Quality pastime becomes an issue for any group, sooner or later - whether it is a working team or a group of friends. Of course, there’s always gatherings at the bar and annual corporate meetings. But when the sun is shining, when there are a few weekends in reserve, the topic of leaving the city limits becomes obvious. For someone, the solution of such problems is duty (e.g. HR or the dean concerned with the occupation of students), for other is a subject of personal initiative.
For the Trekking Club team, holding of outdoor events is professional task, so we’ve decided to share our 15-year experience with everyone same happy with the coming spring :) We are glad to offer you few ready-made and zero-risk (you may rely on our experience) ideas for your spring coming-out (of Almaty city).
We are an active company, and we prefer to think with concepts: so finally "who", "where" and "how" can actively have fun in nature?

Spring options  (LOOK AT OUR PHOTO-GALLERY)

Concept A: a small group (7-20 people), Tamgaly-Tas (Ili riverbank)
The Tamgaly-Tas tract is an excellent natural site for any outdoor activities. In spring, there are stunning views of the blooming steppe. Huge territories, panoramas of the Ili River and the high rock massif seems to be all needed to feel fully alive. The best option for a small company is to come here for a couple of days, with an overnight stay in tents at Ili riverbank. First and main: doesn’t it looks so nice to have an evening talking with friends near the fire? Secondly, you can do much more in two days: leave the city in the morning (the road will take about 2 hours), camp somewhere at a bank and go for a long bike ride along the steppe! All the ground trails here are unpaved and well groomed - you can move any direction and as long as you like. The next day can be spent in various activities: rock climbing (there are many routes rated at different levels), sports archery, canyoning. When we are responsible for the script, we also include geocaching or “treasure search” games with maps, GPS and metal detectors – since there are plenty of real "treasures" around! Look at the "Buddha" - the remains of the Buddhist monastery, track down other ancient rock carvings - the stones are full of them. If you look closely, you will definitely find the ancient mounds along the river.

Of course, organising of such an event may require presence of some equipment, and, as a maximum, the skill of using it. Therefore, do not be discouraged if didn’t explored everything from the list - you may come to Tamgaly Tas again and again, from mid March to mid May (when the weather is comfortable). Or, team up the Trekking Club - we will be happy to take care on your tent camping, meals and activities ☺

Concept B: a group of 30 to 200 people (medium sized), Tamgaly-Tas.
The obvious advantages of the Tamgaly-Tas have already been told above - it's a huge space where it will be comfortable (and not crowded) with any company. But the larger the group, the more difficult it become to accommodate it, especially in tents since there are no hotels/hostels in this area. Therefore, we suggest that you consider the option with a day event - from morning till evening. Normally we start driving out of the city at 8am, and at 10am we already serve breakfast on the Ili bank, in big marquees.  The scheduled activities start just after breakfast: we usually divide the company into small groups of 8-15 people, and give them the opportunity to participate in different options, in parallel: rock climbing, canyoning, archery. When all participants have attempted these stages, we recommend to “shake” the group with a kind of “treasure searching” or bike riding task - such a team action really encourages collaboration as well as helps learning each other’s character (checked!). For excitement, you can add an element of competition - then the involvement will be most effective. Based on practice, intensive action in a large group should not be delayed more than 3-4 hours. Therefore, after such games, we normally serve a dinner/lunch, after which there is still some time for hiking and visiting the Buddha.

Concept C: large groups from 200 people to several thousand - it is a format of the open-air festival. These are regularly held there, in Tamgaly-Tas (usually on May holidays), and we are often busy with their organization and service. It is difficult to offer individual options for the masses of people, therefore such events are usually confined to a certain type of activity: marathon, rally, climbing competition, rafting, etc. The process and the general idea (the main activity, action) are usually agreed in advance, so the planning of hte event is usually divided into tasks: sports/creative part, catering and accommodation/camping issues. We, the Trekking Club team, hold such events both on a "turnkey basis", and as sub-contractors for any part (outdoor catering and camping is a separate business). Meanwhile, if you’re personally taking part in such a festival, then, most likely, you already know what you will do there (run, climb the rock, raft down or cheer for your team)…and that is why we love to hold them! It is much more pleasant to inspire people in a good atmosphere of unity :)