Words and photos from Epic Expeditions founder, Chris Lininger
Photo contributions by Jocelyn Glennie
Mongolia trip season is one of the major highlights of our year here at Epic Expeditions. Among the many gifts this itinerary offers those who come to take it in, a big takeaway for me personally this year was how special the time spent with the local nomads truly is.
In a global environment fraught with ever-more concerning news stories, social media scrambling our brain chemistry, and a general over-stimulated distraction-filled existence on a level not felt by our ancestors, a trip to Mongolia always does the body and mind good, as is time with people who are just about as far removed as possible from all of the above.
This is not to say the nomadic lifestyle should be romanticized or glorified because they live out in the mountains in yurts with their animals, largely away from cell signal and TikTok. While on the surface, they are inherently cool in my book, the deeper respect I have for these nomadic communities comes from the very fact that they have a simple, but very challenging life. They are self-reliance defined.
With the awe-inspiring beauty of the Altai Mountains comes remoteness, harsh weather, and the daily fact that other nomads might be days away should the need arise. Seeing how these people live, how skilled they are with their animals, how skilled they are at fixing everything that breaks, and how the Kazakh Nomads of Western Mongolia seem “tuned in” offered our group a chance to connect with an ancient lifestyle that has defined groups of human beings from time immemorial.
Perhaps within 1-2 generations, these people’s children might give up the mountain-nomad lifestyle in favor of corner grocery stores, shopping malls and, açaí bowls, but for now, we are lucky enough to experience it firsthand and take away many lessons from these special people.
Of course, the hiking, horseback riding, great food, cozy yurts, sudden snowstorms, the face-muscle soreness that comes from laughing constantly, and our legendary team of participants from all over the world also came together to form this powerful adventure experience. In short, it felt like a proper Epic trip and a hell of a lot of fun!
To everyone who joined us in Mongolia this year, we thank you for coming with an open mind and an open heart. We hope you left Mongolia with your adventure hearts full and your mind sharp from two weeks of being present with yourselves and with the other trip participants in one of the more deeply rewarding places we run expeditions.
Extra extra special thanks to our incredible local staff from Olgii, along with the nomads who make the trekking/horse riding in such a remote part of the Altai possible.
I hope you enjoy the photos from the group that I (Chris) led this past September/October 2025… drop a comment below and let us know what you think or if you have any questions about this itinerary.
Thanks for making it to the end of this Mongolia 2025 field report and photo gallery!
If you are keen to join us next year, be sure to check out the trip page with all the details you need to sign up.
