Day 1: Ulaanbaatar
Upon arrival at Ulaanbaatar airport you’ll be met and greeted by our guide and driven to a yurt (local camp tent) for meals and overnight. The first day is often tiring because of the jet lag. Try to rest well and relax. [D]
Day 2: Ulaanbaatar
Enjoy breakfast and lunch at the camp and a few more hours of relaxation. In the afternoon we’ll show you around the central square, the Gandan Monastery, and take a walk in the city. Later we return to the camp for dinner and overnight. [B/D]
Day 3: Ulaanbaatar, Choir, Ikh Gazariin Chuluu
Hearty breakfast at the yurt restaurant and we head south on the road that crosses the country from north to south. In the middle of the afternoon, we arrive in Choir where you will be greeted by our southern team. Lunch on the train Departure to Ikh Gazariin Chuluu meaning "Stones of the Big Earth", a drive taking about 5 hours. Overnight at the yurt camp and dinner in the Gobi prepared by our cook. Night in a furnished tourist yurt. [B/L/D]
Day 4: Ikh Gazariin Chuluu, Tsogt Ovoo
The atmosphere varies over the morning. Take the time to take in this landscape, born of disproportionate geological convulsions, which made the most astonishing rock forms spring from the depths of the earth. Basalts spread black flows on granite bases. Rocks piled up or phonolite pierce the plateaus and tend towards the sky with unreal stone fingers. Ikh Gazariin Chuluu, an unfairly overlooked place is, in fact, classified Natural Park by the government since 1998. Take a small morning hike among the rocks. Continue south to Tsogt Ovoo passing through the village of Gurvansaikhan. On the way, you will meet the nomads of the Gobi Desert and perhaps you will have the opportunity to appreciate their hospitality over a milk tea. Arrival at the village Tsogt Ovoo, which is located in the heart of the Gobi province in the middle of "Dund Gobi". Overnight in tents due to the absence of furnished yurts. Today we travel about 150 miles by 4×4. Breakfast in a yurt, lunch on the road, sometimes with a nomadic family, dinner in a bivouac. [B/L/D]
Day 5: Tsogt Ovoo, Yolin Am Valley
From Tsogt Ovoo we will reach the lush pink rocks of Yolin Am Valley (Bearded Vulture). The vast expanses that make up the landscapes of the southern Gobi offer a palette of decorations among the richest and most beautiful of this geographical set that is the Gobi. A veritable geological composition, all of these territories connect the pebbles to the ergs, the overhanging mountain ranges with sun-burnt sedimentary plateaus, the large, luminous plains with the most-steep canyons, the small oases with nomadic camps established in the middle of “nowhere". The morning is a wandering by 4×4 vehicle and the afternoon is on foot allowing you to join the sites that cannot be reached by car and, thus, recompose the giant geographical puzzle of these regions. The short 2-hour hike will allow you to feel the amazing richness of this steep of Yolin Am Valley and to immerse yourself in it. At the bottom of these huge, cool cliffs in the middle of the Gobi Desert, a superb canyon is filled by ice. A small interesting museum is located at the entrance to the protected area. Overnight in nomad yurts. We have chosen to rent yurts to make nomadic breeders work instead of using tourist structures. The comfort of these yurts is certainly basic, but acceptable. Meals are prepared by our cooks. Picnic lunch at the entrance of the park before hiking in the valley and dinner at the yurt. Today we’ll drive 81 miles in about 4 hours. [B/P/D]
Day 6: Yolin Am Valley, Bayanzag Park
From Yolin Am Valley (Bearded Vulture) we head towards the famous Bayanzag Park, an archeology area. About 3-hour drive to reach Bayanzag. The desert already announces the rocks and the great dunes, which are the essence of the Gobi landscape. The plains stretch out of sight and imagination. The ridge lines fade away on the horizon and the relief fades in appearance. Here and there, it’s impossible not to be disturbed by this space where life makes itself unnoticeable to give free rein to a mineral dialogue between rocks and sand. The Gobi Desert is indeed very well known in the world because of its paleontological vestiges. Especially this place known as the rich Saxaul was a paleontological eldorado where the two complete skeletons of dinosaurs were found, now on display at the capital’s natural history museum. Despite its history and its wealth, it is also a place of varied beauty. Succulents and sand dunes, small lake sometimes dry, dunes populated by Saxaul. Lunch at the yurt restaurant and one or two-hour stroll around the camp. Night at the Yurt Camp. Lunch on the way, dinner in a yurt restaurant in Bayanzag. Today we travel 65 miles in about 3 hours. [B/L/D]
Days 7, 8: Bayanzag Park, Hongorin Els
Again, we drive to the highest dune hill in Mongolia, to discover the chain of southern Altai, the Gurvan Saikhan Ridge that occupies a central position: It is composed of several mountains, like those of Zoolon, with even more spectacular expanses… We’ll need the morning to reach the ridge’s heart. The track continues through Gobi basins and plateaus to the foot of the mountains. This natural park is the domain of raptors and vultures, snow leopards, Argali sheep, wild goats (yanguir) as well as small rodents specific to Gobi. In the afternoon we arrive at Hongorin Els, the land of evening primrose and dwarf donkeys. Sumptuous view over the entire valley from the dune hills known as the “Singing Dunes”. Towards the west, the dark mass of the southern part of the Altai ridge, the highest point of the Gobi (11,155 feet), dominates the other ranges. This is an opportunity to visit to the nomads and take a small camel ride, well installed between the two bumps! We’ll spend 2 nights in yurts rented from the breeders. Lunch and dinner with a nomadic family. Today we’ll drive 112 miles in about 5 hours. [B/L/D]
