route
Ulaanbaatar –Khugnu Kha and Elsen Tasarkhai (MiniGobi)
activities
- Day 1 Khugnu khan and Elsen Tasarkhai ( 1st July )
- We'll drive to Mount Khogno Khan Nature Reserve in the afternoon. On reaching the mountain after a couple of hours you will arrive at a nomadic family ger in front of this beautifully forested rocky mountain. The mountain is home to hundreds of birds, deer, and gazelle. You'll be able to go hiking around the area or to the small sand dunes nearby called " Elsen tasarkhai". Spend the night in a family ger.
- Day 2 Kharkhorin and Erdenezuu Monastery (2nd July )
- We'll drive to Kharkhorin, an ancient capital of Mongolia. The Erdenezuu Monastery was the first Buddhist monastery in Mongolia. Its construction began in 1586, but the monastery was not totally finished until 300 years later. The building of the monastery was done with stones from the ancient capital Kharkhorin only. Around 60 temples used to be inside its walls, but the Stalinist purges destroyed many, and only 18 of them remained untouched. Nowadays, the monastery is reopened for Buddhist monks and also for visitors. After visiting Erdenezuu we’ll spend the night in a ger ( yurt ) guesthouse or ger camp near Erdenezuu temple.
- Day 3 Ongi Monastery ( 3rd July)
- We'll drive to Ongyn hiid, where you can see the ruins of a big monastery on the bank of the Ongiin River. This monastery had about 1000 lamas and it was destroyed during the Stalinist purges in the 1930s. The Ongyn hiid was one of the biggest temples in Gobi’s area of Mongolia.
- Day 4 Bayan-zag flaming cliffs (4th July )
- We'll drive to Bayan-Zag(150kms). When we arrive at Bayan-Zag, spend the night in Ger. Bayan-Zag means "rich in Saxaul Shrubs" and is more commonly known as the "Flaming Cliffs" of Bayan-Zag, famous for its discovery of dinosaur fossils.
- Day 5 Khongor Sand dune (5th July)
- After breakfast, we’ll drive to the Khongoryn Els Sand Dunes (195kms). The Khongoryn Els is some of the largest and most spectacular sand dunes in Mongolia. We'll see beautiful views, huge sand dunes and a cold water spring with a river that leads to two small ponds.
- Day 6 Khongor Sand dune (6th July)
- We'll climb and hike to the top of the biggest sand dunes. There is an oasis near Khongor creek at the northern edge of the sand dune. The dunes make sound like plane engine in a windy day so it’s named as “Singing Dunes”. Also, if you wish, you may walk alongside the creek for about 10 kms. We arrange a camel riding trip on the real sand dunes.
- Day 7 Yol Ice Valley (7th July)
- We'll drive to Yoliin Am in the middle of the Gobi desert National Park which is a strictly protected area, covering 70sq.kms. The mountains here are the highest in the Gobi Desert and the rocky scenery is quite interesting, especially until mid July while the ice in a gorge remains. We'll walk 3kms through a narrow valley, then 3 kms back to the vehicle.
- Day 8 Tsgaan Suvraga (8th July )
- We’ll drive to the scarp of Tsagaan Suvarga which is located in Ulziit soum, Dundgovi province. It is interesting to see the sheer slope, facing east, which is 30 meters high and 100 meters wide. Over thousands of years the wind has created this amazing structure.
- Day 9 Baga Gazaryn Chuluu ( 9th July)
- We'll start our trip with half driving to the Baga Gazriin Chuluu Ruins (1768 m high granite Stone Mountain in the territory of Adaatsag soum, Dundgovi province. It’s a place with unique scenery that many tourists compare with lunar scenes. The mountain contains remains of old temples. They are not only rich in minerals and crystals, but also eye spring, old stone temple ruins related to the 17th century.
- Day 10 Ulaanbaatar and See horse racing. ( 10th July )
- We will be heading back to Ulaanbaatar. We will see horse racing in Zuun Mod city. There is naadam festival at Zuud Mod city. If we have time, We will visit Chinggis Khan's big statue.
- Day 11 Naadam festival ( 11th July)
- The Naadam festival is the biggest and most joyful holiday celebration for Mongolians. The festival comprises the “Three Manly Sports”: wrestling; horse racing; archery. 1024 wrestlers compete on the green wrestling field-there is no weight division. Mongolian wrestlers wear traditional Mongolian boots and special clothes for wrestling, Zodog- small open-fronted vest and Shuudag-shorts. There are 6 different categories of horse racing depending on the age of horses Opening ceremony 10:30 Starts wrestling in the stadium 11:30 See the archery outside the stadium. The Visit to the Mongolian traditional game
