Ditch the tropical vacation; join our Epic adventure to K2 Base Camp this summer!
Ditch the tropical vacation; join our Epic adventure to K2 Base Camp this summer!
What does it take to turn a dream into a reality?
How does one build something unique, attractive, and worthwhile that others will actually enjoy?
Well, these are some of the exact questions our founding members had swimming through their minds back in 2017. Turns out that we did not have to look too far. The answer was right on our path.
For nearly a decade prior to founding Epic Expeditions, American adventurer Chris Lininger traveled, hiked, and photographed his way around the world in pursuit of unique adventures, quality coffee, and big mountains.
Then he came to Pakistan for the first time… and the rest is history.
Chris and the other founding members immediately recognized the endless adventure tourism potential in Pakistan and we decided to make it our life mission to share our love for the country with as many people as possible.
Epic Expeditions transitioned from a distant dream into a concrete reality when we led our first adventure tour into the mountains of Northern Pakistan.
That next year, Epic founder Chris Lininger built the first version of our website, and – spoiler alert – he knew nothing at that time (and still does not) about how to build a website 😅.
In any case, our first clients had an incredible experience and the positive feedback we got was more than we could have hoped for, and we knew that we were onto something special…
Our adventure staff started out as basically a 3 to 4 person operation (shout out to Clair in Australia for her crucial contributions to the first few years of Epic’s development!) that has now grown to include a team of people from five different countries – working across a myriad of timezones.
We are super fortunate to have some of the best in the business working with Epic; this crew is the real deal.
Our core team is multi-lingual, hard-working, creative, and full of the skills, experience, and knowledge required to run the kind of adventure tour company that embodies what we love about active, shared travel experiences.
Though our team comes from diverse backgrounds, we all have one thing in common: we genuinely love curating incredible adventures for our clients and the adventure community that has spawned from years of running trips around the world. And we just love doing Epic shi* as well.
Here are a just a few photo memories from past group trips we have led in various countries around the world:
Epic was born out of a pretty basic desire. The team wanted to run the type of adventures that we personally wanted to be doing, but could not find anywhere else AND we wanted to have a positive impact on the local communities we visited along the way.
In the age of mass travel, Instagram, and cheap holiday packages, finding what we can conclusively call authentic travel experiences can feel rare, and even more so on a group tour where everything is essentially done for you.
From day one, Epic vowed to never be one of those companies running cookie-cutter tours for the masses. This is simply not us.
By design, our expeditions are developed, tried, tweaked, and tested by our trip leaders before we bring you there; we like to say that our trips are for people who do not normally do group tips because half way through the journey, you might even forget you are on a group trip and instead feel like you are traveling with a bunch of like-minded friends – this is part of the Epic style and vibe we love so dearly!
We have literally spent years – and a lot of blood, sweat, and tears – developing trips that are meaningful, raw, and will take you to corners of the earth you never knew existed.
We will not take you to Bali to sip cocktails on the beach – that we can guarantee you.
The interests and passions of our team are as diverse as the kind of trips we run; we are long-distance hikers, adventure travel bloggers, photographers, climbers, foodies, designers, mountaineers, world travelers, ex-organic farmers, arm-chair historians, and lovers of culture.
As with most good things in life, the development of Epic Expeditions has been a thoughtful, intentional process.
Through the hard work and dedication of our incredible team (and the support of our clients), Epic has expanded from our humble start running one itinerary in Pakistan a few times a year, to now operating in 9 countries (as of 2024!).
There is a lot more on the horizon from Epic in the years to come – that is for sure!
We are full of gratitude that you are here reading this because it means you too might just become part of our elite adventure community some day!
The concept for Epic Expeditions is simple; these are not your average tours – these are real adventures in which you will get to peek behind the curtain and discover a side of a country that many people simply cannot imagine.
We believe that the power of travel, community, photography, and meaningful adventure experiences can bring people together in a unique way while smashing negative stereotypes about countries the western media might deem “dangerous countries”.
Our awesome expeditions begin and end with our local ground teams and the local communities we visit along the way.
Since Epic has never once outsourced a trip to third-party companies, we develop real, life-long relationships with the people we work with everywhere we go.
This boots-on-the-ground approach with regard to trip development means that we are deeply invested in local communities.
Epic is involved with community projects on the ground in Pakistan and in other countries and part of the income each trip generates goes directly to non-profit organizations and community leaders who are trying to better their communities and standard of living.
Thoughtfully choosing which companies you decide to travel with does make a huge difference – not only on your travel experience – but also on how your tourism dollars affect (or don’t affect) local communities.
As we referenced above, choosing a tour operator is no easy decision – so why should you travel with Epic Expeditions?
When you choose us, you not only have the authentic journey of a lifetime, but you will also become part of our community. Our guides and staff have the experience, skills, and local knowledge to bring you meaningful and authentic trips, with adventure-packed itineraries you simply will not find with another tour company. We believe in doing things the right way and in all of the little details that add up to make a trip special.
Each one of our handcrafted itineraries offers something uniquely Epic – whether it is staying with a family in a remote mountain village, trekking with nomads, or photographing foxes in Siberia – once you become part of the Epic community – you are left with a lifetime of good memories, new experiences, and a full heart.
Team saftey, professionalism, ethical travel, and having a sense of humor – even when things don’t go 100% as planned – rank among just a few of what makes this company Epic.
There is a reason that year after year we have many return clients.
When you travel with Epic, you expereince the difference. It is as simple as that.
We hope you enjoyed learning a bit more about Epic, our origins, and what makes us different.
If you are interested in booking onto a trip, you have a specific question about a tour, or you want to get to know us better – schedule a call with our adventure staff today!
We look forward to having you experience the Epic style for yourself one day soon.
Cheers All,
– Chris Lininger
Founder of Epic Expeditions
Chat with us now!
Chat with us now!