Itinerary

June 30, Day 1: Ulaanbaatar city tour

Meet with your guide and driver at your accommodation and participate in the city sightseeing tour. First, you will visit Gandantegchilen Monastery. The monastery is a favored place for locals and foreigners due to its interesting religious artifacts and peacefulness, including 26 m gilded statue of a Buddha (in Megjid Janrasag sum). Next, visit the National Museum of Mongolia, followed by a visit to the central square and a drive to Zaisan Memorial to see the panoramic view of Ulaanbaatar.

Accommodation: 3* hotel
Meals: Lunch, Dinner

July 1, Day 2: Tsagaan Suvarga colorful mud cliffs

Tsagaan Suvarga means "White Stupa.” It is one of the most famous highlights in the Gobi. Tsagaan Suvarga is a spectacular natural formation of colorful, massive mud cliffs that look like stupas. Hiking through the cliffs offers the chance to take amazing photographs. On the first day of your countryside tour, you will find yourself in the depths of the Gobi Desert.

Accommodation: Ger camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

July 2, Day 3: Gobi Gurban Saikhan Mountain National Park, hiking in Eagle Valley

The Gobi Gurban Saikhan means "Three beautiful mountains in the Gobi.” 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 car parks at an allowed area, we will walk through the beautiful valley into the depths of the 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 on the two ways. Bearded eagles, shy wild sheep, and ibexes are indigenous to the valley.

Accommodation: Ger camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

July 3, Day 4: Khongor Sand Dunes, camel riding

Our journey will continue to Khongor, the tallest sand dunes. After reaching the dunes, you will hike along the green river shore, climb one of the dunes, visit a nomad family, and ride two-humped camels. If you can climb one of the tallest sand dunes, don't forget to spread the sand northwards against the wind to find out why locals call the sand dunes "Singing Sand.” The views are fantastic from the top of the sand dunes.

Accommodation: Ger camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

July 4, Day 5: 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. You will trek through the cliffs in search of dinosaur fossils may found and see the Gobi tree grove named “Bayanzag.” Bayanzag means “rich in saxaul trees.” This tree only grows in the Central Asian Gobi Desert.

Accommodation: Ger camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

July 5, Day 6: 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, comprised of more than 30 temples on the shores of the Ongi River, surrounded by the Gobi Desert mountains. The temples were destroyed during the socialist purge of the 1930s. Now the ruins of the monasteries involve an expanse area. Visit a new active temple and a ger museum, explore the monastery ruins and climb a nearby mountain for a bird’s-eye view.

Accommodation: Ger camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

July 6, Day 7: Kharkhorin, ancient Monastery Erdenezuu

Your today’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 Genghis Khaan's 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 articles in the monastery museum, view its stunning architecture, and visit the Kharakhorum Museum display remnants of the ancient city.

Accommodation: Ger camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

July 7, Day 8: Arkhangai province, visit nomad family and Mongolian barbeque

This day begins with a driving and a short tour of Tsetserleg town of Arkhangai province, including its market. Continue the journey to meet a yak-herding nomadic family and relish 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. You will arrive at Khorgo Terkhiin Tsagaan National Park in the late afternoon.

Accommodation: Ger camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

July 8, Day 9: Khorgo Terhiin 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

July 9, Day 10: Overnight near Shine Ider

First, you will drive along the Terkhiin Tsagaan Lake, a picturesque pastureland of animals and a summer site for the nomads. Overall, today will be a day of scenic driving before you reach a ger camp. Free afternoon for hiking, surrounding area exploration, or relax.

Accommodation: Ger camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

July 10, Day 11: See deer stones, Khuvsgul Lake and horse riding

The journey continues to the beautiful and the world's freshest water Lake Khuvsgul. This 136 km long, 38 km wide lake lies 1600 m above sea level in the middle of the Siberian taiga forest and among majestic sheer rock mountains. The lake and its surrounding area are pristine and 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 carved fantastically. You will ride a horse for 1-3 hours after settling in at a ger camp conveniently located on the western shore of the lake.

