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Autumn 2025 Newsletter

In this issue:

  • A note from James.
  • Upcoming trips.
  • Port Sudan, Champions of the Golden Valley in London & Destinations 2026.
  • Untamed Borders in the media

A note from James Willcox, Founder

 

 

I first visited Afghanistan in 2008 and that trip changed the course of my life. What began as a personal journey became something much bigger – it led me to establish Untamed Borders and to organising skiing, marathons, trekking trips and even concerts in Afghanistan and furtherafield. Now, many years later, I’m honoured to be the author of the upcoming new Bradt Guide for Afghanistan – the first mainstream travel guidebook to the country in more than 20 years.

Back when I first visited, there was almost no tourism infrastructure in Afghanistan, and being part of developing it was a privilege. So, it feels fitting that after helping to build a foundation for tourism in the country, I can now share my experience through the new guide. After more than 35 visits to Afghanistan, my most recent trips were for researching and writing the new book – once again the country revealed sides which were still completely new to me.

I never set out to be a guidebook writer, but Afghanistan was the exception. After years of gently pestering Hilary Bradt (the founder of Bradt Guides), she finally let me take it on. Writing the book gave me an excuse to explore corners I’d never reached before, such as an adventure to the desert Forts of Nimruz, the caves of Tora Bora and to the Lapis mines of Sare Sang.

Even after nearly forty visits, Afghanistan still surprises me. It remains a place where natural beauty, curiosity, hospitality and history meet – and where, no matter how much you think you know about the nation, something unexpected always awaits.

The new guide comes out on 6th February 2026 and we are planning to host an intimate book launch shortly afterwards in London, with details to be released in the not too distant future.

I hope you get chance to read it and hopefully you can join us on one of our many upcoming Afghanistan adventures.

James

Upcoming Trips

We have a number of exciting new trips coming up over the next 12 months, plus we’ve added lots of new dates on some of our old favourite routes too. These include a new group trip along the Pamir Highway in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, an epic trip to Northern Pakistan, plus our virtual tours of Afghanistan are making a return in 2026. You can find a full list of all our upcoming group itineraries below and online.

New – Pamir Highway 

To drive the Pamir Highway is to complete one of the world’s greatest high altitude road trips. Over a 13-day new trip we will traverse more than 1,200km of this famous route – linking the Tajik capital, Dushanbe, to Osh in Kyrgyzstan, via the Pamir mountains – known as the “Roof of the World”. The adventure evokes the spirit of the ancient Silk Road, crossing Central Asia by land, through jaw-dropping scenery, stopping at historic sites along the way, and meeting the communities who live in this remote corner of the planet.

The early stages of the trip see us cross a 3,000m pass and descend to the Panj River, travelling along it and skirting the border of Afghanistan. We stop at hot springs, travel through immense gorges and pass waterfalls – with overnight stops in Kalaikhumb, Khorogh, Ishkashim and Langar – staying in a mixture of local homestays and guesthouses. We then head north into one of the most isolated parts of Central Asia. Crossing mountain passes and into vast valleys, we stop at Bulunkul and enjoy a rest day around Yashilkul Lake. The road trip then returns to the Pamir Highway, where we continue east, to Murghab and on through remote mountains to Kyrgyzstan. We then finish the trip in the bustling Kyrgyz city, Osh.

A tour which takes you on one of the world’s greatest road trips, through one of the most beautiful parts of Central Asia. This trip can be followed on by our group trip to the World Nomad Games in Kyrgyzstan, which begins 2 days after the end of the Pamir Highway adventure.

Hindu Kush & Karkoram

A 14-day road trip through the awe-inspiring Karakoram and Hindu Kush Mountain ranges of Northern Pakistan. These gorgeous mountains contain a kaleidoscope of people, as well as some of the earth’s most incredible scenery – a region named among the best places to visit in the world, by the BBC, CNN and Financial Times earlier this year. It’s a place we also recently guided famous Belgian broadcaster Tom Waes and a film crew, for the travel show – Reizen Waes – on VRT Max.

We’ll begin by taking a scenic flight from Islamabad to Skardu, passing in the shadow of Nanga Parbat, the world’s 9th highest mountain. Next, we’ll take one of life’s great road trips along the the legendary Karakoram Highway. On the way we will stop in Gilgit, the beautiful Hunza Valley, Passu, Attabad Lake and continue on to Khunjerab, on the border of China. We then double back on ourselves, cross the 3,700m high Shandur Pass and drop into the Chitral region, where we have a rich cultural experience with the Kalasha people – an animist tribe, who live in this remote corner of Pakistan. We then finish our adventure in the ancient Silk Road city of Peshawar, famed for its trading heritage and vibrant bazaars, which still throng with life to this day. You can see photos from a previous visit here and here.

