money, probably because of the cold, but I would like to think they were just being very kind and benevolent. :)The location at the back of park Gorky is great, what a wonderful place this would be in summer, amusement rides, water park, wonderful park grounds, very nice indeed. In winter it was very beautiful and despite there being about 1m of fresh snow to climb through, it was easy to get around. In summer it would be magnificent for kids. Even in wither it was pretty good.They have plenty of big cats, which you can view indoors very close. It is quite an experience to cup your hands over a window only to find you are not more than millimetres of glass away from a giant head, attached to a rather large cat. Elephants proved elusive on the day as they were shut away, the staff offered to open up the enclosure for me to view them, buuut I got lost on my way to view them so I missed out; next time. ;)Overall it is not a Taronga Zoo, but then tourism in Almaty is not big, yet. I look forward to visiting again in the summer.

I quite like the zoo. But of course, I am not one of its residents crammed inside inhumanely small enclosures. Which is odd, because if this city has anything, it's vast unused space. Plus why stuff big cats and bears in small rusty cages and let smaller animals in huge enclosures? If you go to the reptile section, you will witness the largest cockroaches in the world. Not part of the exhibits :) They crawl in the terrariums in search of food and warm place to hide, and it's simply disgusting. Otherwise, as I said I like it, its well maintained, lush greenery and lots of shades, a lot of animals to see, short explanations boards (although only in Russian and Kazakh of course), ice cream carts, bouncy castles, camel rides, etc. The atmosphere is nice and peaceful. It's also not very expensive, 4 eur per adult.If the management puts in a little effort and updates the living environment for the animals, it would be awesome. Plus walking directions would be very helpful. But locals seem to like it just the way it is.

Almaty's Zoo is in the top 5 "must-see" attractions on trip advisor. All I can say is DON'T GO unless you are ready for some serious heartache. Whilst I readily admit the animals did not look ill, abused or underfed in any way, that is the only saving grace. The cages are far too small - all the bears in particular, such huge animals in cages barely larger than an average 1 car garage space. All water/swimming areas were green with algae and not topped up. The animals themselves appeared drugged (wishful thinking? Maybe just brain dead through no activity) - no movement or interaction with each other. It was like they were waiting to die.We did not see one zoo keeper or worker there which we found unusual. If there had been obvious employees I would like to think that they would've stopped the little boy who was shining a red laser point into the polar bears face. And stopped the idiots who we're throwing cans into the poor mountain cats cage. How about the men who we're popping balloons by the lions? Surely a little security/employee presence would prevent even the most uneducated behaviour. These creatures deserve so so much better.Very distressing experience.

This zoo is worth visiting because it has so many big cats and bears. However, the enclosures leave something to be desired. There's a bouncy castle / kids games section. You can get your picture taken with various birds and pets. I only hope they have plans to utilise the space better, have fewer large animals and create much, much better, larger enclosures.