Itinerary

Day 1: Arrive in Ulaanbaatar and free day

Your driver will greet you at the airport/railway station and transfer you to a centrally located hotel. Free day to recover from jetlag and discover the city on your own while staying in a superb location hotel.

Accommodation: 3* hotel

Day 2: Fly to the Gobi Desert and hiking in Eagle Valley

Take an early flight to Dalanzadgad. Our team will greet you at Dalanzadgad airport (a central town of Southgobi/Umnugobi province). The flight takes one and half-hour. Drive short to a ger camp near the Gobi Gurban Saikhan National Park, which means Three Beautiful Mountains in the Gobi Desert. The national park is one of the largest and most unique national parks. It is also the end of the Altai mountain range. There are many scenic places in the national park. Among them, Yoliin Am/Eagle Valley is accessible by vehicle. After your car parks, you will trek through the beautiful valley into the depths of the sheer rock canyon. The bottom of the canyon does not accept sunlight. Therefore, it has ice until the end of June. People always feel fascinated when they see such a lush green valley in the Gobi Desert. Bearded eagles, shy wild sheep, and ibexes are indigenous to the valley. The hiking takes 2.5 hours on the two ways.

Accommodation: Ger camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 3: Khongor Sand Dunes and two humped camel riding

Your journey will continue to Khongor, the tallest solid dunes. Upon reaching Khongor, visit a nomad family, ride two-humped camels, and climb one of the dunes, depending on how much physical challenge you wish to face. If you can climb one of the tallest dunes, spread the sand northwards against the wind to find out why locals call the dunes "Singing Sand.” The Gobi Desert views are fantastic from the top of the dunes.

Accommodation: Ger camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 4: Flaming Cliffs

Our adventure will continue to the Flaming Cliffs, where American explorer Roy Chapman Andrews found the cemetery of dinosaurs and the first dinosaur eggs ever discovered. We will have some hiking through the cliffs in search of dinosaur fossils may found and see the Gobi Desert tree grove named “Bayanzag.” Bayanzag means “rich in saxaul trees.” This tree only grows in the Central Asian desert.

Accommodation: Ger camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 5: Drive to Ongi Monastery on the open steppes

Drive first through slate mountains and next on 80 km Ongi steppes heading to Ongi Monastery. Ongi Monastery was one of the seven biggest monasteries in Mongolia. There were two separate monasteries on the shores of the Ongi River, surrounded by the Gobi Desert mountains. Socialists destroyed the temples in the 1930s. Now the ruins of the monasteries involve an expanse area. You will visit a new active temple, a ger museum, and explore the monastery ruins. If you wish, you can climb a nearby mountain to enjoy views of the surrounding areas.

Accommodation: Ger camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 6: Kharkhorin and Erdenezuu Monastery in the Orkhon Valley

The journey takes place in the transition zone from the Gobi desert to the mountain steppes. Kharkhorin, formerly known as Kharakhorum, was once the capital of Genghis Khaan's Great Mongol Empire in the 13th century. After the Mongolian capital moved to Beijing and the fall of the Empire, Min soldiers destroyed the abandoned Kharakhorum in 1388. Today, in the vast valley of the Orkhon River, the awe-inspiring ancient monastery Erdenezuu coexists with Kharkhorin town. See some valuable religious articles in the monastery museum, and view its stunning architecture. Visiting the Kharakhorum Museum is part of today's program.

Accommodation: Ger camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 7: Hiking to Tovhkon Monastery and Tsenkher Hot Spa

You will spend the day exploring the Orkhon River Valley and hiking to Tovhkon Monastery. This small monastery was built on 2312 m rocky top of Shiveet Ulaan Mountain. Reaching the monastery will require 3 hours of soft hiking up and down the mountain, but not steep. The vista is incredible from the mountaintop. The journey continues along forested mountain tracks and arrives at Tsenkher Valley in the evening.

