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Mongolia Lunar New Year Tour

Tsagaan Sar Experience with Nomads

Tsagaan Sar National Holiday Tour 3 days

  • Duration: 2 nights/3 days
  • Tour grade: Moderate
  • Group size: 1 to 5 PAX
  • Available: 9 February to 11 February 2024

Tsagaan Sar National Holiday Tour 3 days

Mongolian Lunar New Year Tsagaan Sar is one of the two famous Mongolian national holidays, celebrated throughout the country for three days, plus the Lunar New Year Eve. On those days, families prefer to have plenty of food, keep their homes and home surroundings utmost clean, wear their nicest clothes, and be in a heartwarming atmosphere. People start preparing for the holiday many days in advance. Families make hundreds of buuz (dumplings with meat) and traditional cookies, sew new traditional clothes Deel, clean the ger dwelling, choose their nicest-looking riding horses, and train horses for the winter race. On this tour, you will celebrate the winter holiday with a nomad family living in the semi-desert and mountain steppes area. Except for the Tsagaan Sar experience, you will spot deer and wild horses in Hustai National Park.

Itinerary

Feb 9, Day 1: Start the countryside tour to Elsentasarkhai semi-desert

Your guide and driver meet you at your accommodation and launch the countryside tour to Elsentasarkhai, which represents high mountains, mountain steppes, and the Gobi Desert in a single area. At Elsentasarkahi, you will experience authentic nomadic life and celebrate the national holiday Tsagaan Sar (Lunar New Year) with nomads. Today is Lunar New Year's Eve. You will see how nomads prepare for their holiday, including how to make traditional dishes. Before the sunset, the hosts ceremonially put up a table full of traditional cookies and whole sheep rump. Next, New Year's Eve celebration starts.

Accommodation: Extra ger of a nomad family
Meals: Lunch, Dinner

Mongolia nomadic dwelling

Feb 10, Day 2: Celebrate the first day of the Mongolian Lunar New Year

Early in the morning, people climb the nearest hill or mountain to see the first sun of the upcoming year. For most Mongolians, the first day of the New Year starts with stepping in their auspicious direction to have a wealthy, healthy, and full of success coming year. Hostesses boil traditional milk tea and offer the best of it first to the earth, then to their shrine, next to the oldest person in the family or host of the household and then serve family members, including guests. It is a day Mongolians wear their most beautiful traditional dresses and visit parents, relatives, and friends traveling as far as they can go. People greet each other by age category (younger people come to elders) in the traditional way of greeting. The celebration goes on when families visit and greet each other. Today, you mount a horse and visit neighbors.

Accommodation: Extra ger of a nomad family
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Tsagaan Sar Celebration

Feb 11, Day 3: See wild horses at Hustai National Park and return to Ulaanbaatar

On the way to Ulaanbaatar, you will visit Hustai National Park to see the last survival of the earth’s wild horses roaming free in the wild. As well as see some other wild creatures. A project to reintroduce wild horses to their native land has been implemented successfully since the beginning of 1990 in Hustai National Park. There are more than 300 Takhi or Przewalski horses roaming in nature. Arrive in Ulaanbaatar late afternoon and transfer to your accommodation.

Accommodation: Ger camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Mongolia wild horses

Price & Date

Tour price per person
  • 2 PAX
    517$
  • 3 PAX
    390$
  • 4 PAX
    330$
Discounts:
  • For children of a family trip
  • One free space for every 16 pax
  • Low season discount:
    5-10%
  • Please contact us for more trip details.
The tour includes:
  • 2 days with a nomad family
  • English speaking guide
  • Four wheels driving vehicle
  • Horse and camel riding
  • 2*0.5 liter bottled water per person per day
  • Entry fees to the museums and the national parks
  • Meals as indicated in the itinerary
The tour excludes:
  • Items of personal nature
  • Bar bills, laundry, telephone calls
  • Travel and medical insurance
  • Visa Fee
  • International transportation
  • Optional activities and additional services
  • Single supplements
  • Accommodation in Ulaanbaatar

Background

Is Tsagaan Sar Tour suitable for you?

Tsaagan Sar tour is a moderate experience suitable for cultural and adventure travelers. You will mingle with the nomads and experience in depths of their unique culture while staying with a nomad family and celebrating the national holiday. The Tsagaan Sar tour does not include any physical activities. Fire heating traditional ger stay without WC, shower, or electricity could be an exotic experience for you. A local equestrian will help you with horse and camel riding.

When is the Tsagaan Sar Tour?

The Mongolian Lunar New Year celebration date differentiates due to the lunar calendar. Please check the yearly Tsagaan Sar dates. It usually takes place at the end of January or February. The average daylight temperature fluctuates between -15°C and -25°C and the night temperature fluctuates between -20°C and -35°C at its coldest (this weather regards central Mongolia only). For your experience preparations, please check the winter tour packing list

Meals and Accommodation

You will stay with a nomad family for 2 nights, eating traditional Mongolian meals. There will be an extra ger to secure your privacy and comfort.

Guides

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.

Transportation

Depending on the group size, Japanese/Korean vans or jeeps serve you. Besides the vehicles, our experienced, friendly, and good mechanic drivers will help you enjoy the tour.

Rewiews

Mongolia tripadvisor review
Mrs. Vicky Ackx and family
Travelers from Norway
We (family with 2 boys aged 9 and 13) are just back home after an incredible wintertour with View Mongolia. The tour has left me really speechless. Where to start this review? The preparations with Boggie went so easy. We had only contact per email, but she replied so quickly it seemed like we were talking. She 'listened' to what we were looking for, suggested their winter adventure tour, and added an additional day to include the dog sledding and a visit to the Ghengis Khan statue just outside of Ulaanbaatar. She gave us advice on both clothing and what to bring as presents to the families we would visit. Perfect preparation! The tour itself: I cannot describe the impressions this gave on us, thanks to the amazing efforts of our driver Denzka and guide Sony. They have been incredibly attentive, professional, and fun. The Toyota Landcruiser was full with our luggage and with additional equipment they brought for our comfort: deels, sleeping bags, food, water, instant coffee. We just experienced it all: the flaming cliffs, snow-covered sand dunes, blue skies, star-lit night views, camel riding, horse riding, dog sledding, frozen waterfalls, freezing cold, sleeping in gers with nomad families, eating with them, days of off-road driving, and even a snowstorm.