Kyrgyzstan · since 2017
Slow journeys at the
nomad’s pace — through Tien Shan.
Small-group horseback, ski, and nomadic tours, made with the families and craftsmen who actually live the route.
Camp at Song-Kul
Aijan, felt-maker
About EcoNomad
A small company, with deep local roots in the Tien Shan.
Founded in 2017 by a group of Bishkek mountain guides and craft researchers, EcoNomad designs slow-paced trips that bring guests into the everyday life of nomadic herders, felt-makers, and high-mountain shepherds.
We do not run more than three groups at a time. Our partners — yurt camps, horsemen, cooks, and artisans — are the same families, year after year. The money you pay for a tour ends up in their hands.
— Nurbek & Asel
FoundersBishkek
Featured tours · 2026 season
Six routes, hand-built with the people who live them.
By experience
Find your trip by what you came for.
Why EcoNomad
Four principles we won't bend on.
01
Small groups, max 8
Every tour is intentionally limited so the experience never feels like a coach trip. Often it's a private family.
02
Local hands, fair pay
Yurt owners, horsemen and artisans are paid the same agreed rates whether the group is 2 or 8 people.
03
Slow, on purpose
We build trips with extra days for weather, longer tea stops, and time to actually meet people — not race past them.
04
Made by guides
EcoNomad is run by working mountain guides who lead trips themselves. No outsourced operators.
Artisans map · live preview
62 master artisans across 7 regions.
Our directory of working craftspeople — felt, pottery, jewelry, wood, leather, music. Visit them on tour, or contact directly.
Filter by craft
Felt & shyrdak
18
Pottery
9
Jewelry
11
Wood carving
7
Komuz & music
8
Leather
9
Aijan · felt · Bokonbaevo
Aijan Tursunova
Aijan Tursunova
Bokonbaevo · Issyk-Kul region
Felt
Shyrdak
Workshops
Third-generation felt maker. Workshop in her family yurt, 20 min from the lake. Open to small groups by appointment.
Open full map →Featured artisans
Aijan T.
Bokonbaevo
Almaz B.
Kyzyl-Tuu
Nurzat S.
Kochkor
Janybek O.
Naryn
Salima K.
Talas
From recent guests
Words from people who came back changed.
★★★★★
A trip I'd been quietly looking for, for years. Slow, generous, real — and our horseman Bekzat became a friend.
★★★★★
The best ski touring I've done in a decade — empty bowls, deep snow, and the warmest hosts at the end of every day.
★★★★★
My partner and I came for the felt — we left understanding why so many small things in this country are still made by hand.
From the journal
Field notes, recipes, craft stories.
Plan with us
Talk to a guide. Build your own route.
Tell us when you're free, what you want to see, and how you like to travel. We'll come back within two business days with a draft itinerary — no commitment, no fee.
2 days
Reply time
62
Artisan partners
4.9 / 5
Guest rating