Shymkent Zoo

How much are Shymkent Zoo tickets?

According to the zoo's own website, an adult ticket is 800 KZT, a child ticket (ages 6–17) is 400 KZT and a student ticket is 600 KZT. Under-sixes are free. For a family that is one of the cheapest outings in town.

You buy tickets at the cash desk by the main gate on Baidibek Bi Avenue and scan the QR code at the turnstile. There is no separate fee for the Night World house or the terrarium in any source we checked. Prices have crept up over the years, so ignore old figures of 300 or 600 KZT that still circulate online.

Paying: foreign Visa and Mastercard cards work widely in Kazakh cities, but small kiosks and snack stands often prefer cash or Kaspi QR, which needs a local bank app or a compatible Alipay+ wallet. Bring a few thousand tenge in small notes.

Shymkent Zoo opening hours

The zoo is open every day: 9:00–20:00 in summer and 9:00–18:00 in winter. The ticket office keeps 9:00–18:00 year-round, so in summer plan to arrive by 17:00 at the latest if you want a proper look round.

The website does not give the exact switch-over dates, and its header shows 9:00–19:00. Two local guides list Wednesday as a cleaning day, which the official site does not mention. If your visit falls on a Wednesday, call ahead on +7 7252 47-60-30 (Russian or Kazakh is easiest).

Summer afternoons in Shymkent are very hot and many animals hide in the shade. Come at opening time or in the last couple of hours of the day.

What is Shymkent Zoo?

The city approved the project in December 1979 at the urging of Asanbai Askarov, then the region's party chief — the neighbouring arboretum also bears his name. The zoo opened on 29 April 1980 in a former quarry, starting with 75 species and 350 animals sent by zoos across the Soviet Union.

Today it is the Shymkent State Zoological Park, about 30 hectares, and a member of the Eurasian zoo association EARAZA. Rebuilding has gone on in stages for more than a decade: the Africa zone, the Tau mountain exhibit, the Night World house, a new terrarium, enclosures for birds of prey, bears, wolves and cheetahs, and a refilled Big Lake for waterbirds.

Set your expectations: this is a post-Soviet city zoo, not a Western safari park. Some older enclosures are small and tired next to the new ones. Still, the range of animals is wide for a regional city, and with children it is one of the best ways to spend half a day in Shymkent.

What animals can you see?

• Africa zone — around 7 hectares in the old quarry, where African hoofed animals and ostriches roam open paddocks beside a large pond and the photo spot with the thatched hut.
• Hippos, a giraffe and Hartmann's zebras — the big hoofed animals, usually the children's favourites.
• Big cats and other carnivores — Amur tiger, Amur leopard, lions, cheetahs, bears and wolves.
• Primates — Japanese macaques, ring-tailed lemurs and other primates.
• Night World — a darkened house for nocturnal animals such as the kinkajou.
• Terrarium and aquarium — Nile crocodile, pythons, a veiled chameleon, an African spurred tortoise and pacu fish.
• Birds — Steller's sea eagle and other raptors on the Rock, emus, an Abyssinian ground hornbill, pelicans, swans and ducks on the Big Lake.
• Tau exhibit — mountain hoofed animals such as wild goats.
• Eastern grey kangaroos and meerkats, which kids tend to hunt for first.

Is Shymkent Zoo worth visiting?

With children, yes. Tickets are cheap, there are plenty of animals, shade and space to run around, and two hours is enough for the main sections — the zoo's own guided overview tour takes about as long.

Without kids and with only one day, start in the centre instead: Ordabasy Square and the Shymkala citadel tell you more about the city. With a second day the trip north pays off, because the zoo, the arboretum and the Regional Museum sit together on one avenue and make an easy half-day.

Zoo, arboretum or Regional Museum?

All three are on Baidibek Bi Avenue within a few minutes of each other — one half-day trip. Arboretum and museum prices and closing days come from their YesGo pages, where the sources are listed.

Nearby and on your route

38

Regional History Museum

Shymkent, Kazakhstan

1 h · ≈ 400 ₸, students ≈ 200 ₸ · 10 min walk

Yes — add to my route: Regional History Museum

29

Shymkent Arboretum

Shymkent, Kazakhstan

1 h 30 min · ≈ 100 KZT, schoolchildren free · 19 min walk

Yes — add to my route: Shymkent Arboretum

How to do it right

• Do not feed the animals — the zoo rules forbid it, along with throwing anything into enclosures and touching the animals.
• Pets are not allowed inside.
• Phone photos are fine; professional photo or video shoots need the administration's permission.
• Pair the zoo with Shymkent Arboretum, about a kilometre away, for shade and pedal boats on the lake.
• Going back, a ride-hailing taxi is quicker than bus 75, which loops slowly through residential districts.
• If a child gets tired, rent a pushchair at the entrance — bring an ID document.

Questions