Ultimate Mongolia with Naadam Festival

Arrive in Ulaan Baatar, the capital city of Mongolia, and transfer to your centrally located hotel. Afterwards, you’ll visit Zaisan Hill from where you can enjoy a panoramic view of the city.

This will be your day to acquire a good background of the cultural, religious, and natural history of Mongolia. Your tour of Ulaan Baatar includes a visit to Gandantegchinlen Monastery, the largest and most significant monastery in Mongolia, and one of Ulaan Baatar’s most interesting sights. Built in the mid 19th century, it is the only monastery where Buddhist services continued during the communist years, and the temples are thronged during religious services. Also tour the Megjid Janraisig Temple, the most important part of the monastery. This temple, also known as Avalokiteshvara Temple, was built in 1911-1912 to celebrate the end of Manchu domination in Mongolia and it is said to have cured the great and revered Bogd Gegeen Khan of blindness. Visit the newly-renovated Museum of National History to learn about Mongolia’s history from the pre-Mongol Empire to 20th-century history.

You’ll have some free time this afternoon to do what you like. Consider exploring around Sükhbaatar Square (previously known as Chinggis Square) where you will find a large seated bronze statue of Genghis Khan and an equestrian statue of Damdin Sükhbaatar, one of the leaders of Mongolia’s 1921 revolution.

This morning, head out on the drive to Hustai National Park (approx. 62 miles), the site of a unique re-introduction of Przewalski’s Horse (Equus Przewalski), called “takhi” by the locals. It became extinct in the wild in 1969 and since 1992, has been successfully re-introduced in Hustai from zoos around the world. This has been an international effort monitored by the Foundation for the Przewalski Horse, based in the Netherlands and MACNE (Mongolian Association for Conservation of Nature and the Environment.) The park extends through the Khentii Mountains and includes the western edge of the Mongolian steppe. It contains large patches of birch and aspen forests and visible remains of Neolithic graves. Other wildlife found here include red deer, wolf, and Mongolian gazelle. Overnight at a ger camp.

After breakfast, you head into the Khugnu Khaan Mountains to the Elsen Tasarkhai Sand Dunes, which are a part of the larger Mongol Els Dunes. These spectacular dunes are about 50 miles long and three miles wide and run alongside a green meadow. The area is really quite interesting where the steppes meet the taiga, providing diverse colors and a natural formation. Here you’ll have a chance to walk around and explore an old temple and ruins at the foothills of the Khugnu Khaan Mountain.

Settle in for the night at your ger camp and enjoy the spectacular sunset over the dunes.

An early morning drive takes you to Kharkhorin, which was built on the ruins of 13th-century Kharkhorum, the capital city of the Mongol Empire. This area is part of UNESCO’s Orkhon ValleyWorld Heritage Site, and it is our chosen location to experience the country’s greatest festival celebration. Throughout the month, similar celebrations will take place nationwide. Naadam means “three games of men,” and celebrates Mongolia’s independence with its traditional sports of wrestling, archery, and horse-racing. Look on as Mongolian wrestlers practice the traditional falcon dance to the chanting calls of their coaches. Watch teenage jockeys race their well-trained horse up to 17 miles. Witness the fierce competition of the archery tournaments. And, of course, taste typical delicacies such as Huushuur pastry.

Situated on the banks of River Orkhon, the site of the imperial capital, Karakorum was chosen by Genghis Khan in 1220. The city, capital of the largest land empire the world has ever known, served as a supply point for the Mongol armies and was a cosmopolitan and multi-cultural place in its time. Today, almost nothing remains of the once-great city, but the sense of its grandeur and importance can still be felt by the visitor. The nearby Erdene Zuu Monastery was the first Buddhist monastery built in Mongolia, constructed using stones and bricks from the ruins of the ancient city in 1586. During the communist purges of the 1930’s, many of the temples in the monastery complex were destroyed, but the remaining temples and stupas are some of the best examples of Mongolian Buddhist architecture. Erdene Zuu is now both a museum and a functioning monastery. The Museum contains a display of historic artifacts and remarkable archaeological discoveries from the area. You may even hear the daily chanting of the Buddhist monks at Erdene. Today you will continue to enjoy witnessing – and celebrating – more of the Naadam Festivities.

