Central Mongolia

Day 1. ULAANBAATAR

You are welcomed in the arrival hall of Chinggis Khaan International airport. We transfer you to a good quality hotel in a good location in the center and check into your room. Spend your first day in Mongolia. We head to the National Museum of Mongolia with its informative displays showing the county’s fascinating past and traditions. In the evening welcoming lunch and orientation for ongoing tour.

Day 2. TERELJ NATIONAL PARK

Early morning, we will immediately go to Terelj National Park. Once we arrive at the park, we visit two famous sights, Turtle Rock and Aryabal meditation temple. Turtle rock is a natural rock that looks exactly like a tortoise standing in a green valley. Another highlight in the park is Aryabal meditation temple that was built in 1810-s by Mongolian and Tibetan artists.

Day 3. GREAT STATUE OF CHINGGIS KHAAN

After breakfast we head to the Mongolian Nomadic camp. On the way to the camp, we stop at the huge Chinggis Khaan Statue, that you can climb on. After we arrive at the Chinggis khan palace complex to have lunch and visit the largest get dwelling complex in the world. Drive to reach Mongolian Nomadic camp for a good rest.

Day 4. MONGOL NOMADIC SHOW – HUSTAI NATIONAL PARK

In the morning we witness the nomadic culture and its unique lifestyle. In this life show, there will be demonstrations like the nomadic yak movement, felt making and diary product processing.

After lunch, drive to Khustai National Park where you can observe the Przewalski horse, the only wild horse in the word. Hustai NP is one of the most popular areas with rolling steppes home to over 350 horses.

Day 5. ELSEN TASARHAI

Drive more westward to reach Elsen Tasarhai. On the way, you can take photos of wonderful spots, grazing camels and the nomadic lifestyle. Today, we are going to visit a nomad family and have lunch together. This is the perfect chance to see the everyday life of herders, pastoral culture and how they interact with nature. Learn more about their methods of making dairy products. At the sand dunes, we can ride the two humped Bactrian camel.

Day 6. KHARKHORIN- ERDENE ZUU monastery

Visit to Erdene Zuu khiid, the first Buddhist monastery in Mongolia, built on the ruines of the capital of the ancient world empire Kharkhorin. After being destroyed during wars and the communist purges it has been frequently rebuilt. The current three temples are surrounded by 108 white stupas, a holy number in Buddhism. Overnight stay in a ger camp. 

Day 7. CHULUUT canyon – TSAGAAN NUUR NP

Direction west via Tsetserleg town and drive over the 20 meter deep Chuluut Canyon to Tsagaan Nuur where we can swim in the White Lake.At the end of the day we stop at Khorgo volcano and climb on  200 meter high extinct volcano east of Tsagaan Nuur lake. A short 15 minutes walk, brings us a spectacular view on the crater and the surrounding lava fields in Terkhiin Tsagaan Nuur National Park. After noon walking along lake and bird watching.climb up to its rim with beautiful surrounding view. 

Day 8. KHORGO VOLCANO – JARGAL JIGUUR HOT SPA 

After breakfast we head to the North, in the direction of Hovsgol province, the most northern situated green part of the country. We drive over a beautiful mountain pass on the border of the two provinces. At the end of the day we reach Jargal Jiguur hot spa and have a relaxing evening in a natural hot spa.

Day 9. JARGAL JIGUUR HOT SPA – ViaVia HARGANAT LODGE

Drive further to the North, along a long mountain valley where nomads have a summer place as we arrive at the Delger murun river bassin and Murun town, the provincial center of Hovsgol.

Lunch in a restaurant and a short tour to the town square to visit Chingunjav’s statue who fought alone against the Manchu- Chin dynasty in the 17th century when Mongolia and China both were under their control.

Drive half an hour up the river to ViaVia harganat Lodge.

Day 10. HARGANAT LODGE

Wake up to the sound of hundreds of horses galloping!

