11days/10nights
Tour grade: Easy
Style: Traveller
Join us on this Mongolia tour to the land of Genghis Khan! Travelling overland in safari style, you will visit the ancient capital Karakorum: legendary 16th century Erdene Zuu monastery, Karakorum town museum and the UNESCO world heritage Orkhon River Valley. Then you will travel to the Gobi Desert, where a three day circuit explores the lofty sand dunes of Khongoriin Els, the glacial canyon of Yolyn Am, and the red cliffs of Bayanzag, where the world’s richest deposits of dinosaur fossils are found. Afterwards, the Mongolia tour will take you to Gun-Galuut Nature Reserve, one of the best preserved wildlife reserve in Mongolia, taking the opportunity to glimpse the rare Argali sheep and several rare bird species.
Arrival in Ulaanbaatar, private transfer to hotel
Arrive in Ulaanbaatar, meet at the airport after custom formalities and transfer to the hotel. The remainder of the day is for you to get over jet lag and take a good rest before your wonderful journey across Mongolia. Hotel in Ulaanbaatar is not included in the package. You can check suggested hotels here.
Ulaanbaatar City Tour
The city tour of Ulaanbaatar takes you through some of the pricipal sights of this unique city. You visit the Gandan Monastery, housing a 26 m high gilded statue of the Buddha. Welcome lunch in a Mongolian restaurant. Your tour also takes you to the Genghis Khan monument on the Sukhbaatar square and the Museum of National History. Then we visit Bogd Khan's palace museum and Zaisan Memorial hill for the panoramic view of the city. Hotel in Ulaanbaatar is not included in the package. You can check suggested hotels here. L
Ulaanbaatar- Elsen Tasarkhai Sand dunes via Hustai National Park
After breakfast at the hotel, we pack the vehicles and depart to the west toward Karakorum, the ancient capital city of Great Mongol empire. Drive to Hustai National park, view wild Przewalski horse Takhi. Transfer to camp near the Mongol Els sand dunes. Optional hiking in Khogno Khan with a visit to the Erdene Khamba monastery ruins. Ger camp L+D
Elsen Tasarkhai - Karakorum
Today, we head toward to Karakorum- the ancient capital of Mongol Empire from 13th century. Arrive in Karakorum and we visit legendary Erdene Zuu, the biggest Buddhist monastery in Central Mongolia founded in 1586. Visit the newly established museum of Karakorum in the afternoon. Optional visit to town bazaar and then to Khaadiin Khoshoo on the hill to have a great view of Orkhon river valley. Ger camp B+L+D PS: Please kindly note that some travelers who wanted to extend this tour to Northern Mongolia will join you today for the rest of trip. You’ll have special dinner today to welcome new members.
Karakorum- Ongi Monastery
This morning we drive through the Gobi steppes to the south Ongi monastery ruins by the river Ongi. Visit nomadic family ger on our way. Have picnic lunch on the way in a scenic spot. Arrive and visit to historical Ongi monastery ruins. Transfer to tourist ger camp, full board and overnight at the ger camp. Ger camp B+L+D
Ongi Monastery- Bayanzag
Today we visit the Bayanzag- the Flaming Cliffs. Lunch, explore around for dinosaur remains and walking in the rich saxual forest. You can even find real dinosaur bones and eggs yourself! An optional short camel ride around the red cliffs. Ger camp B+L+D
Bayanzag- Khongor Sand Dunes
The drive to the dunes of Khongor takes four or five hours, passing through vast desert badlands that span out into the furthest distances, where remote mountains line the horizon. Transfer to tourist ger camp and lunch. In the afternoon, visit singing dunes and enjoy camel riding along the dunes. Ger camp B+L+D
Khongor Sand Dunes- Yoliin Am Gorge
Today we drive through the Gobi Gurvan Saikhan Park, stopping for photgraphy and possibly lunch along the way. Hiking around the horse and then transfer to ger camp, dinner and overnight there. Ger camp B+L+D
The Gobi Desert- Ulaanbaatar- Gun Galuut nature reserve via Giant Genghis Monument
Today, we say goodbye to the drivers and catch flight to Ulaanbaatar. Arrive and drive directly to Gun Galuut nature reserve in the valley of the Kherlen River across the green steppes via Giant Chinggis monument. Arrive and check in at eco friendly Steppe Nomads ger camp (Certificate of Excellence 2013 by Tripadvisor.com) Ger camp B+L+D
Leisure day at Gun Galuut nature reserve
