Almaty in Autumn: September, October and November Guide

Autumn in Almaty starts with daytime highs of about 25 °C in September. By November, days reach about 8 °C and nights fall below freezing. During these three months, the cable cars at Shymbulak and Kok-Tobe close for maintenance, and the mountain roads to Issyk Lake and the Assy Plateau close for the winter.

Why go in autumn: September is the warmest and driest of the three months, early October is the best time for autumn color, and Kolsai has noticeably fewer visitors than in summer. Charyn Canyon is more comfortable once the summer heat is gone, and it stays open all year.

This guide compares the three months, lists what closes and where to check, and shows which day trips work in each month. It also covers clothing, air quality and the downsides of the season. The weather figures are climate normals for 1991–2020, not a forecast. Closure dates come from park and resort announcements and from news reports.

Prices were checked on October 14, 2026. Dollar amounts are approximate.

Quick answers

Which month is best?

For mountains and lakes, September. It is the warmest and driest of the three months, and the Assy road is usually still open. For the city and Charyn Canyon, October and November. Charyn is open all year.

How cold is it?

Average daytime highs are about 25 °C in September, 17 °C in October and 8 °C in November. Average lows fall from 12 °C to 5 °C and then to −1 °C (climate normals 1991–2020).

Does it snow?

It can. The first snow in the city fell on October 6 in 2021 and October 16 in 2024. In 2025 it was forecast for November 5–6. That means first snow can come anywhere from early October to early November.

What is closed?

The cable cars at Shymbulak and Kok-Tobe go into maintenance in autumn. In 2025, both closures ended on November 1. The 2026 Shymbulak schedule reported in the media also runs until November 1. Full dates and where to check them are in [What closes in autumn](#what-closes-in-autumn).

Is October too late for the mountains?

For the mountain lakes, it is getting late. Kaindy can have frost and first snow, the Assy road becomes unpredictable, and the Issyk road is often closed in autumn. Charyn is open year-round.

What should I wear?

Layers, a jacket and waterproof shoes. In November, add a warm coat and a hat.

Which month is best: a side-by-side comparison

The three autumn months have different weather. Air quality also changes as the heating season starts. The table shows the differences. Details for each place are in the sections below.

	September	October	November
Average daytime high	24.5 °C	16.9 °C	8.1 °C
Average low	12.0 °C	5.3 °C	−1.0 °C
Precipitation	27.8 mm	49.8 mm	55.3 mm
First snow in the city	rare	possible: October 6, 2021; October 16, 2024	likely
Shymbulak and Kok-Tobe cable cars	Shymbulak maintenance usually starts mid-September; Kok-Tobe closed from September 29 in 2025	Shymbulak lifts closed from October 12–19 in 2026; Kok-Tobe closed until November 1 in 2025	Shymbulak maintenance usually ends November 1; Kok-Tobe closed again November 11–20 in 2025
Day trips	all five; Assy usually open until the end of September	Charyn, Kolsai; Assy unpredictable	Charyn; Kolsai with care
Air	before the heating season	heating season starts	air gets worse as it gets colder

Source: climate normals 1991–2020 (Pogoda.ru / NOAA). Normals are long-term averages, not a forecast for this year.

What closes in autumn

Both cable car operators close for maintenance before winter. Shymbulak does this twice a year, in spring and in autumn, before each season. The last two years followed a similar pattern. Shymbulak’s autumn work fell between mid-September and November 1. Kok-Tobe’s 2025 closure ran from September 29 to November 1. This is a pattern from two seasons, not a promise for the next one. All information below was checked on October 14, 2026.

Shymbulak ski resort. In 2025, the lifts were under maintenance from September 15 to November 1. For 2026, a media report from September 15, 2026 gives these dates: the KKD-4 lift closes from October 12, and the Medeu–Shymbulak gondola and the K-1 and K-2 chairlifts close from October 19. All of them stay closed until November 1. We could not reach the resort’s own announcement when we checked, so look at shymbulak.com before planning a trip up. In 2025, the winter season opened on December 6. Skiing is covered in Almaty in winter. The car road to the Shymbulak area is also closed this year, from July 24 to November 30, because of work on utility networks (bes.media and 24.kz, September 15, 2026). While both the gondola and the road are closed, the usual way up may not be available, so ask the resort how to reach Shymbulak on your dates.
Kok-Tobe cable car. In 2025, it was closed for maintenance from September 29 to November 1, and again in November, until November 20 (the park’s notice gives November 11 as the start; a December 2025 news report says repairs began in early November). For autumn 2026, check before you go. The park posts closures on its news page, koktobe.com/novosti, where the 2025 notice appeared. The park’s phone number is +7 (727) 272 77 77. The park also does routine maintenance on Tuesdays, so on that day the cable car opens at 13:00 instead of 10:00.
Issyk and Assy roads. Both close for the winter. Our spring guide says they closed around early November last year. That is not an official date: we could not find an official order behind it, and it tells us nothing about this season. The Issyk road is also often closed in autumn, before winter starts, because of mudflows and rockfalls. Our Issyk guide recommends checking the day before the trip, for example by searching “is Lake Issyk open”.
Medeu skating rink. Closed for reconstruction. The work is planned to finish in late 2027.

