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Mongolia Naadam festival tour
Check avialablity
- Karakorum, Erdene Zuu monastery, Elsen Tasarkhai sand dunes
- The Great Naadam festival – Mongolian archery, wrestling and horse races!
- Small international group, visiting nomadic families and interacting with them
- Cultural & Festival tours
- Style: Traveller
- Tour grade: Easy
- Duration: 8 days/7 nights
- From: US$ 1990
The Naadam Festival consists of Mongolian wrestling, archery and horse racing, and is best of the Mongolian festivals. This fantastic Naadam Festival tour takes you to Mongolian Great Naadam and Mongolian natural and cultural highlights. When you take part in the Naadam you will experience the thrill of watching hundreds of racing horses with their remarkable young riders, strong wrestlers performing the "Eagle Dance" and traditionally dressed archers as well as the magnificent Naadam Grand Opening Ceremony in the Central Stadium.
The Naadam festival tour has 2 departures and these Mongolia tours also include highlights of Central Mongolia such as Karakorum - the ancient capital of Mongolian Empire and Erdene Zuu - the first and most beautiful Buddhist monastery, Elsen Tasarkhai small sand dunes and Hustai national park which is known as home for wild Przewalski horse Takhi.
Brief Itinerarygo to detail
Departure 1: 06-13 JulyDay 1: Arrival in Ulaanbaatar, remainder day is free
Day 2: Ulaanbaatar - Elsen Tasarkhai
Day 3: Elsen Tasarkhai - Karakorum
Day 4: Karakorum- Hustai National Park
Day 5: Hustai National Park - Ulaanbaatar, City tour
Day 6: Naadam festival(opening ceremony)
Day 7: Naadam festival(horse racing)
Day 8: Departure from Ulaanbaatar
Departure 2: 09-16 July
Day 1: Arrival in Ulaanbaatar, remainder of the day is free
Day 2: Ulaanbaatar city tour
Day 3: Naadam festival (opening ceremony)
Day 4: Naadam (horse races) - Elsen Tasarkhai
Day 5: Elsen Tasarkhai - Karakorum
Day 6: Karakorum- Hustai NP
Day 7: Hustai NP - Ulaanbaatar
Day 8: Departure from Ulaanbaatar
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Date & Price - set departure tour read more
Tour map
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Daily Itinerary
Naadam festival tour # 1
Day 1: Jul 06. Arrival In Ulaanbaatar: Private transfer to the hotel
Arrive in Ulaanbaatar, meet at the airport after custom formalities and transfer to your 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. Centrally located excellent Hotel 3* L
Arrive in Ulaanbaatar, meet at the airport after custom formalities and transfer to your 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. Centrally located excellent Hotel 3* L
Day 2: Jul 07. Ulaanbaatar - Elsen Tasarkhai sand dunes
After breakfast at the hotel, we pack the vehicles and depart to the west toward Karakorum, the ancient capital city of Mongolia. Transfer to camp near the Mongol Els Sand Dunes. Optional hiking in Khogno Khaan with a visit to the Ovgon monastery ruins.Ger camp B+L+D
Day 3: Jul 08. Elsen Tasarkhai – Karakorum
We visit legendary monastery Erdene Zuu, the first Buddhist monastery in Central Mongolia founded in 1586, Museum of Karakorum and its surroundings the Turtle Rock and the Phallic stone etc. Ger camp B+L+D
Day 4: Jul 09. Karakorum - Hustai National Park
Breakfast and we drive to Hustai National Park where Takhi wild horses graze peacefully with other wildlife. Upon arrival, we have a lunch at the ger camp and trek through the national park to spot an endangered Przewalski wild horse, the one of the few remaining wild horses. Dinner and overnight at the camp. Ger camp B+L+D
Day 5: Jul 10. Hustai National Park - Ulaanbaatar, City tour
We drive to the east to Ulaanbaatar, arrive and start the city tour. The city tour of Ulaanbaatar takes you through some of the principal sights of this unique city. You visit the Gandan Monastery, housing a 26 meter high gilded statue of the Buddha. Your tour also takes you to the Genghis Khan monument on the Sukhbaatar square and the Museum of National History. Afterwards visit the Giant Genghis Statue (1hr from Ulaanbaatar) and return to Ulaanbaatar by 7pm and transfer to the hotel. Rest and prepare for the Great Festival of the next day. This is a lifetime experience indeed and everyone wants to take part in it. The Mongols have the saying “If you be healthy, you will see the Naadam” Centrally located excellent Hotel 3* B+L
Day 6 - 7: Jul 11 - 12. Naadam Festival
See the fantastic opening ceremony of Naadam festival and watch the first round of Wrestling, and then Archery and Ankle bone shooting competitions. On 12 July, we will drive to the horse racing place to experience the Naadam Festival horse races. We will also visit the Bogd Khan’s Palace Museum and see a traditional folk concert by magical Tumen Ekh ensemble. Meals at restaurants and hotel overnight.. Centrally located excellent Hotel 3* B+L+D
Day 8: Jul 13. Departure From Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia B
Naadam festival tour # 2
Day 1: Jul 09. Arrival In Ulaanbaatar: Private transfer to the hotel
Arrive in Ulaanbaatar, meet at the airport after custom formalities and transfer to your 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. Centrally located excellent Hotel 3* L
Arrive in Ulaanbaatar, meet at the airport after custom formalities and transfer to your 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. Centrally located excellent Hotel 3* L
Day 2: Jul 10. Tour of the City: Gandan Monastery, the Genghis Square, National museum & Genghis Statue.
