Mongol Horse Trails

Ulaanbaatar

Arrive and transfer to your hotel. Tour briefing after dinner.

To the Steppes

After breakfast, visit the Gandan Monastery, the centerpiece for the revival of the Buddhist Lamaism in Mongolia. With luck you can catch the prayer times. Then drive out of the city to Gants Mod and gradually the wide open Mongolian landscape unfolds before your eyes. Have a picnic lunch on arrival, pitching camp near some nomadic families, where you will stay for 2 nights. Here you will meet the local herders with the yak carts and horses. Get to know the horses and go an short trial ride, and spend the next day riding in the area.

Steppe ride

All the provisions, camping equipment and luggage will be loaded onto yak carts. Even a ger (yurt) will be brought, and you will learn how to set it up. Ride across open steppe, but also cover hilly terrain with occasional patches of birch forest. Throughout the ride you will have the chance to meet with local herdsmen, often relatives and friends of our local guides. On the second day, forests will suddenly start to appear and you are now riding towards the Khentii wilderness area, which includes the Khan Khentii Strictly Protected Area and
Gorkhi Terelj National Park. In Mongolia the Siberian boreal forest meets the Central Asian desert and steppe and will be riding through the transitional zone between grasslands and northern Larch forests. Spend two nights in the Khan Khentii  wilderness area here.

To Sharbulag Valley

The horses will enable you to ride through the Larch forests, up the slopes of the mountains and to follow ridges that offer views of superb scenery, whilst the yak carts will follow along the broad river valleys. You will arrive and pitch camp at Sharbulag Valley. Spend two nights here, which will allow for some flexibility in the middle of the ride.

To Jalman Meadows

Ride towards Jalman Meadows, famous for its wildflowers, and reach the semi-permanent ger camp, which is situated next to a beautiful wooded meadow on the upper parts of the Tuul River. Here you say good bye to the herders and their yak carts caravan. You will stay at Jalman Meadows Ger Camp for two nights, having a superb last day ride in the surrounding area.

To Ulaanbaatar

You are picked up by a driver and return to Ulaanbaatar. Check into your hotel with time to see the capital city on your own. Distances ar.short and nearly all points of interest may by reached on foot. Your guide is standing by to assist you in your shopping or sightseeing activities. Have a farewell dinner in local restaurant as well as entertainment.

Departure

Transfer to the airport for departure

Naadam Itinerary

On the Naadam itinerary you spend Days 11 and 12 in Ulanbaatar at the festival.