Join us for breakfast at the raised terrace with panoramic view. See thousands of animals grazing in the cooling riverbed. Choose from a multiplicity of activities. Relax in the Wellness Dome with sauna and swimming pool. Have an initiation lesson in Mongolian horse riding, bow shooting or fly- fishing. Bike on earth roads scented with steppe herbs. Walk passed Bronze Age graves to the Holy Mountains with its curvy granite rock formations and rich wildlife. Discover the meandering river valley and wade through a bed of edelweiss flowers. Learn about the traditional lifestyle of the neighboring nomads.

We visit the famous Uushigiin Uver Deer Stones site at 10 km from Harganat River Lodge, 14 upstanding granite stones and graves from Bronze and Iron Age. The deerstones are named after the sculpted reindeer rising up towards the sky, bringing the deceased to heaven. After thousands of years of erosion from the weather elements, the ochre colors still shine bright. The first of the megaliths has a fine sculpted face. 

After an intense sunset and a warming drink a comfortable night’s rest in a modern Mongolian ger under a sky full of stars. 

Day 10. Munkh Khaan- Chingunjav memorial- Hovsgol Lake 

After breakfast we search the ruines of the Munkh Khaan palace situated between high steppe grasses at the shore of the Delger Murun river. The grandson of Chinggis Khan ruled in the hay day of the Mongolian Empire. The ground is shattered with terracotta fragments from the 13^thcentury. In this area some nomads herd camels, next to the many horses we will see on the way. 

We drive further north towards the memorial shrine of Chingunjav. This Mongolian freedom fighter fought against the Chinese occupation of his motherland. With a wide view over the lower steppes in this special place, one feels the strength of the confidence of a people, represented in one man who went till the end and suffered dearly to defend his dream of an independent nation.

Arrival at Hovsgol Lake National Park and stay in Ashihai Resort. Called ‘Dalai Eej’ or ocean mother by the Mongols, it is one of the oldest lakes in the world, more then 2 million years old and the most important water reserve of Mongolia. Together with the Baikal lake in Russia, joined by the Selenge river, they form the biggest sweet water lakes of Asia. The extreme cold and darkness complicate exact measurements but Hovsgol Nuur would be approximately 270 meter deep. In high summer after an exhausting hike a dip in the crystal clear water can feel very refreshing. At her west side surrounded by the high Khoridol Saridag and Bayan mountains the lake area is very picturesque. We stay in Ashihai Resort, one of the most beautiful situated lodges at Hovsgol Nuur.

Day 11. ASHIHAI- HATGAL- HARGANAT LODGE

During our morning walk through the green wood colored bountiful with alpine flowers, we continue to see the blue pearl of the North. At her shore we enjoy our lunchbox before we embark on a boat trip towards Hatgal village at the southern tip. Going south many ger camps become visible with busy car traffic around Naadam, the summer festival of the Mongolians after the 11^th July when they have their national holiday break by the lake. From Hatgal a two hours drive towards ViaVia harganat Lodge.

Day 12. NAADAM @ HARGANAT

From the high terrace on the sandbank we watch a spectacular horse show in the valley with hundreds of horses running down the bank, some ridden by nomads or caught by lasso. 

Day 13. HARGANAT- ULAANBATOR

Flight from Murun to Ulaanbaatar. After dinner hit the town for an optional performance of Mongolian dancers and extraordinary contorsionist acrobats, while enjoying the musical art of throat- and long song singing with morin khuur, the horse head violin.

The capital Ulaanbaatar offers a wide range of shopping possibilities in the search for the ideal souvenir as a memory to a wonderful trip to the land of the eternal blue sky. 

The low winter temperatures respectively give a high wool quality of animals like camel, yak, sheep and goat. The Mongolian cashmere is thus seen as the best in the world. The ger or nomad tent, the ancient round dwelling of the Central Asian nomads, exists out of a lattice with warm felt layers of sheep wool covering it. Today a variety of felt items are produced for the tourism industry. Carved objects in wood, stone, bone or leather also make a special gift.

Day 14. ULAANBATOR International flight