The city tour of Ulaanbaatar takes you through some of the principal sights of this unique city. You visit the Gandan Monastery, housing a 26 meter high gilded statue of the Buddha. Your tour also takes you to the Genghis Khan monument on the Sukhbaatar square and the Museum of National History. Welcome lunch in a Mongolian restaurant.Afterwards visit the Giant Genghis Statue (1hr from Ulaanbaatar) and return to Ulaanbaatar by 7pm and transfer to the hotel. Centrally located excellent Hotel 3* B+L
Day 3: Jul 11. Naadam festival: Opening ceremony, wrestling, archery
See the fantastic Grand opening ceremony of Naadam festival that consists of colourful parade, lots of music and dances, as well as speech by the President of Mongolia. Then in the Central Stadium, you will watch the first round of Wrestling, and then the Naadam Archery and Ankle bone shooting competitions held nearby the Central Stadium. Meals at restaurants and hotel overnight. Centrally located excellent Hotel 3* B+L+D
Day 4: Jul 12. Naadam festival: horse races, Ulaanbaatar – Elsen Tasarkhai
After breakfast at the hotel, we pack the vehicles and depart to the west toward Karakorum, the ancient capital city of Mongolia. On the way stop at the horse racing place to see horse races. Transfer to camp near the Mongol Els Sand Dunes. Enjoy a visit to a nomadic family and see their lifestyle with some optional horse or camel riding etc. Ger camp B+L+D
Day 5: Jul 13.Elsen Tasarkhai – Karakorum
We visit legendary monastery Erdene Zuu, the first Buddhist monastery in Central Mongolia founded in 1586, Museum of Karakorum and its surroundings the Turtle Rock and the Phallic stone etc. Ger camp B+L+D
Day 6: Jul 14. Karakorum – Hustai National Park
We drive to the east toward Ulaanbaatar and break our journey in the beautiful Hustai National Park to view the world’s only remaining wild horse species “the Takhi” (scientific name: Przewalski horse) in wilderness with other wildlife. Ger camp B+L+D
Day 7: Jul 15. Hustai National Park – Ulaanbaatar
After breakfast we drive back to Ulaanbaatar for 2 hours and transfer to the hotel. Then we visit the Bogd Khaan’s Palace Museum – the residence of the last king of Mongolia and the Buddha Park. Enjoy traditional folklore concert by the magical Tumen Ekh ensemble. Farewell dinner. Centrally located excellent Hotel 3* B+L+D
Day 8: Jul 16. Departure From Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia B
Date & Price - set departure tour
| Single supplement charge | US$300 |
Included Services
- Full-time services of your local guides.
- Sightseeing and entrance fees
- Private transfers and transports
- Twin/double share accommodation: Centrally located, good 3* hotel in Ulaanbaatar, good tourist camps at each destination
- Meals as listed (B-breakfast, L-lunch, D-dinner)
- Naadam Festival tickets and arrangements
- 0.5 l x 3 bottled water per day
- Visa support invitation letter where applicable
- Exclusive Great Naadam festival souvenir!
Not included in the price
- International Airfare/train tickets + Tax
- Travel insurance
- Visa fees
- Items of a personal nature such as laundry, drinks, camera or video fees at any sites etc.
- Tips for your guide and driver (discretionary).
DISCOUNT CONDITIONS:
- For children of a family (0 – 3 years old) is 100% free of charge
- For children of a family (4 – 12 years old) is 40% free of charge
- Courier bringing min 3 pax
- More attractive prices for groups of 12 and more people!
- 1 free space for every 16 PAX
Accommodation on Selena Travel tours
Ulaanbaatar: Ulaanbaatar, the capital city of Mongolia has many hotels ranging from basic 1* to high-end 5*. Some international hotel chains have opened such as Kempinski, Ramada, and Best Western to name a few. Some of Selena Travel Mongolia tours do not include hotel accommodation in Ulaanbaatar, where clients are advised to take care of their own accommodation in Ulaanbaatar. Please refer to your tour program (Included services and Exclusions section) for more details. Your Selena Travel advisor is happy to assist you with hotel booking on your request. Below you will find some suggested hotels in Ulaanbaatar:
- Best Western Gobi Kelso ***
- Springs hotel ***
- Ramada hotel ****
- Kempinski Khan Palace ****
- Best Western Premier *****
Outside Ulaanbaatar: Please take in mind that traveling in the countryside of Mongolia is often tough, a trip is conducted in remote areas where there’s no hotel and paved roads exist.
