route
Terelj National park –Ulaanbaatar –Naadam festival- Yoliin am- Khongoryn els- Bayanzag flaming cliffs- Ongi Monastery-Kharkhorin-Turkish Monument- Khustai national park-Ulaanbaatar-
activities
- Day 1 Terelj National park
- After breakfast, We will go to Chinggis Khan big statue and Terelj National park. Terelj national park is one the of beautifull national park. National park is located 70 kilometers north east of Ulaanbaatar, in Hentii mountain range and borders the Khan Hentii Strictly Protected Area. Terelj is famous for its beautiful natural scenery, interesting rock formations. We will do horseback riding and visiting small meditation temple. After that , we will go back to Ulaanbaatar. We will arrive around 5 pm.
- Day 2 Naadam festival
- 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 08:00 Breakfast at a restaurant 09:30 Opening ceremony 10:30 Starts wrestling in the stadium 11:30 See the archery outside the stadium 12:00 Visit to the Mongolian traditional game 13:00 Picnic lunch 16:00 See racing
- Day 3 Tsagaan suvraga
- We’ll drive to the scarp of Tsagaan Suvarga which is located in Ulziit soum, Dundgobi province. It is interesting to see the sheer slope, facing east, which from cliff is 30 meters high and 100 meters wide. Over thousands of years the wind has created this amazing structure.
- Day 4 Yolyn am valley
- We'll drive to Yoliin Am in 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 minivan.
- Day 5 Khongoryn Els Sand Dune
- After lunch 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. We'll then spend the night in a Ger.
- Day 6 Khongoryn Els Sand Dune
- 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 Bayan-zag and Ongi Monastery
- We'll drive to Bayan-Zag. Bayan-Zag means "rich in Saxaul Shrubs" is more commonly known as the "Flaming Cliffs" of Bayan-Zag, famous for its discovery of dinosaur fossils. After lunch, 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 1930s. The Ongyn hiid was one of the biggest temples in Gobi’s area of Mongolia.
- Day 8 Khustai Nuruu and Ulaanbaatar
- 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 till 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 9 Khugnu khan Elsen tasarkhai
- We'll to 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 10 Khustai National Park and Ulaanbaatar
- We’ll drive to the Khustai National Park, located on the north side of the Tuul River, about a two-hour drive west of Ulaanbaatar. Although located in the central grasslands, Khustai means “with birch” because birch trees and aspen groves are plentiful in the area. It is a hilly terrain, with the Tuul River forming the southern boundary. The national park was originally set up in 1993 as a nature reserve for the first reintroduction of the Przewalski’s Horse (Equus przewalskii) into Mongolia. Today the Khustai Trust runs the park, funded mainly by tourism funds. Finally, we’ll drive back to Ulaanbaatar.
