Mongolia, Not as You Know It

This 12-day expedition runs 3–14 July 2026, timed deliberately around the rural Naadam festival and the Kazakh eagle-hunting communities of the far-western Bayan-Ulgii province. Early July brings warm, dry steppe weather and long daylight hours for shooting, along with access to the opening and closing Naadam ceremonies in Kharkorin. Travelling in summer also means greener meadows, active herding life, and comfortable conditions across the open grasslands and sand dunes.

Because the stadium version is a mass-market spectacle behind barriers, while the rural Naadam this trip is built around gives you wrestling, horse racing and archery up close, plus the opening and closing ceremonies, in a setting where you can actually move and shoot rather than watch from tiered seating. It's the difference between photographing a festival and photographing a photo opportunity someone else already claimed.

A hands-on shooting session with four or five Kazakh eagle hunters in Bayan-Ulgii whom we knowwell after many years of returning to the same families — not a demonstration staged for tour buses. That familiarity is what makes the access work: the hunters are comfortable with the group, the light and pace can be worked properly, and the training of their golden eagles is shown, not performed.

In the capital, Ulaanbaatar, we sleep in a very good, modern deluxe hotel — the Kempinski or similar. At the different camps we sleep in good gers (Mongolian yurts) with en-suite bathrooms whenever available. When we stay with the eagle hunters — two or three nights, depending on the trip edition— we sleep in small, basic gers with minimum services.

You travel in comfortable Japanese-made 4x4 vehicles, Toyota or Lexus, rather than the harsher Russian vans, with a maximum of three photographers per car so everyone is guaranteed a window seat. A local flight carries you from Ulaanbaatar to Ulgii in the far west and back. Airport reception, specified transfers and air-conditioned 4x4 transport are all included, ensuring personal space, comfort and uninterrupted views across Mongolia's vast landscapes.

These journeys are designed to be comfortable and accessible. Walking is limited to gentle strolls through villages and towns while photographing, with no trekking or strenuous excursions, and even the remote eagle-hunter regions sit on flat, easy terrain. During Naadam you reach the flat festival ground by car. There is built-in flexibility too: if you wish to rest, different return times to camp can be arranged so you rejoin the group at your own pace.

The subjects are extraordinarily rich. You document the Kazakh eagle hunters of Bayan-Ulgii and witness an intimate eagle-training session with a Golden Eagle Festival champion. The rural Naadam festival delivers wrestling, horse racing and archery up close, plus its opening and closing ceremonies. Beyond that you photograph white camels and camel-herder families, a horse-taming on the open steppe, nomadic daily life, a private session with a shaman, the 400-year-old Erdenezuu monastery, Gandan and Chojin temples, traditional dancers and models in Mongolian dress.

Every expedition is led by an internationally acclaimed photographer, either Harry Fisch or Roberto Pazzi, supported by an expert English-speaking local guide. You do not need to be an experienced photographer to join. Amateurs of all levels and seasoned professionals travel together, and the itinerary is structured around photographic opportunities with individual coaching and feedback. Non-photographers are welcome too, particularly when accompanying a partner, so everyone can take part comfortably.

Harry Fisch is a world-recognized travel photographer who founded Nomad Photo Expeditions in 2011, leading small-group cultural photo tours across more than 50 countries. His acclaimed work has earned international honors—PX3 Gold in Paris, IPA Awards of Merit, a MIFA Bronze in Moscow, Grand Prix de la Découverte jury awards, Photoespaña and Lens Culture—celebrated worldwide for its human depth.

Roberto Pazzi is a world-recognized Italian travel photographer, an engineer-turned-expedition-leader who partners with Nomad Photo Expeditions across more than 60 destinations. His acclaimed work has earned global honors—European Photography Awards Photographer of the Year, Smithsonian, PX3, TIFA Gold, MIFA, BIFA and New York Photography Awards—and reached publications worldwide including National Geographic, GEO, The Times and The Guardian.

The tour costs 7,800 US$ per person for seven participants, based on double occupancy, with a single-room surcharge of 1,130 US$. Included are tutoring by Harry Fisch or Roberto Pazzi, airport reception, the local flight, specified transfers, air-conditioned 4x4 transport, accommodation in first-class hotels and gers, all meals except three days, all visits and an expert English-speaking guide. Not included are international flights, visas, tips, air and airport taxes, some meals and personal extras.

This trip is the product of more than ten years of yearly visits, built directly with local families and community leaders so relationships open doors rather than staging scenes. Instead of the mass-market city Naadam held inside a stadium, you photograph intimate rural Naadam festivities, and you gain private sessions with eagle hunters and horse tamers. Comfortable Japanese 4x4s, first-class hotels and a strictly small group reinforce a level of authenticity standard tours rarely reach.

This expedition caps the group at just four participants, far smaller than conventional tours, so you receive genuine individual coaching, meaningful feedback and the space to produce your best work. Small numbers also mean a lighter footprint and more authentic engagement with the people and places you photograph. With a maximum of three photographers per vehicle, everyone enjoys a window seat and an unhurried, immersive creative experience throughout.

Access here is built on decades of trusted local networks that reach people and places most visitors never see. You gain a private photo session with the Kazakh eagle hunters and the training of their golden eagles, meeting a multi-time festival champion whose family guards these traditions closely. You also document an actual horse-taming on the steppe, a private shaman session, intimate rural Naadam events, and entry to local schools and official buildings, all genuinely off-limits to independent travellers.