This 1100m hill on the city’s southeast edge is crowned by a 372m-high TV tower visible from far and wide, and affords great views over the city and the mountains, plus an assortment of attractions at the top. The easy way up is by the smooth cable car , which glides up in six minutes from beside the Palace of the Republic on Dostyk.
At the top you'll find assorted cafes and restaurants, craft shops, a roller-coaster, a minizoo, a children’s playground – and life-sized bronze statues of the four Beatles, placed here on the initiative of local fans in 2007. The work of Almaty sculptor Eduard Kazaryan, this is claimed to be the world’s only monument showing all the Fab Four together. You can sit beside a guitar-strumming John on the bench.
The cable car and other facilities may close early, or not open at all, in poor weather. The cheaper way up Kok-Tobe is by bus 95 (opposite Ramstor on Furmanov) or 99 (south up Abylay Khan, east on Abay, south on Dostyk) to their terminus on Omarova, where a shuttle minibus (one-way/return 300/500T, every few minutes from 10am to 1am) runs the final 1.25km up the hill.