Today you’ll begin the drive towards the Gobi Desert to the historic Ongi Monastery, which sits on the banks of the Ongiin River and is the halfway point to the Gobi. The monastery, originally founded in the 17th century, was destroyed by the communist purges during the 1930’s, but is now being restored by the residing monks. The older complex contained 11 temples while the northern complex, built during the 18th century, contained 17 temples including one of the largest temples in Mongolia. There were also four Buddhist Universities that housed over 1,000 monks. Here the stars shine brightly in the night sky and you might find yourself gazing up for hours!

The Gobi occupies about one-third of Mongolia and consists of sand dunes and dry mountain ranges. As one of the harshest environments on earth with extreme temperature and seasonal changes, the Gobi is surprisingly full of wildlife such as white and blacktail gazelles, wild donkeys, wild camels, antelopes, ibex, and argali sheep, the biggest wild sheep on the planet.

In the morning, you’ll make the drive to Bayan Zag, also known as the Flaming Cliffs, to explore the Gobi “Cemetery of Dinosaurs” and the trail of Roy Chapman Andrews. This is the place where Andrews excavated the first known dinosaur eggs in 1923. It is still considered one of the richest and most well-preserved fossil sites in the world due to the Gobi being the oldest known dry-land areas. Overnight at a ger camp.

After breakfast, drive to Khongorinn Els Sand Dunes, the largest sand dunes in Mongolia. These dunes lie in the Gobi Gurvan Saikhan National Park. The drive takes you through incredible desert scenery with flat, stony plains; outcrops of vegetation; hills of interesting rock formations; and herds of wild antelope racing across the plains. The roads are flat and fairly even, so the drive will take only around four hours. The dunes are also known as “Singing Sand Dunes” due to the shifting sand blown by the wind, causing a sound that sounds like someone singing. On arrival check-in at your ger camp and spend the rest of the day just kicking back and enjoying the scenery, perhaps over a cold, refreshing beer. Overnight at a ger camp.

The majority of Mongolia’s population of Bactrian camels lives in this area, and today, you’ll have the opportunity to visit a nomadic camel herder and, if you like, take a ride on a camel. You can also make the climb up the Singing Sand Dunes from where there are excellent photo opportunities at the top.  As the sun goes down over the Gobi, you’ll visit a nomadic family, have a sip of Khoormog – fermented camel’s milk – and get to know the nomadic way of life while making new friends.

Today you’ll continue the journey to Yol Valley National Park for a morning hike with opportunities to photograph the stunning landscape sometimes called the “Gobi Glacier” as well as the intriguing wildlife. Yol Valley is the narrow canyon of a river that flows through Zuun Saikhan Mountain (alt. 9,236’). Its gorge has sheer rock walls, and, during the rainy season, rain falls at the summit of the mountain and flows down into the sheer canyon to form waterfalls. A small museum marks the entrance to the protected zone and provides information on the petrified trees and flora and fauna of the Gobi. Return to base camp for dinner and overnight.

Today’s visit takes you to the rocky formation of Tsagaan Suvarga also known as the “White Stupa”. From a distance, these giant cliffs look like the ruins of an ancient city and through them, you’ll witness the geological history of ancient times. Millions of years ago, this region sat at the bottom of a sea, which dried up long ago and then through the years, the winds sculpted out the impressive ridge you see today. You’ll spend some time hiking around the area and taking spectacular photos. Overnight at a ger camp.

As you make the drive north back to Ulaan Bataar, you’ll stop for the night at the granite hills of Baga Gazriin Chuluu, an interesting rock pile formation. The rocks are surrounded by plains and home to rare animals such as the marmot, ibex, and mountain sheep. At Bolort Cave, you’ll find petroglyphs, burial mounds, and the ruins of the 17th-century Choir Monastery. Overnight at a ger camp.

As you make your way back to Ulaan Baatar, you’ll travel past rocky mountain formations covered by larch forests, part of the Siberian Taiga. This area is famous for Turtle Rock, a gigantic turtle-shaped rock formation known as “Melkhi Khad” by the locals. If you like, you can make the hike up to Aryabala Mediation Temple for great views overlooking the valley. The temple was built in the early 1800’s by Mongolian and Tibetan artists but was destroyed in the 1930’s by Mongolian Communists. The temple was restored in the mid-2000’s by Buddhists monks in Tibetan style.

Arrive back in Ulaan Baatar and check-in to your hotel. Afterwards enjoy a Mongolian folk concert performed by the famous Tumen Ekh Ensemble followed by a farewell dinner.

After breakfast, transfer to the airport for your onward flight. Consider adding an extension in Seoul, South Korea if your flights route you via this regional hub.