Itinerary

Day 1: Arrive in Ulaanbatar

Our driver meets you at the airport and transfers you to a centrally located hotel. Leisure day to relax and discover the city on your own while staying in a centrally located hotel.

Accommodation: 3* hotel

Day 2: Tsagaan Suvarga colorful mud cliffs

Tsagaan Suvarga. means "White Stupa.” It is one of the most famous highlights in the Gobi Desert. 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.

Accommodation: Ger camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 3: Drive to Gobi Gurban Saikhan Mountain National Park, visit Eagle Valley

The Gobi Gurban Saikhan Mountain is a beautiful national park, rich in wildlife and scenic places. Among the picturesque valleys, Yoliin Am/Eagle Valley is accessible by car. After our vehicle brings us to a designated parking area, we will walk through the resplendent 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 for travel 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

Day 4: Khongor Sand Dunes and two-humped camel riding

The journey will continue to Khongor, the tallest solid dunes. Upon reaching Khongor, visit a nomad family, ride two-humped camels, and climb one of the dunes, depending on how much physical challenge you wish to face. If you can climb one of the tallest dunes, spread the sand northwards against the wind to find out why locals call the dunes "Singing Sand.” The Gobi Desert views are fantastic from the top of the dunes.

Accommodation: Ger camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 5: Flaming Cliffs and Khavtsgait rock drawing

First, we travel to the Khavtsgait Valley in the West Saikhan Mountain of the Gurban Saikhan Mountain National Park to explore Khavtsgait rock drawing dates back to the Late Bronze Age and early Iron Age. Seeing the rock drawing requires us 1 km hiking in a return way. Our adventure will continue to the Flaming Cliffs, where American explorer Roy Chapman Andrews found the remains of dinosaurs. The first dinosaur nest found in Flaming Cliffs had research importance that the dinosaurs laid eggs. After relaxing at the gers, escaping from the afternoon sun, we will enjoy exploring the cliffs in search of dinosaur fossils we may find and take evening pictures of the Flaming Cliffs.

Accommodation: Ger camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 6: Drive to Ongi Monastery on the open steppes

First, we will visit the Gobi tree grove Bayanzag. This tree only grows in the Central Asian desert. Next, drive through slate mountains and 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 consisting 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, which rewards stunning views of the surrounding areas.

Accommodation: Ger camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 7: Kharkhorin, ancient Monastery Erdenezuu

Our today's journey 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, Min soldiers destroyed the abandoned Kharakhorum 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, and view its stunning architecture. Visiting the Kharakhorum Museum is part of today's program.

Accommodation: Ger camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 8: Visit nomads, horse riding and return to Ulaanbaatar

Today is the last day you spend in the beautiful countryside of Mongolia. On our way to Ulaanbaatar, we will visit a horse-herding nomad family, ride horses on the steppes and have nomadic lunch. Arrive in Ulaanbaatar and transfer to a hotel.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 9: Fly to Ulgii town

Meet at your hotel at 11:50 AM and transfer to the airport for the 14:45 to 15:45 Ulgii flight. Land in Ulgii and check in at a ger camp. Next, drive short to Ulgii town and climb Zaisan Hill to see the panoramic view of the town. Return to the ger camp after dinner.

Accommodation: Ger camp
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 10: Visit Eagle Hunter Kazakhs and Ulgii Town Tour

Today, you visit an eagle-hunting Kazakh family to observe the life of the eagle hunters and communicate with both the eagles and hunters in person. In the afternoon, you will visit the Ulgii Museum and market.

Accommodation: Ger camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 11-12: Golden Eagle Festival

The impressive Golden Eagle Festival starts with a parade of eagle hunters dressed in traditional hunting clothes, riding horses and holding their eagles in their right arms. There are up to 60 eagle hunters participating in the festival. Those will be 2 full days to see the eagle hunting festival, competitions, hunting techniques, the Eagles’ agility, and ability. Eagle Festival program

Accommodation: Ger camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 13: Fly back Ulaanbaatar

Fly back to Ulaanbaatar. A driver will transfer you from the airport to your hotel.

Meals: Breakfast

Tour Price

Background

This regular tour includes overnight stays in ger camps in the countryside, a local hotel in Ulgii, and a night hotel in Ulaanbaatar. The itinerary does not involve demanding physical activities. Traveling in Mongolia always requires long driving through changing landscapes and steppes with scenic views. You will drive approximately 3.5 to 6 hours a day. Day 1 is the longest day, with 7-hour driving plus 1-hour lunch on the way. 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. Khongor sand dune climbing is the most challenging experience, but it is not mandatory. You can enjoy the sand dunes and the view while climbing one of the lower dunes. You will spend 5-7 hours outdoors watching the Eagle Festival for 2 days. Thus, we suggest you wear suitable clothes for September near 0⁰C.

Tour meals are included as indicated in the itinerary.
In the Gobi Desert, ger camps serve both European and 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 includes 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. You will join nomads for nomadic lunch for one day. Different types of meals offered simultaneously are not customary in Mongolian tradition.

In Ulgii, you will eat in Kazakh, Mongolian, and Turkish restaurants. A cook will prepare meals in a ger during the Eagle Festival.
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.

In the Gobi Desert and central Mongolia, you will stay in traditional dwelling gers of the ger camp. After returning from the Gobi Desert, you will stay 2 nights in a centrally located 3* hotel in Ulaanbaatar. The accommodation in Ulgii is of very local standard compared to the ger camps in the Gobi Desert. In Ulgii, you will stay at a local hotel for 3 nights.

The majority of our company's guides are English speaking. We also have guides who speak German, French, Spanish, and Japanese. They are all friendly and helpful and most of them were born and raised in the Mongolian countryside. Therefore, they have good knowledge about every aspect of Mongolia. The local equestrians will help you when riding a horse and camel. The guide will fly from Ulaanbaatar to Ulgii with a group of travelers. For small groups and private tours, an English-speaking Kazakh guide serve you. The advantage of having a Kazakh guide is they communicate with the Kazakhs and Eagle Hunters well. Alternatively, a guide can fly with you from Ulaanbaatar, and this is subject to a price increase because of the high price of the Eagle Festival flight.

The tour includes a round-way domestic flight to western Mongolia. Regarding land transport, four wheels driving Russian vans serve for group tours, and Russian vans and jeeps for private tours in western Mongolia. In the Gobi Desert, Korean and Japanese vans serve for group tours, and vans or jeeps serve for private tours.

Visiting Mongolia in September will be a delightful experience. The summer crowds will be ebbed away from the Gobi Desert. Temperatures start to drop, though still comfortable and warm enough to enjoy outdoor activities. It occasionally snows in Mongolia in September. September Gobi Desert daylight temperature fluctuates between +8°C to +20°C and around +2°C to +10°C at night/in the evening/ morning. Western Mongolian temperature is 5-10°C lower than the Gobi Desert.
Hence, we suggest you bring warm clothes suitable around 0⁰C, including your woolen hats and gloves. The discovery tour packing list may help you with proper packing. Also, please consider the free luggage allowance on domestic flights - 15 kg per person, including the handbag.
To plan your dream holiday or customize the itinerary, please check the attractions in Western Mongolia.

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