Mongolia Adventure Tour | Individual Mongolia Travel | Pyala Travel - Travel Program

Day 1 arrival Ulan Bator

After arriving at the Djinghiz Khan Airport you will be driven to your centrally-located hotel. The city has all the impressions of a drab, dilapidated Soviet city, but you will quickly discover that there's lots to do. Around the central artery of the city, Peace Avenue, there are countless shops, bars, terraces and restaurants. The street gives you a good impression of the Mongolian population; old men in traditional attire mix with young people dressed in the latest trends. Today visit the famous highlights of the city. You start at the Ganden Khiid, the most important Buddhist temple in Ulan Bator. Its impressive white prayer hall rises above the other buildings and is visited by a mix of tourists, worshipers and pilgrims. You can walk through the complex and see the giant Buddha statue. Next is the Chojjin Lama Temple, one of the oldest in the country. The slightly dilapidated temple is one of the most striking buildings on Peace Avenue and contrasts sharply with the blue mirrored windows of the ultra-modern office complex behind it. The interior resembles Tibetan temples, but it has several images of the Bogd Khan, the spiritual and secular leader of the Mongols. There are also some remarkable sculptures by the famous Mongolian artist Zanabazar. From the outside it looks like Chinese temples, a style that is also reflected in the Winter Palace of Bogd Khan which is now a museum you can visit outside the city center. There is a beautiful view of the city from a vista that also features images of Lenin and Sukhabataar, remnants of the Soviet era. You can then visit the State History Museum and stroll through the glorious past of Mongolia, one of the greatest empires to exist in an area that is now on the periphery of the world stage. One of the highlights of the museum  is the display of costumes of the many peoples and tribes of Mongolia. You can see some of these traditional costumes in action in the evening by visiting a performance of Buddhist body dancing accompanied by the famous throat singers.

Day 2 Ulan Bator - Lake Khovsgol

The day starts early with a domestic flight to Moron. At the small airport in Moron you will meet your guide and driver who will show you part of northern and central Mongolia over the next week. You now are in a completely different environment than the capital. Moron is a small town surrounded by green hills. You can already see the first gers when setting off on a dirt road. There are barely any paved roads outside the cities, and almost immediately upon driving out of any town you will find yourself in the middle of the vast Mongolian wilderness. There are only 2.5 million people in a country that is 5 times the size of France, and half the population lives in Ulan Bator.

Your drive continues through the hills. Slowly there will be more pine forests, typical of the north, which border the Siberian taiga. You will pass some ovoos, sacred cairns in the form of piles of rocks with prayer flags, and you will also find sacred trees. Nature is honored in this area, and  there is a strong Shamnistic influence from the Tsaatan, Buryat, and Darkhaad nomads. After a three-hour drive you will arrive in Khatgal, a small village on the south side of the beautiful Lake Khovsgol. After a short ride in the woods the lake becomes visible, a breathtaking sight. Lake Khovsgol is one of the largest freshwater reservoirs in the world. Along the shore you will see log cabins in addition to gers, a reminder that Siberia is near. You will spend the night in a traditional ger camp. In the evening, the wood stove is stocked and early the next morning somebody comes in silently to restoke the fire, a ritual that will be repeated each morning.

Day 3 lake Khovsgol

You have all day today to walk around the beautiful lake. You can also go horseback riding or visit the teepees belonging to the Tsaatan, the reindeer nomads. This group, of whom there are only about four hundred living in Mongolia, actually live further in the Darkhad Depression, about three days’ walk from the lake. Some Tsaatan, however, come with their reindeer to the shores of the lake hoping to earn some money through tourism. This is understandable given the difficult and impoverished life that they live in the Mongolian taiga, but, unfortunately, it can be devastating for the reindeer. The leaves they eat don’t grow here around the lake and therefore many reindeer don’t survive.