Accommodation: Ger camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

July 11, Day 12: Participate in the local Naadam Festival and visit reindeer people

The opening ceremony of the local Naadam Festival starts between 10-11 AM. Today, you will drive short to attend the Naadam, held close to a small village Hatgal on the western shore of Khuvsgul Lake. See the main events of the festival, such as horse racing, wrestling, and archery, apart from seeing the opening ceremony, how Mongolians celebrate their festival by wearing their finest traditional clothes and riding their nicest horses. You can even challenge yourself by participating in wrestling, archery, and other games. You also see the Naadam commerce and taste the Naadam main dish Huushuur. You will visit reindeer people on your way back to the ger camp. 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.

Accommodation: Ger camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

July 12, Day 13: Uran Togoo extinct volcano

Continue the tour to Urantogoo volcano, which became extinct 800,000 years ago. The volcano's inner and outer northern slope is covered with trees and has a small lake. The volcano top is accessible after some challenging hike up, and the vista is awe-inspiring once you are on the top.

Accommodation: Ger camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

July 13, Day 14: Amarbayasgalant Monastery

Along the way to Amarbayasgalant monastery, we will drive via Erdenet copper mine city and a central town of Bulgan province. Amarbaysgalant is the second large and most stunning architectural monastery in Mongolia. It was built in Chinese and Mongolian styles between 1727 and 1736. In the afternoon, visit the monastery and see tall Buddha statues on the hilltop.

Accommodation: Ger camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

July 14, Day 15: Return to Ulaanbaatar

Today is the last day you spend in the beautiful countryside of Mongolia. You arrive in Ulaanbaatar late afternoon and check in at a centrally located hotel. Free afternoon for shopping and optional activities.

Accommodation: 3* Hotel
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

July 15, Day 16: Transfer to the airport/railway station.

We will transfer you to the airport/railway station.

Meals: Breakfast

Price & Date

Background

During the tour, you will stay in ger camps in the countryside and a hotel in Ulaanbaatar. The tour does not include overly demanding physical activities. Traveling in Mongolia always requires long driving through changing landscapes, offering scenic views on endless steppes. This tour has limited the driving time to as little as possible, with approximate driving times between 4.5 to 6 hours daily. The longest driving day is on day 2, approximately 7-8 hours, including a lunch stop. The itinerary includes some light activities such as 1-3 hours of mild hiking, an hour of camel riding, and 1-3 hours of horse riding with the support of your guide and local guides. The most challenging experience could be climbing high sand dunes in the Gobi desert, which is not mandatory, and visitors may opt to climb one of the lower sand hills. Climbing Khorgo volcano on Day 9 could be a bit strenuous for some people as the area’s elevation is 2000 m above sea level at the base of the mountain; however, the climbing is short and gradual.

Tour meals are included as indicated in the itinerary. In the countryside, ger camps serve occasional European but mainly 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 Mongolian meals

The tour includes 2 nights in a centrally located traveler type 3* hotel and 13 nights in ger camps in the countryside. You can request to upgrade the hotels and gers based on additional payment. Please check the hotels we co-operate and the ger camp.

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.

One of the highlights of this trip is the Khatgal Naadam Festival annually takes place on 11 and 12 July. During the Explore Mongolia and Naadam Festival tour, you will attend the first day of the Naadam Festival. We scheduled this trip between 30 June and 15 July to adjust the Naadam Festival schedule. If you take a private tour, we can customize the itinerary to suit your international travel, activities of your interest, and preference. In terms of weather, July is the warmest month, besides it could be wet. Mongolian weather differentiates in different regions and altitudes. You should expect +22°C to + 37°C during the daytime while traveling in the Gobi desert and central Mongolia. The weather is less hot in northern Mongolia and fluctuates between 20°C to 32°C daytime. The night temperature drops by 10°C - 18°C. The temperature could dramatically drop down to +7°C if it rains. Therefore, please expect hot, warm, chilly, and wet weather and pack accordingly. The DISCOVERY tour packing list may help you.

If you want to take a private tour or a custom tour, please check the things you can do in different parts of Mongolia, attractions in the Mongolian Gobi, Central Mongolia, and Northern Mongolia.
Also, you may check the latest updates on Mongolian travel regulations.

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