Itinerary

July 7, Day 1: Arrive in Ulaanbaatar

Your driver will greet you at the airport and transfer you to a centrally located hotel. Free day to relax and discover the city on your own while staying in a good location central hotel.

Accommodation: 3* hotel

July 8, Day 2: Tsagaan Suvarga colorful mud cliffs

The guide and driver meet you at the hotel at 8:30 AM and start the tour heading to the Tsagaan Suvarga cliffs. The area is one of the most famous attractions in the Gobi Desert, where all visitors wish their pictures taken among this colorful natural formation. Hiking down and up along the trails of the stupa-shaped colorful cliffs takes 1 to 1.5 hours.

Accommodation: Ger camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

July 9, Day 3: Gobi Gurban Saikhan Mountain National Park and hiking in Eagle Valley

The Gobi Gurban Saikhan Mountain is a beautiful national park, rich in wildlife and scenic places. Among them, Yoliin Am/Eagle Valley is accessible by car. After our vehicle brings us to a designated parking area, we will walk through the gorgeous valley into the depths of a sheer rock canyon, which accepts no sunlight. Therefore, it has ice until the end of June. The hiking continues for 2.5 to 3 hours into the valley and back to the vehicle. Bearded eagles, elusive wild sheep, and ibexes are indigenous to the valley.

Accommodation: Ger camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

July 10, Day 4: Attend Naadam Festival

Today, you will drive short to attend the Naadam, held in Dalanzadgad town. See the main events of the Gobi Desert Naadam Festival, such as horse racing, wrestling, and archery, apart from seeing how Mongolians celebrate their festival by wearing their finest traditional clothes and riding their nicest horses.

Accommodation: Ger camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

July 11, Day 5: Khongor Sand Dunes, camel riding

Today, you will travel to the Gobi Desert's most renowned destination, the tallest pure sand dunes Khongor. After reaching the dunes, you visit a nomad family, ride a two-humped camel, and climb the dunes. If you can climb one of the tallest dunes, don't forget to spread the sand northwards against the wind to find out why locals call the dunes "Singing Sand.” The views are fantastic from the top of the dunes.

Accommodation: Ger camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

July 12, Day 6: Flaming Cliffs

Tour to Flaming Cliffs, an area of red cliffs formed through the erosion of sand and rock over many thousands of years. It is also a site of several successful dinosaur excavations. Among them, a discovery that dinosaurs lay eggs after finding a dinosaur nest made the area the world known. Arrive at the ger camp by lunchtime. Free afternoon to relax and hide from the afternoon sun. You will spend the evening exploring the cliffs and photographing the cliffs in the evening sun.

Accommodation: Ger camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

July 13, Day 7: Drive to Ongi Monastery on the open steppes

First, you visit the Gobi tree grove Bayanzag, which means “rich in saxaul trees.” This tree only grows in the Central Asian Gobi. Next, drive through slate mountains and on 80 km Ongi steppes, heading to Ongi, one of the biggest seven monasteries in Mongolia. There were two separate monasteries consisting of more than 30 temples on the shores of the Ongi River surrounded by the Gobi Desert mountains; however, the temples were destroyed during the socialist purge of the 1930s. The monastery ruins cover an expanse area. Visit a new active temple and a ger museum, explore the monastery ruins, and climb a nearby mountain to see panoramic views of the surrounding areas.

Accommodation: Ger camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

July 14, Day 8: Erdenezuu monastery and Kharkhorin in the Orkhon River Valley

This day’s tour takes place in the transition zone from the Gobi Desert to the mountain steppes. Kharkhorin, formerly known as Kharakhorum, was the capital of the Great Mongol Empire in the 13th century. After the Mongolian capital moved to Beijing and the fall of the Empire, Karakorum was abandoned and then destroyed by Min soldiers 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 artifacts in the monastery museum, view its stunning architecture, and visit the Kharakhorum Museum, displaying remnants of the ancient city.

Accommodation: Ger camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

July 15, Day 9: Visit a nomad family, have a nomadic lunch, horseback riding and return to Ulaanbaatar

On the way to Ulaanbaatar, you will visit a nomad family. Learn firsthand about the nomadic life, ride horses, and try traditional Mongolian dishes. Arrive in Ulaanbaatar between 5:30 and 6 PM.

Accommodation: 3* hotel
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

July 16, Day 10: Transfer to the airport/railway station

The driver will transfer you to the airport/railway station.

Meals: Breakfast

Tour Price

Background

Great Naadam and Gobi Desert Tour includes overnight stays in ger camps in the countryside and a hotel in Ulaanbaatar. The tour does not include any challenging physical activities. Traveling in Mongolia always requires long driving through changing landscapes and steppes with scenic views. Even though we planned the trip to have as little driving as possible. The approximate daily driving will be 3.5-6 hours. The itinerary includes some light activities, such as 1-3 hours of soft hiking and horse and camel riding with the help of local wranglers. The most challenging experience is climbing the Khongor dunes, which is not mandatory. You can enjoy the sand dunes and Gobi Desert view while climbing one of the lower sand hills.

Tour meals are included according to 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 along 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 of the ger camps for breakfast. For lunch, meals include salads, Mongolian soups and a main course (pasta, rice, vegetables, beef/mutton/chicken/fish near lakes/rivers), and dessert and tea. Salads, a main course, a dessert, and tea will be served 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. Supplying one larger bottle (1.5 liters) of water instead of 2 small bottles of water is available upon request. More informarion on Mongolia meals

We developed the tour to let you stay at cozy and beautiful accommodation gers of the ger camps for 7 nights and 2 nights stay in a centrally located hotel in Ulaanbaatar. Please get more detailed information about the Ger camps

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.

Regarding land transport, most of our tours were designed for four-wheel drive Japanese off-road vehicles driven by experienced, friendly, and knowledgeable mechanic drivers. You may check the travel vehicle details at Mongolia transportation.

July is the hottest month of the year. In particular, the Gobi Desert is the warmest region in Mongolia. The annual temperature is usually 2 -10°C higher than in other parts of Mongolia. The average day temperature is +28°C, the hottest is +39°C, and the night temperature could drop to +12°C, although some nights could be sultriness. July receives a relatively higher prescription than other months. The temperature could drop to +12°C if it rains. The rain period starts from the beginning of July when observing the annual average, but not constant. The rain could be a short-term shower or drizzling rain. For your pre-departure preparation, you may check the packing list of the discovery tours.

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