What stays the same all autumn

Some things hold in every autumn month. Days and nights differ by about 9–12 °C, so a warm afternoon says little about the evening. Several layers work better than one heavy jacket. The mountains are colder than the city, so a trip out of town needs one more layer than a walk downtown. Days also get shorter through the season, which leaves less daylight for long drives.

September, October, November: month by month

Each month below has its own weather and its own risks.

September

September is the warmest of the three months, with daytime highs around 25 °C and nights around 12 °C. It is also the driest, with about 28 mm of rain. The heating season has not started yet, so the city air is cleaner than later in autumn.

October

Expect around 17 °C by day and 5 °C at night, with about 50 mm of precipitation. The first snow in the city fell on October 6 in 2021 and on October 16 in 2024. In 2021, snow reached the mountains three days earlier, on October 3. The heating season starts this month, and the air gets worse as it gets colder.

November

Expect about 8 °C by day and around −1 °C at night. November is the wettest of the three months, with about 55 mm of precipitation. For 2025, Kazhydromet, Kazakhstan’s weather service, forecast snow for November 5–6, with daytime temperatures of 0…+3 °C and nights of −3…−7 °C. Skiing is covered in Almaty in winter.

The city in autumn

Most of the city works the same way in any month, so this section covers only what changes in autumn. The full list of places is in things to do in Almaty.

The leaves in the city start to turn in late September and usually look best in the first half of October. Higher up in the mountains the color comes a little earlier, around the end of September. A warm September can stretch the season into mid-October, while one day of wind and rain or the first frost can end it within days. By November, most of the color is gone and the city looks gray. The timing shifts every year, so look at recent local photos before you plan around it.

Almaty streets and parks in September, with autumn color in the trees

Almaty streets and parks in autumn, with color in the trees

Several places in the city change with the season:

Central Park. The rides run from March to October. In November, the park is only for walking.
First President’s Park. Opening hours are shorter in winter. In 2026 the park is under phased reconstruction, and the southern part may be closed. Check before visiting.
Terrenkur. This walking path follows the Malaya Almatinka river toward the foothills and is open in every autumn month. During the heating season it is a good choice: it leads up to the higher parts of the city, and our winter guide recommends those areas for cleaner air.
Medeu skating rink. Closed for reconstruction, see What closes in autumn.

Day trips by month

Five common day trips change a lot between September and November. The table below shows what to expect at each place in each month. Details on each place are in its guide.

Place	Distance and time	September	October	November	Guide
Charyn	200 km, about 3 hours each way	pleasant	pleasant	cool, open year-round	Charyn Canyon guide
Kolsai	about 300 km, 4.5–6 hours each way	about 15–20 °C by day	about 10–15 °C by day, frost at night	about 5–10 °C by day, frost; slippery road possible, check before going	Kolsai Lakes guide
Kaindy	about 300 km, about 5 hours each way, last 12 km by 4WD	mild, up to 16 °C by day	frost and first snow possible; check before going	around 0…+3 °C by day, the lake starts to freeze; check before going	Kaindy Lake guide
Issyk	70 km, 1.5–2 hours each way	road often closed in autumn, check the day before	road often closed in autumn, check the day before	road often closed in autumn, check the day before	Issyk Lake guide
Assy	110 km, 3–4 hours each way, last 20–25 km by 4×4	usually open until the end of September	unpredictable	almost always closed from November	Assy Plateau guide

With one free day in October or November, Charyn is the safest choice. The road is paved all the way, the drive takes about 3 hours each way, and the canyon is open all year. Kolsai and Kaindy are both about 300 km away, and they get colder as autumn goes on. Kolsai has noticeably fewer visitors in autumn. Its road is paved almost to the end, and the last few kilometers of gravel are fine for a regular car. Kaindy’s last 12 km need a 4WD. To check the road there, our guide recommends asking a local driver or a guesthouse in Saty. Do not drive to Assy or Issyk without checking the road first.

What to wear and how to get around

What to wear depends on the month:

September: light clothes for the day and an extra layer for the evening.
October: a jacket and waterproof shoes. The month gets about 50 mm of precipitation.
November: a warm coat, a hat and shoes with good grip. The first snow can fall this month.

For trips to the mountains, add one more layer in any month.

In the city, a metro or bus ride costs 120 KZT. Taxis start from 1,000 KZT through the Yandex Go app. Public transport does not go to Charyn, Kolsai or Kaindy, so a day trip there means a car or a tour.

Downsides of autumn

Autumn has four downsides worth planning for.

Short days

Days get shorter through the autumn. By November, a long drive such as Kolsai uses up most of the daylight.

Rain and first snow

October gets about 50 mm of precipitation and November about 55 mm. The first snow in the city has fallen as early as October 6 and as late as November 5–6 in recent years. Wet or snowy weather makes mountain roads harder first. Kolsai’s road can be slippery, and Kaindy’s last stretch needs a 4WD.

Air

From October to March the city is in its heating season, which is the worst time of year for fine particles (PM2.5) in the air. The worst months are December to February, so autumn gets the start of the problem, not the peak. To avoid losing a day to haze, check the IQAir (AirVisual) app before planning the day and choose the upper districts of the city. A mask also helps.