Accommodation: Ger camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 8: Arkhangai province and explore the nomadic life and try authentic Mongolian barbecue

This day begins with a short tour of Tsetserleg town of Arkhangai province, including the local market visit. Continue the journey to meet a yak-herding nomadic family and relish in an authentic Mongolian barbecue for lunch. Discover more about the traditional nomadic life of northern Mongolian nomads. Next, drive through the picturesque landscapes of Arkhangai with a stop at the Chuluut River canyon. Arrive at Khorgo Terkhiin Tsagaan National Park in the late afternoon.

Accommodation: Ger camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 9: Explore Khorgo Terkhiin Tsagaan National Park

The Khorgo Terkhiin Tsagaan National Park was established to protect the spectacular mountain scenery and endangered species of its flora & fauna. There are several extinct volcanoes within the National Park area, but Khorgo is the most easily accessible volcano. Lava flow from the volcanoes blocked the north and south Terkh Rivers forming the fresh-water lake Terkhiin Tsagaan. Except for the lake and volcano, the national park is extremely beautiful, rich in flora, and is a famous pastureland area where many nomads reside with their animals, mainly yaks. Today, you will climb the volcano on stairs and trails. Upon reaching the top, you will walk along the volcano rim with outstanding views of surrounding areas; a small village can be seen from the volcano, as well as a bird’s eye view of Terhkiin Tsagaan Lake. In the afternoon, travel to freshwater Lake Terkhiin Tsagaan and explore caves.

Accommodation: Ger camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 10: Overnight near Shine Ider

Today's driving will be scenic through a flower-carpeted mountain valley, along the Terkhiin Tsagaan Lake, and over mountain passes. You will arrive at a small ger camp isolated from the community. If you wish, you can trek to and climb a mountain, where awe-inspiring scenery and cellphone reception reward you.

Accommodation: Ger camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 11: See deer stones and Khuvsgul Lake

The journey continues to the freshwater Khuvsgul Lake. This 136km-long, 38km wide lake lies 1600m above sea level in the middle of a Siberian taiga forest and among majestic sheer rock mountains. The lake and its surrounding pristine area have much to offer its guests. Along the way to the lake, you will explore ancient deer stones. Deer stones spread widely throughout Central Asia and are the first monuments of humans; the earliest of them belong to the 13th to the 9th century BC, while they mostly date back to The Bronze Age. On restored, standing stones, pictures including the sun, the moon, belts, knives, and jumping deer were carved fantastically. After settling in at a ger camp conveniently located on the western shore of the lake, we hike up a mountain to see views of the lake and its surrounding area from above.

Accommodation: Ger camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 12: Visit reindeer family and horse riding at Khuvsgul Lake

The Reindeer herding Tsaatan people live in the depths of the taiga forest. A few reindeer are the primary resource of their livelihood. In the summer months, some reindeer families move down from the Taiga mountains close to the lake to supplement their income. After breakfast, we will visit the reindeer people. You will spend the rest of the day riding horses along the lake’s shore and enjoying leisure time.

Accommodation: Ger camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 13: Drive to Murun, fly to Ulaanbaatar

First, we will drive to Moron town for 1.5 hours and next fly to Ulaanbaatar for 1.5 hours. Check-in at a hotel and free afternoon for optional activities.

Accommodation: 3* hotel
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 14: Departure

The driver transfers you to the airport/trains station. End of the tour.

Meals: Breakfast

Price & Date

Background

Explore Mongolia is a regular tour to explore the most exciting attractions and scenic places of huge Mongolian territory within a relatively short period of 14 days with the help of two domestic flights. You will fly to the Gobi Desert, travel overland through central Mongolia to the far north, and fly back to Ulaanbaatar from northern Mongolia. The tour doesn't include any challenging physical activities. Traveling in Mongolia always requires long driving through changing landscapes, scenic views, and vast open steppes. Though, we planned the trip to have as little driving as possible. The approximate daily driving is 3-6 hours. The itinerary includes some light activities such as 1-3 hours of soft hiking, an hour of camel riding, and 1-2 hours of horse riding with the support of your guide and local equestrians. The most challenging experience could be climbing the Khongor dune in the Gobi Desert, which is not mandatory. You can enjoy the dunes and yourself while climbing one of the lower sand hills. Climbing Khorgo volcano on Day 8 could be a bit strenuous for some people because of the area's high elevation of 2100 m above sea level.