Day 4 lake Khovsgol - Shine Ider

Today you return to Moron, a nice provincial town with a lively market. Mongols drive back and forth with horse carts carrying their wares. There are many distinctive, weathered faces, and lots of people in traditional dress in this Russian-looking village. On the outskirts of the city you can visit the Danzandarjaa Monastery, stunning against the rolling grasslands and endless sky. It is the quintessential Mongolian landscape; everywhere you see nomads and their herds, smoke coming out of gers, streams rippling through green pastures. Marmots and ground squirrels scamper across the meadows, and eagles and vultures soar overhead. It is like a living postcard, and the only evidence that it’s the 21st century is the solar panels next to the gers. At the end of the day, after a 4-hour drive from Moron, you will arrive at Lake Zuun Nuur, not far from the village of Shine Ider. Here you will stay in a ger camp.

Day 5 Shine Ider - Terkhiin Tsagaan

Today you head off to another lake, Terkhiin Tsagaan. On the you travel through the Khangai Mountains where you stop briefly in the town of Jargalant. Here you will find a completely run-down monastery; there is no money to repair the many monasteries destroyed during the Soviet domination. There are Buddhist ceremonies held regularly in a nearby ger. A few hours’ drive further and you arrive at Lake Terkhiin Tsagaan, the “’Great White Lake.”

Day 6 Terkhiin Tsagaan - Tsenkher

After breakfast you will drive to the Khorgoo Uul Volcano situated on the edge of the lake. You can climb up a short way to where you have a beautiful view from the crater wall. Your journey then continues through endless plains and grasslands. The landscape becomes flat and the horizon seems infinite. You stop briefly at the sacred rock of Taikhar Chuluu, and half an hour later arrive in the provincial town of Tsetserleg. Here you can visit the Zayain Gegeenii Sum Complex, an ancient Buddhist temple complex which, unfortunately, was mostly destroyed. However, several buildings are still standing, some of which act as a temples and others as museums. You then leave Tsetserleg and continue on through the grasslands, finally arriving in Tsenkher. Here you can relax in a hot spring with a view of the green hills around Tsenkher.

Day 7 Tsenkher - Mongol Els through Kharkhorin

Your journey continues through the grasslands, passing gers and herds of livestock until you reach Kharkorin, once known as Karakorum, the famous capital of the Mongol empire. Now it is a small town with some decaying industry, but the famous Erdene Zuu Monastery, the largest monastery in the country, is also here. You will be able to see its beautiful wall of 108 stupas and the many temples. At the edge of the monastery, which is built from the stones of Karakorum, is a solitary stone turtle, the only remnant of the once glorious Mongol capital. After leaving Kharkorin you drive for another hour to the sand dunes of Mongol Els. On this tour you do not have time to visit the Gobi Desert, but fortunately Mongol Els one of the largest areas of sand dunes in Asia. It is a truly beautiful area. You walk across the ridges of  dunes, see the shadows of nearby mountains in the evening light and everywhere you look there are herds of cattle and villagers in the grasslands.

Day 8 Mongol Eis - Khustai National Park

From the beautiful dunes you begin to head back towards Ulan Bator, but first you will visit the beautiful Khustai National Park. Many nomads live in the park, and you will be able to learn about nomadic life while enjoying the beautiful nature. You can also see centuries-old Turkish tombstones and the endangered Przewalski horse, the only remaining species of truly wild horse in the world. They are also called Takhi horses. They had become extinct in the wild in the 1960’s, but in 1992, 15 horses were brought from western zoos and released in their natural habitat. Today there are some 250 horses in the park. There are other wild animals that can be found here, as well, including gazelles , wolves, deer, and many bird species.

Day 9 Khustai - Ulan Bator

In the morning you can look for horses and other wildlife, and then return to Ulan Bator, a short two-hour drive on a good road. In the afternoon, you can explore the many shops in the city. Be sure to visit the State Department Store for an extensive collection of souvenirs.

Day 10 departure Ulan Bator