Untamed Borders is launching a new adventure to the World Nomad Games, in a collaboration with award-winning journalist Autumn Phillips.

The Central Asian tour takes in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan and coincides with the Games in Astana (Kazakhstan), which celebrates sports and other activities played by nomadic communities.

This includes horseback wrestling, horseback archery, hunting with birds and tug of war, among many other unique sports, which are popular in countries with nomadic cultures.

It’s also an opportunity to bring together these communities from around the world and celebrate their historic ways of life - it’s expected up to 3,000 participants will take part from more than 100 countries.

As well as enjoying the festivities, guests on the trip will also have chance to experience a travel writing masterclass from the American journalist, who will share her skills with aspiring writers.

Untamed Borders encounters nomadic cultures in many of the countries it operates trips to, with tourism proving to be an increasingly important source of income for tribes and nomadic communities around the globe, while also helping to preserve traditions.

Alongside Central Asia, traditional nomads are playing a key role in tourism in many other locations, with a focus on supporting their historic ways of life, including in Morocco, Iran, the Ladakh region of India and Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula – just to name a few.

James Willcox is the Founder of Untamed Borders, “Many nomadic communities live in some of the most remote corners of the planet, where life is tough and fragile. We visit nomadic people in places including Afghanistan, Algeria, South Sudan and other countries across Central Asia, Africa and the Middle East on our trips.

Retaining nomadic culture can be challenging when economic opportunities are slim in these harsh environments, which are increasingly under pressure from the changing climate and development.

It’s inevitable some young people will leave these traditions behind and move away from their traditional nomadic upbringings. However, by offering trips to meet these communities it helps support some people in their traditions, while also providing an economic uplift in the regions they call home.

It also provides an opportunity for our guests to get a window into rarely seen corners of the planet and experience fascinating ways of life.”

Autumn Phillips was recently awarded the title of “Journalist of the Year” by the North American Travel Journalists Association and regularly joins Untamed Borders on adventures around the world.

After guests have taken in the World Nomad Games with Autumn, the trip will move on to Uzbekistan, where we will visit the capital Tashkent and the ancient Silk Road cities of Samarkand and Bukhara. We then cross over the border into the isolationist state of Turkmenistan.

There will be a second travel writing masterclass to Algeria with Autumn Phillips in October, which will take guests into the heart of the Sahara - to the stunning Tassili N’Ajjer National Park. This trip will also provide an opportunity to meet traditional nomadic communities.

If you would like to join Autumn and the Untamed Borders team on these special trips you can book now via these links – World Nomad Games & Algeria.

Extra information for editors:

To request more information, images or interviews with Untamed Borders founder James Willcox, please contact our PR and Marketing Coordinator, David Harrison - press@untamedborders.com