Afghanistan Virtual Tours

In early 2026 we have a return of our Afghanistan virtual tours, with the nation’s first female tour guide – Fatima Haidari. These online sessions provide a fantastic opportunity to learn more about the nation from the comfort of your own home, while transporting you to Central Asia. Along with learning about the history, culture, landscapes and food in Afghanistan, you will also have chance to ask our excellent guide questions, to learn more about Afghan life and the challenges it faces today. Fatima previously guided in person for us in the city of Herat, before the Taliban took control of the country and she had to flee to safety in Europe. These unique tours are more than just a cultural experience, they also support secret education programmes for women still in Afghanistan, with some of the proceeeds going towards this important work. You can learn more about Fatima’s inspiring story, in this article by The Indpendent.

Future Departures 

Below is a full list of our upcoming and future group departures. We can also organise private trips to any of these destinations.

– Afghanistan

– Algeria (10 day group trips in February & November 2026)
– Djibouti & Somaliland (9 day group trips in January, March & Autumn 2026)
– New – Eclipse Tours (August 2027)

– New – Iran (10 day group trip in May 2026)
– Iraq

– Kyrgyzstan – World Nomad Games (8 day group trip in September 2026)
– Libya

– New – Mauritania (13 day trip group trip in April 2026)
– Pakistan

– Somalia (Mogadishu) (3 day group trips in December 2025, January/February 2026 & October 2026)
– South Sudan (7 day group trip in March 2026)
– Syria (7 day group trips in April & September 2026)
– Tajikistan Trek – Pamir Mountain Lakes (16 day group trip in August 2026)
– New Tajikistan & Kyrgyzstan – Pamir Highway (13 day group trip in August 2026)
– New – Turkmenistan (8 day group trip in May 2026)
– Yemen

In addition to the above, we can also get in touch for more information and suggested itineraries in:

  • Armenia
  • Azerbaijan
  • Chad
  • Central African Republic
  • DRC
  • Eritrea
  • Ethiopia
  • Georgia
  • India
  • Kazakhstan
  • Kyrgyzstan
  • Lebanon
  • Mongolia
  • Puntland
  • Saudi Arabia
  • Sudan
  • Tunisia
  • Uzbekistan

Latest News

Port Sudan

Between 2015 and 2023 we regularly ran trips to Sudan, but had to pause due to the tragic conflict there. Recently, on request, we arranged a small trip for a guest to Port Sudan and Suakin Island. While we aren’t yet offering group trips to Sudan in the current climate, private trips to Port Sudan are now available on request. You can enquire now by emailing – info@untamedborders.com.

Champions of the Golden Valley in London

The multi award winning Afghan ski film, which Untamed Borders organised logistics for, is due to be shown in London on 7th December 2025 (time and venue TBC). Our Founder, James Willcox, is an Associate Director of Champions of the Golden Valley, which also recently announced Nobel Peace Prize winner, Malala Yousafazi and actor Arian Moayed as Executive Directors too. It premiered at the prestigious Tribeca Film Festival in New York. Since its first showing, the film has scooped awards at film festivals around the world and it helps to shine a light on grassroots skiing in Afghanistan, along with the Bamyan Alpine Ski Club. You can meet the club in person and ski in the same valleys featured in the film, on our Afghanistan group ski trips (next departure is in April 2026). If you’re based in the UK and want more information about the screening please contact – info@untamedborders.com.

Destinations 2026: Holiday & Travel Show

Early next year Untamed Borders will be returning to the Destinations: Holiday & Travel Show in London. The event, which runs from 29th January to 1st February 2026, brings together some of the leading travel companies and tour providers in the industry. Members of our team will be on hand to dicuss potential trip ideas at our stand, meanwhile, there are also lots of guest talks, cooking displays, travel book stores, plus much more. The event at London Olympia is always a wonderful opportunity to meet some of our previous guests and potential new ones. We hope you can join us next year. For tickets, please visit this link.

Untamed Borders in the media

It’s been a busy few months in the media for Untamed Borders. We were recently featured in a great piece in the Telegraph, which highlighted the work we do in challenging destinations and foused on the kind of travellers who join us on our adventures. The Wall Street Journal ran a similar recent piece, which also included Untamed Borders in the report.

Conde Nast included our trekking trips to the Zagros Mountain Trail, in Iraqi Kurdistan, in their list of the best places to solo travel in the Middle East. Meanwhile, Euro News asked for our insight about organising tours to Afghanistan and BBC Travel included our Eclipse 2027 tours in a recent article about eclipse tourism.

Our trips to Tajikistan were covered in National Geographic, with the Pamir Mountains highlighted as one of the best locations in the world to digitally switch off, and last month some of our talented local guides were the focus of a new piece in Wired For Adventure. Plus our collaboration with the award winning photographer and journalist, Simon Urwin, for Wanderlust, in Syria, has also been published on the Wanderlust website now too.

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If you would like to talk about anything mentioned in this newsletter then please get in touch.

We hope to see you all on an adventure with Untamed Borders very soon.

The Untamed Borders Team

November 2025