ASTANA – Summer is the time for outdoor activities with friends and family. The capital’s green city parks are the perfect place for enjoying some alone time.
The Landscape of the Presidential Park. Photo credit: kgs.kz
One can stroll for an hour or more or spend an entire day at Stolichniy (Capital) Park. From tranquil gardens with paved paths and benches to rides, it is a fun place for family outdoor weekend leisure. Smell cotton candy, hear mixed music and sounds and experience various feelings while walking on the grounds. Residents and guests enjoy colourful flower beds, picturesque areas and an amusement park with a roller coaster and Ferris wheel.
Should one tire of walking, the Yessil River offers other possibilities. Swim or travel on one of the comfortable passenger ships sailing from the dock near Kenessary Khan monumentto the Radisson hotel, Chubary Micro District, Vremena Goda Park and back to the monument. As of May 2015, tickets were 1,000 tenge (about US$2.96) for adults and 500 tenge (about US$1.48) for children aged 7-16.
Stolichniy Park. Photo credit: astana.gov.kz
When passing under the KazMunaiGas building arch towards Khan Shatyr, one can see Vlublyonnih Park (the Park of Lovers). Considered one of the most romantic places in the city, the bronze sculpture of a girl and a boy gave the park its name. The grounds are the perfect site for wedding ceremonies and photoshoots, while families with children and couples of all ages can also enjoy a stroll.
A large fountain with unique architecture, benches, flower gardens and thousands of trees decorate the more than 14 hectares of the park’s area. Young linden trees, spruces, pines, birches, poplars and maples and elms, neither of the last two typical for the area, are among the species.
All the lawns and flower gardens were planned and planted according to German technology, where landscape construction has deep roots and long traditions, according to the website of construction company KazGerStroy.
Vlublyonnih Park. Photo credit: astana.zagranitsa.com
President Nursultan Nazarbayev, accompanied by more than 5,000 school students, contributed to the opening of Presidential Park. Surrounding the Palace of Peace and Harmony, it has become the capital’s landscape emblem and another favourite leisure site for residents and guests.
The park, the city’s largest at 23 hectares, is unique for its hilly surface, fountains, rills, numerous flowers and freshwater ponds that create feelings of harmony and contentment. The setting is one of ecological cleanliness and serenity.
Presidential Park. Photo credit: voxpopuli
The panorama is especially impressive from above, as its architectural concept becomes clear –the image of a Samruk, a fairytale bird and symbol of independence and life.
Zheruyik Park, another of the city’s picturesque spots, allows visitors to rest in the cool shade of its trees and freshness of its grass. Its 21 hectares are filled with 10,000 trees and bushes representing eleven species, includingpine, birch, cottonwood and bird cherry, according to Cultural Map of Kazakhstan (culturemap.kz).
One of the city’s first projects, the parkwas planned in 1998 when the capital began its transformation, noted the website. The official opening was in 2008, giving the young plants a decade to grow and become stronger.
Zheruyik now has pedestrian and bicycle lanes, benches, sculptures and other smaller architecture elements. The park is located along Bauyrzhan Momyshuly Avenue at the intersection with Magzhan Zhumabayev Avenue.
Zheruyik Park. Photo credit: culturemap.kz
The availability of essential infrastructure, convenient driveways and parking lots, proximity to residential areas, magnificent nature and picturesque views make it an attractive spot for a variety of family leisure activities.
