4days/3nights
Tour grade: Easy
Style: Traveller
The name Mongolia often stirs the image of arid Gobi desert and open steppes in one’s mind. The Gobi is definitely one of the largest and most beautiful deserts on earth with unparalleled beauty, priceless archaeological findings of dinosaur remains and eggs, amazing steppe expanding to the horizon, golden sand dunes and unique ecosystem and wildlife.
The Gobi of Dreams tour brings the best of Mongolian Gobi Desert, the glacial gorge of Yoliin Am, singing sand dunes of Khongor, Flaming Cliffs at Bayanzag. This eco tour allows you to travel the Gobi with comfort, meet real nomads of the Gobi to experience their hospitality and see lifestyle, stride the Bactrian camels.
Landscape and cultural sightseeing blend easily in Mongolia – you will have the chance to visit families of nomads, remote Buddhist monasteries and traditional events, and to take part in horse-riding or guided walking if you wish – there are also endless opportunities for photography.
The Gobi - Bayanzag/ The Flaming cliffs
Meet your guide in the morning and take local flight to Dalanzadgad. Upon arrival, drive to the Bayanzag, also known as the Flaming Cliffs, where the first dinosaur eggs were discovered in 1922 by Roy Chapman Andrews. Transfer to ger camp & lunch. The Mongolian name “Bayanzag” refers to the wealth of Saxaul (zag) bushes in the surrounding plains of the Flaming Cliffs. In this huge paleontological site, you will have a chance to walk on the ground where the Dinosaurs once roamed 60 million years ago. Green desert plants stand in stark contrast to the red ground, and it is interesting to see many living reptiles, small lizards, camouflaged among the rocks and sand and seeking shelter around plants. Ger camp L+D
Khongor Sand Dunes, the Singing dunes
Today we drive to the Khongor sand dunes – one of Mongolia’s longest and most beautiful sand dunes that stretch over 180km in the arid Gobi Desert. The drive to the dunes at Khongoriin that takes three to four hours and possibly lunch along the way. Lone gers and nomads on camelback hang suspended in the mirages, whilst the desert floor is strewn with a range of colorful rocks and unusual minerals. This is the Gobi at its stark best - there are many opportunities to stop and take photographs of the landscapes and people. Afternoon, we visit at camel herder family and do 1 hour camel riding to sand dunes. Then we start to climb the 300m high sand dunes. It gives us more challenge to see the beautiful sunset of the Gobi Desert. Ger camp B+L+D
Yoliin Am Gorge in Gurvan Saikhan National Park
After breakfast, we drive to the Gobi Gurvan Saikhan Park. Your route passes the 'Three Beauties', the final peaks of the range, and then cuts through the range itself, crossing between the crags of the spectacular Dungenee Pass as you make your way to Yolyn Am and onwards to the lodge. Upon arrival we will do 2 hours of hiking in the valley while watching wildlife including pika, other bird species and plants. Transfer to our ger camp with a visit to natural museum of the park on the way. Stay overnight at a tourist camp. Ger camp B+L+D
Ulaanbaatar
Today, we will take a domestic flight back to Ulaanbaatar. Upon our arrival, you will be transferred to your accommodation. Tour Ends. B
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Tour Dates: Available June to September
Tour Price:
Note: this price is not valid on 04-18 July because of the Naadam festival. Naadam is the highest season for our country, therefore all hotels and accommodations are about 30-40% higher than the normal rate due to demand. If you wish to take this tour as a private tour, just click the "Customize this tour" button at the bottom of the page and tailor-make the itinerary in anyway you wish. Upon receiving your request, one of our travel advisors will get back to you shortly with a proposal and quote. |
Included in the Service:
Not included in the price
Accommodation info on your Mongolia tours
Ulaanbaatar: Ulaanbaatar, the capital city of Mongolia, offers a variety of hotels ranging from basic guesthouses to high-end 5* hotel.
Some of our Mongolia tours do not include the hotel stays in Ulaanbaatar in the tour package, where clients can choose a hotel that suits their needs and budget. Please make sure to check your tour program`s Inclusions and Exclusions section to confirm if your hotel stay is included in the package.
If you wish us to book your hotel for you, your travel consultant will be happy to recommend and book an ideal hotel for you.
Here are hotels that are recommended by us:
Outside Ulaanbaatar: Outside of Ulaanbaatar where there are no hotels, tourist Ger (yurt) camps are the best accommodation for travelers. A Ger is Mongolian traditional dwelling made of felt layers and wooden construction, and the Mongolians have lived in Gers for thousands of years. Tourist Ger camps offer comfortable Gers with 1-3 beds with good bedding (1 Ger equals 1 hotel room), and also offer well-maintained public western style showers and WCs on their grounds. Some Ger camps offer en-suite bathroom facilities at additional charge, please ask your Selena Travel advisor for further details when booking your Mongolia tour.
Food on Selena Travel tours
In the capital city of Ulaanbaatar, a great variety of restaurants can be found and you will be eating at some of the best restaurants of Ulaanbaatar on your Mongolia tour while in the capital. Once you are outside the capital, Ger restaurants in Ger camps, local cafes in the small towns and sometimes nomadic families will be the places where you will be eating most of your meal. Ger restaurants often offer set continental breakfasts, set menu lunches and dinners consisting of salad or soup, main course and dessert.
While on the tour, during your longer driving days you will take packed lunch from Ger camps, often vegetable salad, main course such as fried chicken/noodles/dumplings and a small dessert, while hitting the road. Most of the food restrictions and allergies such as vegetarian, vegan, gluten free and many others, can be accommodated with easy on your Mongolia adventure.
Luggage allowance on Selena Travel tours
If you are on an overland only tour across Mongolia, the recommended weight of your luggage is 20kg per person (max). However, kindly note that domestic flight luggage allowance per person is 15 kg (10 kg for the check in luggage and 5 kg for the carry on luggage). It is possible to purchase extra luggage space which costs US$2 - 5 per 1kg.
DESTINATION & ATTRACTIONS BRIEF INFO
Bayanzag, The Flaming Cliffs
Bayanzag, which in Mongolian means 'a place of many saxaul bushes', was first called 'The Flaming Cliffs' by Roy Chapman Andrews, the American dinosaur hunter and adventurer who made vital finds of dinosaur eggs and skeletons at the base of the vivid red bluffs, which stand alone in a vast empty expanse of land and sky. Chapman himself was something of a rogue - said by some to be the man on whom the film character 'Indiana Jones' was based. He lived an adventurous, self-aggrandizing life across much of this part of the world. At Bayanzag it is the landscape, in addition to the rich dinosaur history, which is very impressive - an intense evocation of Mongolia's great emptiness.
Khongor sand dunes
An extensive dune formation, Khongor Els runs for 180 kilometers across the front of the Gobi-Altai mountains - formed by deposits of sand dropped into the lee of the mountains by centuries of storms. The dunes, rising to heights of 2600 feet, stand out in light sinuous sand shapes against the dark rock of the mountain and the surrounding desert plain, At the base of the dunes runs a sacred river, bringing a flourish of green growth to the desert scene - the nomads bring their herds of cashmere goat and horses to drink at this oasis.
Yoliin Am
The bearded vulture, Yol in Mongolian, gave its name to the Yoliin Am Valley, the Gorge of Bearded Vultures. Located at a height of 2500 metres (8202,10 feet), Yol Canyon forms a gorge that is so deep and so narrow, that only two persons can pass in some places. The water forms four small waterfalls.
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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