Kazakhstan festivals and holidays 2027: Nauryz, Capital Day and more

How the calendar works

The public holidays are fixed by law and fall on the same dates every year. When a holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the day off moves to the next working day: in 2026, Nauryz’s 21 and 22 March fell at a weekend and the days off moved to 24 and 25 March. The government sets each year’s transfers in its production calendar; the weekdays below are those of the holidays themselves.

The first day of Kurban ait, the Feast of Sacrifice, is also a day off; it follows the Muslim lunar calendar, so it moves about eleven days earlier each year. Orthodox Christmas on 7 January is a day off too. For weather by month, see our best-time guide.

January to March: New Year, Women’s Day and Nauryz

New Year, 1-2 January (Friday and Saturday in 2027), and Orthodox Christmas, 7 January (a Thursday), open the year.

International Women’s Day, 8 March, and Constitution Day, 15 March, are public holidays (both fall on a Monday in 2027). Constitution Day moved here from 30 August after the referendum of 15 March 2026 approved a new constitution.

Nauryz, 21-23 March, is the spring equinox new year, celebrated across Central Asia and the biggest festival of Kazakhstan’s year. In Almaty in 2026 the city put its main stage on Astana Square from 11:00 to 22:00 on 21 March, with themed yurts showing crafts, Saka archaeology and national costume; concerts filled Abay Square, and the pedestrian Zhibek Zholy and Panfilov streets held fairs and a book festival through the three days. Astana’s 2024 programme centred on Baiterek, the central square and city parks, with craft fairs, national sports and plov cooked outdoors; its 2026 programme again spread celebrations across city venues. The dish of the day is nauryz kozhe, a thick soup of seven ingredients, among them water, meat, grain and milk, shared with neighbours and guests; horse races, wrestling and tug-of-war are the traditional games, with soup and other traditional food at city celebrations. In 2027, 21 March is a Sunday, so expect a transferred day off after the 23rd; book the train or flight between Almaty and Astana early, and rooms in central Almaty for the three days.

May: the spring holidays and Kurban ait

Unity Day, 1 May (a Saturday in 2027), Defender of the Fatherland Day, 7 May (a Friday) and Victory Day, 9 May (a Sunday) make early May a string of long weekends. Domestic travel is heavy, so book trains and mountain tours ahead.

Kurban ait: the first day is a day off. NewTimes’s 19 October 2026 report gives the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Kazakhstan’s calendar as 16 to 18 May 2027, making the first day Sunday 16 May; in 2026 it fell on 27 May. For a visitor it is a family holiday rather than a public festival, and mosques are crowded for the morning prayer. The same calendar puts Ramadan from 8 February to 8 March 2027 and Oraza ait on 9 March, which is not a public holiday. These religious dates can shift by one day with the new moon.

June and July: The Spirit of Tengri, Dombra Day and Capital Day

The Spirit of Tengri is an open-air ethno-music festival in Almaty, first held in 2013, which brings Kazakh and international performers of folk-based music to one stage. Its 2026 edition took place on 7 June on Abay Square, with the festival grounds open from 12:00 and the music from 18:00. The Ministry of Tourism and Sport announced that edition on 3 June 2026; it has not given a 2027 date on the linked page, so use the festival’s new programme before fixing a trip around it.

National Dombra Day falls on the first Sunday of July (4 July in 2027), set by presidential decree in 2018. The dombra, the two-stringed Kazakh lute, is played in mass concerts and in parks across the country; it is not a day off.

Capital Day, 6 July (a Tuesday in 2027), is Astana’s holiday and a day off across the country, marking the move of the capital from Almaty in 1997. The city fills its squares and parks with concerts and fairs; in 2025 the announced programme put fireworks at about 23:00 over the Botanical Garden after a large open-air concert, according to Bizmedia’s report relaying the akimat. Book a central hotel early if you want to be there.

Races, City Day and the ski opening

Almaty’s running calendar gives a reason to visit outside the holidays. The Almaty Half Marathon is set for Sunday 11 April 2027, when the foothills are turning green, and the full Almaty Marathon was listed for Sunday 29 September 2024, starting from Republic Square. Entries are made online on the organiser’s site; for the 2024 edition registration closed on 16 September, or at 15,600 participants including 100 Ekiden teams. The 2027 full-marathon date and entry limits are not yet confirmed on the linked AIMS calendar.

Almaty City Day is usually celebrated through September, with the main day in the middle of the month (15 September in 2024): events spread across the whole city, and in 2024 the same weekend brought the Kitap Fest book fair to the pedestrian Arbat on Zhibek Zholy and the Alma Fest to First President Park.

The ski season at Shymbulak usually runs from late November or early December to the end of March depending on weather, and the resort marks the opening of the season with an event on the slopes (1 December in 2024). The resort’s 30 October 2026 notice says its ski opening depends on weather, slope condition and snow depth and will be announced separately. The best-time guide explains how much snow to expect in the first weeks.

October to December: the late-year holidays

Republic Day, 25 October (a Monday in 2027), is the national holiday, marking the 1990 declaration of state sovereignty.

Independence Day, 16 December (a Thursday in 2027), marks independence in 1991 and closes the year.