Photo credit: World Nomad Games in Kyrgyzstan MIR travel
Dates Announced for World Nomad Games 2026
Travel with MIR to Witness Living Nomadic Traditions
The dates are set for one of the world’s most remarkable nomadic celebrations. The World Nomad Games 2026 will take place in Kyrgyzstan from August 31 to September 6. The event brings together athletes and artists from over 30 countries to celebrate centuries-old nomadic traditions.
Join MIR to experience the World Nomad Games 2026 in the country where it all began – Kyrgyzstan, returning for the 6th time. Watch more than 30 competitions, performances, and demonstrations inspired by the heritage of nomadic life. Horse games are a major part of the World Nomad Games, and include kok-boru, a polo-like game played with a goat carcass, and er engish, a form of horseback wrestling. Off the horse, competitors vie against one another in traditional archery, eagle hunting, and even yurt-building contests; while folk music performances and regional cuisine prepared in open-air markets abound.
Since the Games began in 2014, the event has grown both in size and in geographic spread. It features new events and an ever-expanding list of participants from nomadic communities from around the world. Each edition draws greater international attention, transforming the Games into a global stage for preserving and sharing centuries-old traditions. You’ll see more than competition: music performed on the komuz, a fretless string instrument, yurt-building contests, traditional dress parades, and markets filled with handmade felt, leather, and silverwork.
Beyond the Games, explore Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan’s capital, where modern life unfolds among tree-lined streets and Soviet-era architecture. Visit bazaars filled with handwoven textiles, dried fruits, and fragrant spices, offering a taste of daily life in Central Asia. Continue to Lake Issyk-Kul, a high-altitude saline lake at over 5,272 feet that rarely freezes and sits beneath the ridges of the Tien Shan range.
