First President Park & Big Almaty Riverbank Path

This tour of First President Park and the Big Almaty Riverbank Path is the best opportunity for an all off-road run in Almaty. It’s located in the Bostandyk District just south of the centre. There are two sections of the run, which can be done separately or combined.

Start at the entrance of First President Park, just across busy Sain St. This is a modern urban park, quite open with wide paths, newly planted trees, and an impressive colonnade. There are some great mountain views. A tour of the park is ~3 km.

At the northeastern end is a pedestrian bridge which leads to the Big Almaty Riverbank Path. This path runs along the narrow river, which has been tamed by concrete barriers. The paths are a mix of concrete and stone and are on both sides of the river. The river path loop is 4 km — half of it south of Sain St. & half of it north of Sain St. (passing the Mega Center Mall).