Outside of Ulaanbaatar, tourist Ger camps are the best accommodation for travelers. A Ger is Mongolian traditional dwelling made of felt layers and wooden construction, and the Mongols have lived in Gers since the time immemorial. Tourist Ger camps offer comfortable Gers with 1-4 beds with good bedding, and also have western style showers and WCs (mostly shared). A few Ger camps offer en-suite Gers at additional charge (please ask your Selena Travel advisor for this). Due to remoteness some tourist Ger camps may not excel in service, so travelers may not always expect high pressure showers, bubble baths or gourmet food etc.
Food on Selena Travel tours
During your tour in Mongolia you will be eating in good restaurants in Ulaanbaatar, we have a great variety in restaurants in the capital city. Once you are outside the capital, Ger restaurants in Ger camps and local cafes in the small towns and villages will be the places where you will be eating. Ger restaurants often have set menu, but their food is usually very good (Ger camps provide mostly continental breakfast, lunches consist of salad, soup, main course and dessert, whilst, dinners are usually salad, main course and dessert).
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 chocolate bar etc). Vegetarians are well taken care of both in Ulaanbaatar restaurants and tourist Ger camps.
Luggage allowance on Selena Travel tours
When you travelling overland in a vehicle (minivan & jeep), it would be suitable if you have 20kg luggage per person (max). However, please kindly note that domestic flight luggage allowance per person is 15 kg (10 kg for the check in luggage and 5 for the carry on luggage). For 1kg extra luggage you pay US$2 - 5.
DESTINATION & ATTRACTIONS BRIEF INFO
The Naadam festival is the biggest and most joyful celebration of the Mongols. It takes place on the 11-12th July annually.
The festival itself originated from the era of Hunnu Empire (209 BD) and was originally organized as a competition to test the skills of Mongol warriors between tribes. The festival comprises the "Three Manly Sports": wrestling, horse racing and archery. A fascinating and interesting event for all is where the 9 White Flags of Chinghis Khan are carried in a ceremonial parade from the State Parliament House to the Central Stadium and many other events to name a few.
512-1024 wrestlers compete on the green field of the State Central Stadium-there is no time limit, no weight category and the arena is not fixed. They have the most number of tricks and the Mongolian national wrestling is the most challenging wrestling in the world. Mongolian wrestlers wear traditional Mongolian boots and special clothes for wrestling, Zodog - a small open-fronted vest.
It's impossible to imagine the Mongols without their horses. Mongol horse is small in body but as strong as rocks! There are 6 different categories of Mongol national horse racing depending on the age of horses. The riders, both boys and girls are aged between 5-12 and the distance of the race ranges from 15-30 km. Horses race on natural track and natural barriers. The racers train their horses for a month on a strict diet and everyday training.
There's no need to argue on that the Mongols are the best archers in the world. Archery, originating from time immemorial, is the oldest sport of the Mongols. Traditionally, this was only men's sport but nowadays both men and women compete in separate divisions. Male archers shoot on a 75m range while female archers shoot on a 60 m range.
Why to take a Naadam festival tour? Naadam festival tour includes the Mongolia Great Naadam Festival Holiday that takes place in mid July once a year. Naadam festival tours are the highlight of Mongolia and the Naadam festival itself is a fantastic event. We invite you to our Naadam festival trips in Mongolia.
512-1024 wrestlers compete on the green field of the State Central Stadium-there is no time limit, no weight category and the arena is not fixed. They have the most number of tricks and the Mongolian national wrestling is the most challenging wrestling in the world. Mongolian wrestlers wear traditional Mongolian boots and special clothes for wrestling, Zodog - a small open-fronted vest.
It's impossible to imagine the Mongols without their horses. Mongol horse is small in body but as strong as rocks! There are 6 different categories of Mongol national horse racing depending on the age of horses. The riders, both boys and girls are aged between 5-12 and the distance of the race ranges from 15-30 km. Horses race on natural track and natural barriers. The racers train their horses for a month on a strict diet and everyday training.
There's no need to argue on that the Mongols are the best archers in the world. Archery, originating from time immemorial, is the oldest sport of the Mongols. Traditionally, this was only men's sport but nowadays both men and women compete in separate divisions. Male archers shoot on a 75m range while female archers shoot on a 60 m range.
Why to take a Naadam festival tour? Naadam festival tour includes the Mongolia Great Naadam Festival Holiday that takes place in mid July once a year. Naadam festival tours are the highlight of Mongolia and the Naadam festival itself is a fantastic event. We invite you to our Naadam festival trips in Mongolia.
Images of the Tour
Tour map
Reviews
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Jul 07, 2007. Great Naadam Festival tour Wondering where you should go for your next trip? I would recommend Mongolia. WHY??? I had such a great and unique travel experience throughout my stay in this beautiful country. Whether it was visiting the nomads, attending the Naadam Festival, traversing the sweeping landscapes, experiencing its culture, learning its fascinating history, watching wildlife, or riding a yak, the trip captures the essence of Mongolia. Meeting the nomads was such a great way to learn about their way of living in such an authentic and intimate manner. I had developed a deep appreciation of their resilience, tenacity and ingenuity in living with nature. As well, I was very much taken by their hospitality. Zola, thanks for your great help, patience in answering all my emails in such an informative and prompt manner, and planning this trip.
Ms. Yiman Ng
