Get in
[edit]By plane: 1 Sary-Arka airport (KGF IATA), 15 km southeast of the city, has regular flights from Almaty, Moscow SVO, Novosibirsk, Kyzylorda and Ust-Kamenogorsk. Astana is too close to fly.
By train: Karaganda is on the main line between Astana (4 hr) and Almaty (11 hr), with six trains a day. See Kazakhstan#Get_in for ticket options.
By bus: buses ply frequently to Astana, some continuing to Petropavlovsk and Novosibirsk.
The 2 bus & railway stations are side-by-side at the south end of city centre. The railway station has a left-luggage office, 400 tenge per piece, and its waiting rooms have more seating than the cramped bus station. However the bus station has a better cafe, open 24 hr.
Get around
[edit]Within Karaganda the buses cost 65 tenge per ride. Information on their routes is available here, or here[dead link]. A Russian language smartphone app for the bus09.kz is also available called Smart Transport by developer Проект Bus62.
See
[edit]- 1 Karaganda Regional Museum (Karagandinskiy Oblastnoy Muzey) is nowadays a small art gallery with changing exhibitions. It's on the corner of Buqar-Jyrau (the main boulevard) and Yermekov, rather hidden away behind Pyramid shopping centre. The only exhibit from the museum still on display is a huge formation of creedite crystals (or, if you prefer, Ca3Al2SO4(F,OH)10·2(H2O)). It's open Tu-Su 10:00-17:00, 600 tenge.
- 2 Ecomuseum at 47 Buqar-Jyrau has interesting exhibits, including on the area's role in the Soviet space programme. It's open M-F 09:00-18:00.
- Monuments along Buqar-Jyrau are to independence (Stela Nezavisimosti), the miners (Shakhtorskaya Slava), to Yuri Gagarin the first cosmonaut, and to the poet Pushkin.
- 3 Cathedral of Our Lady of Fatima (Roman Catholic) is in Pobedy Park south of Prikanalnaya.
- Two fine mosques lie south of the centre: 4 Staraya Mechet at the corner of Respublika and Kuvskaya, and Oblastnaya Mechet by the RC cathedral at the foot of Buqar-Jyrau where it turns into Prikanalnaya.
- 5 Cathedral of Archangel Michael (Russian Orthodox) is on Popova in the suburb of Fintry 10 km north of city centre.
- 6 Karaganda Zoo, on Yermekov to the southwest, is cramped and smelly. Adult 400 tenge, open daily 09:00-19:00.
- 7 KarLag, in the village of Dolinka 40 km west of Karaganda, was one of the Soviet Union's biggest gulags or forced labour camps. From 1931 to 1960 over a million entered its gates, many of them never to be seen again. Ticket 700 tenge, photos 300 tenge extra, English-speaking guide 800 tenge. It's open daily 09:30-18:00. Take bus 121 from Karaganda to Dolinka, then local bus 5 or 205 or 239 for three stops along R-191 the main village road.
Do
[edit]- Central Park surrounds a small lake. Just west of it, the Children's Railway is a 5 km loop of 750 mm gauge diesel-hauled railway, originally intended as a training track for young pioneers. It's lurched from one financial debacle to another, with lengthy closures, but was again running in summer 2019.
- Theatre: the Kazakh Drama Theatre is at 25 Buqar-Jyrau opposite the Pushkin Monument. The Stanislavsky Theatre is at 19/1 Mira Bvd.
- The Circus is central at 45 Komissarov with regular shows.
- Watch football (ie soccer) at FC Shakhtar Karagandy, who play in Qazaqstan Premer Ligasy, the country's top tier of football. Their home ground Shakhtar Stadium, capacity 19,000, is on Buqar-Jyrau at the north edge of city centre. Shakhtar (which means "miners") sacrifice a sheep the day before matches: they're not allowed to do so in European away games, which may explain their limited success there.
Buy
[edit]- The main shopping area is along Buqar-Jyrau, with Absolut the biggest mall.
Eat
[edit]- There's a slew of eateries along Buqar-Jyrau, with other strips along the cross-streets of Nurken Abdirov and Mira.
- Vegetarians and vegans should check out Kafe Rada IK at 6 Nurken Abdirov, open daily 10:00-22:00.
Drink
[edit]- The pubs are mostly around Nurken Abdirov. They include Parimatch, Krg.shisha, Rational Next Bar, and Gin Karaoke.
Sleep
[edit]- 1 Metelitsa, Buqar-Jyrau 56a, ☏ +7 7212 40 00 04, [email protected]. Comfortable place in city centre. Double US$50.
- 2 Hostel Ekonom, Keramicheskaya 86a (1 km southeast of station), ☏ +7 701 239 0194. Clean, friendly hostel. Dorm from 1700 tenge.
Connect
[edit]As of September 2024, Karaganda has 4G from Beeline, and 5G from Kcell and Tele2. The signal is mostly good on the approach highways.
Go next
[edit]- Karkaraly National Park is some 225 km east of Karaganda.
- Astana the capital to the north and Almaty to the south both deserve exploring.
- China: trains run once a week from Astana via Karaganda to Dostyk then onward to Ürümqi.