Are you traveling Mongolia within a short period and wish to see and experience much? As well as, would you like to reach and enjoy its pristine nature traveling not far? Then this tour may meet your interest and requirements. On this tour, we will travel to Khan Khentii wilderness area seeing some of the most famous attractions on the way. Khan Khentii is the closest well-kept pristine and scenic area that has much to offer its guests. The tour is filled with activities and sightseeing; visit the giant statue complex of Genghis Khaan, Gorkhi Terelj National Park, nomad family visit, horse riding, and full-day ox cart supported hiking to the ruins of the 17th century Gunj Temple.
Itinerary
Day 1: Giant statue of Genghis Khaan and Khan Khentii National Park
Meet at your accommodation/airport/train station and start the tour to Khan Khentii National Park. On the way, we will see a giant statue of Genghis Khaan. This 40 m tall statue is considered the biggest statue of an equestrian in the world. See the Tuul River Valley and Khan Khentii Mountains from the observation deck of the statue horse. Next, we will tour to Khan Khentii, the most beautiful and least touristic national park of pristine nature driving off the beaten tracks. Arrive at the national park late afternoon. Visit a nomad family and horse riding in pristine nature.
Accommodation: Ger Camp
Meals: Lunch, Dinner
Day 2: Yak cart supported trekking to Gunj Temple
Today, we will take a picnic lunch with us and hike in the wilderness area to Princess Temple. Our today’s distance will be 19 km in total. The first half of the tour will be supported by an ox cart on which you can sit or hike beside it. Leave the ox-cart behind us and hike into depths of the mountains. Visit ruins of the 17th century Princess/Gunj Temple and hike back until we meet the yak cart. Arrive back the Ger camp.
Accommodation: Ger camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 3: Gorkhi Terelj National Park and drive to Ulaanbaatar
The journey continues to Gorkhi Terelj National Park driving the off the beaten tracks with views of pristine nature, nomads, and their countless animals. At Gorkhi Terelj, we will see legendary Turtle Rock and have lunch at a ger camp. Drive back Ulaanbaatar and end of the tour.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Background
Is this tour suitable for me?
This is a moderate tour includes outdoor activities and sightseeings. On this tour, you will drive 120 km at the farthest and more than 200 km in total. However, you will have a sense of longer driving with stops at the attractions and due to the bumpy roads. You stay two overnights in a ger camp in the Khan Khentii wilderness area. The tour includes a 1-2 hours horse riding with the support of your guide and a local equestrian. People who have no previous horse riding experience may enjoy the gentle walking of the horses led by the equestrian. Khan Khentii is the most suitable area for scenic hiking. We include a yak cart tour to make the tour experiential and easier. The total hiking distance is 18-19 km. On the half of the road, you can sit on the yak cart and the other half you should hike because the trails become narrower, more forested and burden not allowing the yak cart.
Meals
Tour meals are included according to 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 along 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 of the ger camps for breakfast. For lunch, meals include salads, Mongolian soups and the main course (pasta, rice, vegetables, beef/mutton/chicken/fish near lakes/rivers), and dessert and tea. Salads, a main course, a dessert, and tea will be served for dinner. With nomads, you will try authentic Mongolian meals. Different types of meals offered simultaneously are not customary in the 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. Supplying one larger bottle (1.5 liters) of water instead of 2 small bottles of water is available upon request. More informarion on Mongolia Meals
Accommodation
Mongolian tourism depends on the season and seasonal accommodation ger camps are open between 1 June and 10 September. During other shoulder months, the ger camps are partially open and close in winter. Even though, the tour is available with nomad family homestays if you are a keen traveler and would like to discover more about the nomadic life. The tour has not included accommodation and sightseeing in Ulaanbaatar. If you wish, we can arrange it for some additional payment. For more detailed information about thmain accommodation ger camp, please visit Mongolia Ger Camp
Guides
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, helpful and most of them were born and raised in the Mongolian countryside. Therefore, they have good knowledge about every aspect of Mongolia and have at least three years or more years of guiding experience. During the camel riding, a local guide will support you.
Transportation
We designed most of our tours with four wheels driving Japanese/Korean vans driven by experienced, friendly, and good mechanic-drivers. Different car types are available upon request and you may check the travel vehicle details at Mongolia transportation
When is the best time to take this tour??
The most suitable time to take the tour is between 10 May and 5 October. During this period, the weather will be warm and enjoyable. However, the weather in May and September could be chilly. As well as, the rural accommodation ger camps operate during this period. The tour is available with nomad family stays in October and during off-seasons when the ger camps are closed. The average day temperature of summer is +28 °C, and the highest +38°C (June, July, August). The average day temperatures of May and September are +23°C and the highest 32°C. The evening and night temperatures drop by 15 to 20°C. The temperature dramatically falls if it rains. You may have occasional chill wind and snowfalls in May, September, and October. For your pre-departure preparation and an idea to prepare for this inflexible weather condition, you may check our detailed packing list of the discovery tours.
To plan your dream holiday or customize the tour exclusively for you, what to do and see in Mongolia page may help you.
As well as, please check attractions in Central Mongolia