Day 9: Hongorin Els, Bogd
This morning we take the 4x4. to start the ascent north of the country on our way back. The desert landscape of the southern Gobi is gradually giving way to the vast expanses of the steppes of central Mongolia. Mainly the route follows the main road axes which descend from the summits of the Bogd mountains that serve as landmarks on the horizon. The night is planned in a tent. Our guides will find you wild bivouacs in the most beautiful places. We will drive around 155 miles. Breakfast and dinner in bivouac and lunch during the route. [B/L/D]
Day 10: Bogd, Ulaantsutgalan (Red Waterfall)
Journey towards the Orkhon Valley. We are now in central Mongolia. The falls of Ulaantsutgalan (Red Waterfall) precipitate their waters from a height of 79 feet. Be careful, sometimes the Orkhon is dry and there is no water! The horizon is broken by a gathering of yurts, herds of yaks, horses, goats and camels... After the Gobi Desert, central Mongolia is larch forests, rivers, monasteries, sand dunes and a feeling of freedom that inevitably invades us. Overnight with a nomadic family near the Orkhon waterfall among the volcanic lavas. Today’s drive is about 37 miles in 4×4. [B/L/D]
Day 11: Ulaantutgalan, Tovkhon Mountains
Short drive to the feet of Khogno Mountains covered with larch trees. In the afternoon, a regular 3-hour easy hike to reach the Tovkhon mountains and visit the Tovkhon Xiid temple located above. After visiting the temple, we take the vehicle for around 12 miles. Overnight under the yurt rented from the breeders. Today we drive 25 miles in 4 × 4 before hiking in the afternoon and 12 miles after to reach the camp. During the approximately 3-hour walking you’ll notice a slight difference in altitude. Evening and. Overnight in a yurt rented from the nomads. The highlight of the evening will be a traditional Horhog dinner, much appreciated by the Mongols: Lamb cooked with heated pancakes from the river with vegetables. Once again, you’ll appreciate the skill of our cooks. [B/L/D]
Day 12: Tovkon Mountains, Erdenezuu, Khogno Khan NP
Arrival at Erdenezuu Monastery, built with stones and bricks from Kharkhorin, the ancient capital of Gengis Khan, which the Ming armies destroyed by fire in 1368. Discover the temples and the last vestiges of the Great Horde. In the afternoon, rest at the base of the mountains and visit a monastery on foot. Then, departure for the northeast, towards the current capital, by an asphalt road. Overnight in a yurt camp in the mountainous steppe at the foot of the Khogno overhangs. We’ll drive 75 miles in 4×4. [B/L/D]
Day 13: Khogno Khan NP, Khustai Nuruu
Early departure towards Khustai Nuruu. Before departure, you can walk in this beautiful oasis area (you can walk on the small dune or climb the granite mountain and visit the lake), but today we have a long road (155 miles) in 4×4 to reach Khustai Nuruu. National Park. Picnic on the road and hot dinner at the camp prepared by our cook. [B/P/D]
Day 14: Khustai Nuruu Ulaanbaatar
A short walk to visit wild horses, in the Khustai Natural Park and the Prejvalski wild horse re-acclimatization park. Are we dreaming or are we in an African bush? The landscape changes radically to give way to the vegetation of the "African" desert bordered by blond dunes on the horizon. Visit the museum of wild horses accompanied by the museum guide. We will probably have the opportunity to observe the park's wild animals and wild horses during the evening watering. Then, continue to Ulaanbaatar, a 53-mile drive, stopping for a picnic on the road and arriving in the capital in the early evening. Dinner with the whole team and a pleasant evening with those accompanying them. Dinner at the yurt restaurant. [B/P/D]
Day 15: Ulaanbaatar
Last visits and last purchases (Cashmere Factory Store). Today the capital of the Republic of Mongolia under the name of Ulaanbaatar, previously Orgoo when it was founded in 1639. In a few years, it has become an astonishing city where modernity and wealth of new entrepreneurs collides with misery of the breeders who became poor, a consequence of the almost past so-called "Soviet period” and the. more distant past when Orgoo was a commercial stage on the tea route and the political-religious center of Mongolia. Nowadays, ger (Mongolian name for yurts), buildings of Stalinist architecture and contemporary architecture coexist in a heterogeneous and picturesque ensemble at the heart of which stand some palaces and monasteries as well as more fascinating museums. Visit the National History Museum to situate Mongolia in its geographical and historical context while an ethnographic section completes the presentation of the country. The museum also has a fine collection of ritual dance masks. Night and meals in a yurt preceded by a show at the national theater. [B/L/D]
Day 16: Ulaanbaatar, USA
Depending on your flight schedule you may have a few hours to relax. At the appointed time you’ll be met and transferred to the airport to board your flight back home. [B/L]
[D] = Dinner | [B/L] = Breakfast and Lunch | [B/L/D] = Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner | [B/P/D] = Breakfast, Picnic and Dinner
