Itinerary

Day 1: Tour to Baga Gazariin Chuluu

Meet at your accommodation and launch the countryside tour to Baga Gazariin Chuluu. Baga Gazariin Chuluu is a zone of granite stone mountains covering 300 sq. km of area in the middle of the Gobi Desert steppes. Its highest peak towers at 1768 m above sea level. Shy mountain sheep and ibexes are indigenous to the mountains. Arrive at Baga Gazariin Chuluu in the afternoon. You will enjoy the freshening steppe breeze, emptiness, and calmness of the Gobi Desert while hiking through the picturesque valleys. Continue to drive to Mandalgobi, a central town of Dundgobi province, to stay in a hotel.

Accommodation: Local hotel
Meals: Lunch, Dinner

Day 2: Tsagaan Suvarga (colorful mud cliff) and Dalanzadgad town

On the way to Dalanzadgad, you will explore Tsagaan Suvarga. Tsagaan Suvarga is a spectacular natural formation of colorful 20-60 m high, 400 m long massive mud cliffs that look like stupas. Hiking through the cliffs offers the chance to take amazing photographs.

Accommodation: Local hotel
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 3: Hiking in Yoliin Am (bearded Eagle Valley)

Eagle Valley is one of the most beautiful valleys in the Gobi Gurvan Saikhan Mountain. If you are there at the right time, you will have a chance to see wild animals such as ibex, mountain sheep, and deer. In the morning, bearded eagles fly out of their nests when the upper parts of the canyon accept the sunlight. The valley was named after those birds. Seeing the Eagle Valley requires approximately 3 hours of soft hiking. Next, you will trek in Mukhar Shivert Valley, where the small river of the Eagle Valley flows over the rocks. See the frozen waterfall and return to Dalanzadgad.

Accommodation: Local hotel
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 4: The largest sand dune Khongor

You will be amazed by the combination of rugged mountains covered by snow, yellow sand mountains, and steppes while driving to the Khongor Sand Dunes. The Khongor Sand Dunes are the tallest pure dunes in Mongolia. Also known as "Singing Dunes," they tower 300 m above the surrounding area. The total width is 5-35 km and about 100 km long. The tops of the dunes are accessible, and the views of the desert from the top are indescribably beautiful.

Accommodation: Guest ger
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 5: Driving to Ongi Monastery via Flaming Cliffs

After breakfast, drive to the Flaming Cliffs (dinosaur excavation site). Flaming Cliff is an area of red cliffs formed through the erosion of sand and rock over many thousands of years. It is also a site of several successful dinosaur excavations. The discovery that dinosaurs lay eggs made the area the world-known after finding significant research proof of a dinosaur nest. Next, you will do short hiking among the cliffs and see a saxaul tree grove. The saxaul trees are unusual as they grow only in the Central Asian Gobi Desert. The journey will continue to Ongi Monastery on the vast-open steppes with occasional views of camel herds. There are ruins of two separate monasteries on the north and south side of the Ongi River. It had 30 temples inhabited by 1000 lamas/monks. The communist destroyed the monasteries in the 1930s. We will explore the ruins of the monasteries involving a vast area, visit an active temple, and a small ger museum. Today, you will stay with a nomad family to explore the life of the Gobi Desert nomads.

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

Day 6: Kharkhorin, Erdenezuu Monastery in the Orkhon Valley

Today’s tour takes place in the transition zone from the Gobi desert to the mountain steppes. Kharkhorin, formerly known as the Karakorum, was the capital of the Great Mongol Empire in the 13th century. After the Mongolian capital moved to Beijing and the fall of the Empire, Karakorum was abandoned and then destroyed by Min soldiers in 1388. Today, the ancient monastery Erdenezuu coexists with Kharkhorin town in the broad valley of the Orkhon River. See some valuable religious items in the monastery museum and view its stunning architecture. You also visit the Kharkhorum Museum displays some relics of the ancient city Kharakhorum.

Accommodation: Local hotel
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 7: Horse and Camel Riding. 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 and camels for a while. We also join the nomads for a nomadic lunch. Arrive in Ulaanbaatar and transfer to the accommodation of your booking.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Price & Date

Background

It is a moderate tour that includes an overnight stay with a nomad family, guest ger, and local hotels. The Gobi Desert Winter Tour does not contain any challenging physical activities. Traveling in Mongolia always requires long driving through changing landscapes and on steppes. Though, we planned the trip to have as little driving as possible. Approximate daily driving is 3-6.5 hours (6.5 hours of the long driving day will be only one day). The itinerary includes some light activities; 1-3 hours of soft hiking and horse and camel riding with the help of local wranglers. The most challenging experience could be climbing high sand dunes, which is not mandatory. You can enjoy the sand dunes and yourself while climbing one of the lower sand hills. No running water and indoor WC fire heating ger stay is an experiential part of the tour.

You can take the tour the year around. Mongolian weather fluctuates a lot daily, monthly, and seasonally. Please get some information about the seasonal Mongolian weather. Whether the climate is harsh or cold, you feel warm with the heartwarming hospitalities of nomads, care of your travel team, and fire-heating traditional dwelling gers. To keep you warm and as comfortable as possible, we will make fire frequently in the gers and supply traditional warm cloth Deel upon request.
To prepare for your winter vacation, please check the winter tour packing list.

All meals are authentic and native because you will eat in the local restaurants and food courts where the locals eat. The nomads will serve some traditional Mongolian meals and daily recipes. Eating course meals is not a Mongolian habit. Therefore, you will have one big meal at a time. Mongolians consume a lot of meat, especially in winter, to gain enough protein to struggle against the cold temperature and high elevation. If high meat consumption is a problem, or if you have any dietary restrictions, please inform us in advance.

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.

Regarding land transport, most of our tours were designed for four-wheel drive Japanese off-road vehicles driven by experienced, friendly, and knowledgeable mechanic drivers. You may check the travel vehicle details at Mongolia transportation.

To plan your dream holiday or customize the tour exclusively for you, check the best things to do in the Gobi Desert, the Gobi Desert attractions, and the Gobi Desert facts

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