In the morning we will explore Almaty. The city has a lot to offer: a fascinating landscape with its remarkable apple orchards, plantations and vineyards as well as cultural sites such as the National Museum of Kazakhstan, the Presidential Palace, the Republic Square or the Archaeological Museum, which houses Kazakhstan's major treasures, and several theaters and libraries - just to mention a few examples. The main attraction might be the Saint Ascension Cathedral though: once the political and cultural centre of the Turkistan region and another wooden creation of architect Paul Zenkov, it is said to be built in 1904-1907 without a single nail. The building has survived the notorious 1911 earthquake measuring 10 on the Richter scale and all subsequent earthquakes. You might also want to visit the city's several other churches and mosques, the Green Bazaar, the Merchant Iskhak Gabdulvaliev's store or the beautiful parks, the most renowned being the Central Park, still known by its Soviet name of "Gorky Park", which contains a modern movie theatre, boating lakes, restaurants, rides and a zoo.

At 371 meters in height, the TV Tower on Kocktobe (Kazakh for Green Hill) hill is one of the world's tallest buildings.

After the sightseeing tour we will take the train to Urumqi in the Chinese province Xinjiang. Overnight on board of the train.