Gun Galuut is a home to many endagered species including the Argali wild mountain sheep and many more. We hike or enjoy some optional horse ride to Mt. Baits to view the gorgeous Argali mountain sheep and the White Napped Crane, Whooper Swan and other birds. Visit a nomadic family and learn their ways to tend their livestock. Moreover, we will enjoy a presentation about Mongolian ger dwelling with a Ger construction show on one of the days. Optional fishing or Kayaking on the river Kherlen. Ger camp B+L+D
Gun Galuut NR- Terelj National Park
After breakfast, we drive to Terelj National park. Visit Aryapala temple, a temple of meditation and Turtle rock. Optional hiking, horse riding or archery at the park. Ger camp B+L+D
Terelj National Park- Ulaanbaatar
In the morning, we drive to Ulaanbaatar and transfer to the hotel. Optional souvenir or cashmer shopping if you wish. Enjoy traditional folklore concert by the magical Tumen Ekh ensemble. Farewell dinner. Hotel in Ulaanbaatar is not included in the package. You can check suggested hotels here. B+L+D
Departure from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
You are transferred to the airport/train station after breakfast. End of service.
| Single supplement charge | US$360 |
| Naadam add - on | US$550 per person |
Included services
Not Included in the Service
DESTINATION & ATTRACTIONS BRIEF INFO
The city of Karakorum: In 1220 the great Chinghis Khaan declared it as the capital city of his vast Empire. Today there are many interesting sites left to visit; the legendary turtle rock sculptures, Buddhist stupas and the ruins of this once great city to name a few. Erdenezuu is the first Buddhist monastery in the Mongolian Empire, established in 1586. Today Erdenezuu monastery still shows its glory with collections of many priceless religious objects and incredibly beautiful Mongolian arts. It has a massive square wall, 420 meters in length each side, a total of 108 Stupas and 17 temples.
The Gobi desert is the most mysterious place on earth The Gobi invites you to reveal its secrets. This region is famous for its unique natural formations, many places where you can dig and find real dinosaur fossils, flora and fauna not found anywhere else in the world. Ride the 2 humped Bactrian camels and discover the Gobi!
Bayanzag (Flaming Cliffs) is internationally famous for its fossilized dinosaur remains. Dinosaur nests with eggs were found here as well as whole fossilized skeletons.
The Khongoriin Els sand dunes extend along the northern side of Sevrei and Zuulun mountain ranges. These dunes are 180 km long, 15-20 km wide and up to 200m high. There is a small oasis near Khongoriin gol stream, which flows along the northern edge of the dunes. The scenery here is simply spectacular.
Yoliin Am (Vulture's Gorge) is a narrow valley located in the Zuun Saikhan Mountain range, with thick pieces of ice almost all year around hidden in its depths. This area is home to rare animals such as the Argali (wild sheep) and Ibex as well as Vultures and other large birds.
Aug 10, 2012. Gobi & Karakorum Explorer tour
Our recent "The Gobi & Karakorum Explorer" tour with you was excellent, everything exceeded our expectations! It was a super trip in our lives and we loved our Mongolia holiday so much. Our guide Joe was kind, well organised, accurate and informative, polite and caring and always provided us with timely information. And our driver Jack is super, very friendly, professional and always on time.
We are wild travelers, having been to many places in the world - but Mongolia is still truly unspoiled and uncontaminated. Selena Travel's services were perfect right from the very first email. We would like to thank Selena Travel, our guide and our driver for having made this Mongolia experience a truly beautiful one with so many wonderful memories.
Rafaella, Benedetta, Lidia
Sending you some of our nicer pictures. Some are chosen for their beautiful scenery while the rest are just us happily playing and goofing around. There are a couple of shots of us doing some Mongolian wrestling, as suggested by Oyuna since we missed out on the mini-Naadam festival. She said since we missed it, we might as well organise our own festival by playing some Mongolian games. Haha... We had so much fun playing those games!!! :)OK, I hope you like the pictures we send you. Best regards to everyone at Selena Travel and thank you once again for all your assistance.
Margaret Suganda
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