The day trips are the real reason most travellers spend a night or two in Shymkent. Turkestan, two hours north by road, has the UNESCO mausoleum complex of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi — one of the great surviving Timurid buildings and the holiest pilgrimage site in Kazakhstan. Aksu-Zhabagly, the country's oldest nature reserve, is roughly two hours east in the Tian Shan foothills, with wild tulips in April, snow leopards (rarely seen) on the high ridges, and good walking and cycling all year.
