Green Bazaar
Tour

The Green Bazaar

Almaty’s most historic and central market, the Green Bazaar is a must-visit for any traveler, but the exotic goods for sale often require some interpretation — Why is that butter wrapped in a sheep stomach? Are those horse ribs? And why are the tea vendors selling dried snakes?

It’s also a labyrinthine mess where one can easily lose oneself in the underwear kiosks and end up missing the bazaar’s most hidden charms. Most tourists will find the bazaar’s iconic Winter Pavilion, with its soaring pyramidal sunlights, but what about the easy-to-miss cavern of used Soviet books, or the locals-only noodle shops? 

On our famous market tour, we sip coffee on a balcony over the bazaar before circling the trading floor to meet our friendly partners in each department. We’ll chat with Ahmadzhon, a dried melon vendor from Samarkand, and Valeriya, a honey seller from the Altai, trying samples without pressure and learning about the diverse influences of Kazakhstani cuisine, an underrated amalgam of East Asian, Turkic, Caucasian and Slavic recipes. Our tour finishes with your choice of lunch - plov or beshbarmak (horse sausage pasta), either one served with a birds-eye view of the bazaar. “As Bolsyn,” as Kazakhs say — Bon apetit!