Tour meals are included as indicated in the itinerary. In the countryside, ger camps serve both European and Mongolian meals. Meat is the main ingredient for meals and is served for lunch and dinner with vegetables, salads, and soups. There will be more meat in traditional Mongolian meals. A typical breakfast is tea or coffee, bread, jam, butter, eggs, and sausage. There are some cookies, cheese, cereals, pancakes, and more at some ger camps for breakfast. For lunch, meals include salads, Mongolian soups, main course (pasta, rice, vegetables, beef/mutton/chicken/fish near lakes/rivers), dessert, and tea. Ger camps serve salads, the main course, a dessert, and tea for dinner. With nomads, you will try authentic Mongolian meals. Different types of meals offered simultaneously are not customary in Mongolian tradition. If you are a vegetarian or have other dietary restrictions, please inform us in advance, and we will make arrangements accordingly. We will supply two 0.5L bottles of water a day. Providing one large bottle (1.5 liters) of water instead of 2 small water bottles is available upon request. More information on Mongolia meals

You will stay 2 nights in a centrally located 3* hotel in Ulaanbaatar and 11 nights in the ger camps in the countryside. For your comfortable stay, we choose the best ger camps in the locations.

The majority of our company's guides are English speaking. German, French, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, and Japanese-speaking guides are available upon request. All of our guides are friendly and helpful. The majority of them were born and raised in the Mongolian countryside. Therefore, they have good knowledge about every aspect of Mongolia. During horse and camel riding, local equestrians will support you.

The tour includes two domestic flights; to the Gobi Desert at the beginning and back to Ulaanbaatar from northern Mongolia at the end of the trip. Domestic flights save a lot of time and help you discover much of Mongolia in a shorter period. About the land transport, Japanese/Korean vans or jeeps serve you depending on the group size. Besides the vehicles, our experienced, friendly, and good mechanic drivers will help you enjoy the journey.

We suggest you take the Explore Mongolia tour between 5 June and 10 September. During this period, the weather will be warm and enjoyable. In addition, the seasonal accommodation gers camps operate fully in June, and the seasonal domestic flights start flying in the same month. The tour covers a vast territory of Mongolia. You should expect significant fluctuation in weather and altitude. The Gobi Desert altitude is relatively low (1050 m to 1350 m where we travel) compared to other parts and the warmest region in Mongolia. The annual temperature is usually 2-10°C higher than in other areas of Mongolia. However, you should not expect warm weather during the entire trip, even in the summer. Mongolia is elevated at least 700 m above the neighboring Siberian plateau and Chinese territory. Dominant altitude in central and northern Mongolia lies 1400 m to 1780 m above sea level. Few areas of the route are elevated above 2000 m. Therefore, Mongolian weather fluctuates hourly, in daylight, and at night. Evening and night temperature drops by 10-20°C. May, September, and October are chilly, and the temperature drops below zero during occasional snows. Notably in northern and central northern Mongolia. May, June, late August, and September average Gobi Desert temperature is +20°C, highest 30°C daytime and night temperature may drop to +8°C. July and at the beginning of August, the average day temperature is +25°C, the hottest is +39°C, and the night temperature could drop to +12°C, but some nights could be sultriness. The temperature could dramatically fall if it rains. When you travel more to the north, you will feel the temperature drop and cooler weather in the mornings, evenings, and at night. For your pre-departure preparation, please check the detailed packing list of the discovery tours.

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