Riding and off-road vehicle tour
On this tour you’ll get to know the Mongolian steppe and its inhabitants in a really special way. We travel part of the route on horses, in harmony with nature as we experience the character and the vastness of Mongolia. If you prefer you can hike instead of riding. You spend your nights with the nomads and experience how they live at close quarters.
Information for riders:
– Also suitable for beginners.
– Please bring your own riding helmet and boot chaps (if you don’t have riding boots).
– Please avoid clothes that tend to flutter on the horse.
You ride on Russion saddles, which are similar to European ones. Mongolian horses are smaller than European ones (like Icelandic horses), but are strong, fast and have a lot of stamina.
The highlights include:
Gobi Desert – Tsagaan Suvarga Canyon – Uurtiin Tochoi Valley – Khongor sand dune – Tsenkher hot springs – Vulture Gorge – Erdene Zuu Monastery – Ulaan waterfall – Elsen Tasarkhai sand dune – Karakorum – Hustai National Park – Approx. 4 visits to nomad families
Prices for individual tours on requested dates
Start date between 11/06 and 24/08:
2 persons: €2.700 per person without flights
3 persons: €2.500 per person without flights
4-5 persons: €2.300 per person without flights
Flight from ⁄ to Berlin or Frankfurt: From €800
Naadam surcharge: €300 per person in group
Start date up to 10/06 and from 25/08:
2 persons: €2.600 per person without flights
3 persons: €2.400 per person without flights
4-5 persons: €2.200 per person without flights
Flight from ⁄ to Berlin or Frankfurt: From €800
Single room in Ulaanbaatar & single tent: €130
Price includes
- 1 nights (double or twin room) in basic hotel incl. breakfast
- 1 night in yurt camp in double yurts on the edge of Ulaanbaatar
- 5 nights in basic yurts
- 10 nights in provided tents with camping mat
- Full board during the entire stay in the countryside as per itinerary (B=breakfast, L=lunch, D=dinner)English-speaking tour guide
- Riding horses and horse keepers for 5 days as per itinerary
- Tranfers within Ulaanbaatar
- Minibus transport across country
- Nature reserve fees and entrance fees for sights as per itinerary
- Information brochure with tips for the trip
Price does not include
International flight, costs for additional meals and drinks, film and photo fees, tips, travel insurance, riding charges
Travel route
Day 1
You are picked up by our tour guide. On this day we visit the famous Gandan Monastery, the religious centre of modern-day Mongolia. An evening concert introduces you to the delights of traditional Mongolian music. You hear the sound of the Mongolian horsehead fiddle and throat singing. You spend the night in the yurt camp on the edge of the capital.
Day 2 Drive
In the morning you are picked up by our driver at the hotel and set out southwards. En route to the Gobi we drive to the rocks of Baga Gazriin Chuluu, located in the Middle Gobi Aimag (an Aimag is similar to a German state, but is usually significantly bigger). (B,L,D)
Day 3 Drive
After breakfast we head in the direction of the capital of the Middle Gobi Aimag, Mandalgovi. Today we reach the Gobi Desert. South of Mandalgovi, in the vicinity of the Tsagaan Suvarga Canyon region, we spend the night and enjoy the silence of the desert. You can observe the beautiful play of colours as the sun is setting. (B,L,D)
Day 4 Drive
Via the desert capital, Dalanzadgad, we drive to Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park, where we’ll be spending two nights. We enter the Gobi Gurvansaikhan Mountains, whose highest peak is the eastern Saikhan mountain. It rises to 2,800 metres above sea level. (B,L,D)
Day 5 Hike
Today we stay in this region, go hiking and pay a visit to the Vulture Gorge (Yoliin Am). This ist a green mountain oasis in the rocky Gobi. The hike takes around 2 hours, depending on your wishes. In the evening we enjoy the sunset. (B,L,D)
Day 6 Drive / Hike
After breakfast we set out for the Khongor sand dune (Khongoriin Els), a single enormous sand dune around 160 km long and up to 10 km wide. In the afternoon we explore the sand dune on a hike of around 3 hours and enjoy wide views of the Gobi. If you like, you can try camel riding. (B,L,D)
Day 7 Drive
Today we leave the Gobi Desert and enter the steppe landscape. We head north in the direction of the centre of Uvurkhangai Aimag, Arvaikheer. (B,L,D)
Day 8 Drive / Get to know horses
Today we near the Orkhon River, the longest river in Mongolia at 1,124 kilometres. In the picturesque Uurtiin Tokhoi Valley we get acquainted with our horses and try l little riding. (B,L,D)
Day 9 Horse riding
We ride along the Orkhon River towards the Ulaan waterfall, where the Ulaan Gol (Red River) flows into the 1,124 km Orkhon. The waterfall is around 20 metres high and up to 10 metres wide. Here the water of the Orkhon is drinkable and cold. The Orkhon Valley is one of the most beautiful places in Mongolia. If you’re in the mood we can ride some of the way back. Our vehicle is available for the rest of this stage. (B,L,D)
Day 10 Horse riding
We ride onwards to the Ulaan waterfall and in the late afternoon we arrive at the home of a horse-breeding family who provide us with the riding horses. (B,L,D)
Day 11 Recuperation
We stay with the same horse-breeding family and explore the surroundings, go hiking or simply relax. (B,L,D)
Day 12 Horse riding
After spending two nights with the horse-breeding family, our next riding stage takes us to the Tsenkher hot springs. We have three days for this route. (B,L,D)
Day 13 Horse riding
Today we ride through a mountainous region and enjoy the natural surroundings on horseback. (B,L,D)
Day 14 Horse riding
Today’s destination is the Tsenkher hot springs. This evening you have the option to bath in the hot spring waters.
Day 15 Drive
Today we’re off to the former capital of Genghis Khan’s Mongolian Empire: Karakorum (Kharkhorin). In the 14th century almost the entire city was destroyed by the Ming Dynasty. In Karakorum we visit the Karakorum Museum which contains the findings of the German-Mongolian excavations and representations of the different epochs og Mongolian history, from the Stone Age up to the Mongolian Empire. We also visit the famous Erdene Zuu Monastery, which was foundad in 1586 on the initiative of Abtei Sain Khan and is the oldest centre of yellow Buddhism in Mongolia. You have the option to join the Buddhist monks in prayer.
We travel through the hilly steppe country to the Elsen Tasarkhai sand dune. Here, in the middle of central Mongolia, we find another small part of the Gobi Desert. (B,L,D)
Day 16 Drive
Today’s destination is Hustai National Park, in whose surroundings a project for releasing Przewalski’s horses (takhi) into the wild has been running for several years. If we’re lucky we’ll get to see the wild horses. We spend our last evening in the steppe here. (B,L,D)
Day 17 Drive
After breakfast we drive to Ulaanbaatar. You’re free to spend the rest of the day as you please. (B)
Day 18
Return journey, organised individually. (B)