Tripology

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Mongolia Lakes and Legends

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Detailed Trip Description

Mongolia is the Montana of Central Asia. Sparsely populated, vast grasslands paint the gently rolling steppes between deserts, high mountains and pristine lakes. This trip savors spectacular and varied environments, culture and ancient history. You won’t ride with the Mongol hordes, but you will visualize the events of historical antiquity and earlier epochs as we visit archaeological sites dating to the times of Chingis Khan and earlier. You will also visit dinosaur fossil sites. Destination highlights include Lake Hovsgol, Gobi Desert, Yol Valley, Flaming Cliffs, and Hustain Nuruu National Reserve. The cultural highlight of the trip may be your visit to the great Naadam Festival in Karakorum, the ancient capital of Mongolia established by Chinghis Khan in 1220 A.D. July is an excellent time of year for warm weather, wildlife viewing and photography. You may observe such wildlife as nesting cranes, eagles and waterfowl as well as indigenous wild horses, camels and argali sheep. Many of the nights you will stay in cozy gers which are traditional domed shelters. On this wide-ranging trip, participants endurance and patience may be tested by difficult roads, transportation, and uncertainties like hot, cold, wet or dry weather, but we have great faith in the local company and guides whom we employ.

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Trip Itinerary

Day 1 - Ulaanbaatar

 
Hotel

Arrive in Ulaan Baatar and transfer to your centrally located hotel.

Ulaanbaatar Hotel picture
Sightseeing

Enjoy an evening tour of Ulaan Baatar city, including the War Memorial at Zaisan if time permits. (D)


Day 2 - Ulaanbaatar

 
Sightseeing

This will be your day to acquire a good background of the cultural, religious and natural history of Mongolia. You will tour Ulaan Baatar including a visit to Gandantegchinlen Monastery, the largest and most significant monastery in Mongolia, and one of Ulaan Baatar’s most interesting sights. Built in the mid 19th century, it is the only monastery where Buddhist services continued during the communist years, and the temples are thronged during religious services.

Ulaanbaatar Sightseeing picture
Sightseeing

Also tour the Megjid Janraisig Temple, the most important part of the monastery. This temple, also known as Avalokiteshvara Temple, was built in 1911-1912 to celebrate the end of Manchu domination in Mongolia and, it is said, to have cured the great and revered Bogd Gegeen Khaan from blindness. The Janraisig statue at 25 meters (87 feet) in height and 20 tons in weight, is inside of the temple.

Museums

Visit the newly renovated Museum of National History, with excellent displays on several millennia of Mongolia’s history beginning with the Stone Age, running through the Turkic and Mongol Empires, the rise of Buddhism, the communist regime and ending with a colorful display of contemporary society. (B,L,D)


Day 3 - Ulaanbaatar

 
Ulaan Baatar/Moron/Hovsgol Lake.
Commercial Flight

After an early breakfast at the hotel, fly into Moron, the center of the Hovsgol province.

Sightseeing

From Moron, you will be driven to the base camp at Lake Hovsgol (approx. 70 miles). With an area of 1,012 sq. miles lying near the Russian border, Hovsgol is Mongolia’s largest freshwater lake. It is more than 800 feet deep, and more than a mile above sea level.

Relaxation

The remainder of the day is at your leisure.

Camping

Overnight at the camp. (B,L,D)


Day 4 - Hovsgol

 
Hovsgol Lake.
Sightseeing

After breakfast at the camp you will have a full day to explore the breathtaking shores of this beautiful lake. There is ample opportunity to discover the local nomadic lifestyle.

Sightseeing

You can plan hiking and photo ventures along the shorelines, which are excellent habitats for wildlife and birds.

Camping

Overnight at the ger base camp. Each ger sleeps 4 to 6 people. (B,L,D)


Day 5 - Hovsgol

 
Hovsgol/Moron/Ulaan Baatar.
Commercial Flight

After breakfast, you will be driven back to Moron to catch your return flight to Ulaan Baatar.

Hotel

Upon your arrival, you will be transferred to your local hotel where you will overnight. (B,L,D)


Day 6 - Mongolia

 
Gobi/Yol Valley.
Commercial Flight

In the morning, you will fly to the Gobi Desert, one of the most famous and exotic areas in the world. The Gobi occupies about one third of Mongolia and consists of sand dunes and dry mountain ranges. As one of the harshest environments on earth with extreme temperature and seasonal changes, the Gobi is surprisingly full of wildlife such as white and black-tail gazelles, wild ass or “hulan” in Mongolian, wild camel or “havtgai”, antelopes, ibex and argali sheep, the biggest wild sheep on the planet! The majority of Mongolia’s population of bactrian camels live in this area and you can take a camel ride if you like.

Airport Transfer

Upon arrival, transfer to the base camp at the Gobi.

National Parks

You may visit the Yol Valley National Park for a morning trek with opportunities to photograph the stunning landscape, “Gobi Glacier”, and intriguing wildlife. Yol (Lammergeyer) Valley is the narrow canyon of river that flows through Zuun Saikhan Mountain (alt. 9,236’). Its gorge has sheer rock walls and during the rainy season, rain falls at the summit of the mountain and flows down into the sheer canyon to form waterfalls. A small museum marks the entrance to the protected zone and provides information on the petrified trees, and flora and fauna of the Gobi.

Camping

Return to base camp for dinner and overnight. (B,L,D).


Day 7 - Mongolia

 
Flaming Cliffs/Moltsog Els/Yol Valley.
Sightseeing

Today you will enjoy a day trip to Bayan Zag, also known as the Flaming Cliffs (80 miles) to explore the Gobi “Cemetery of Dinosaurs” and the trail of Roy Chapman Andrews.

Sightseeing

You will also stop at the Petrified Forest, where you will find the remains of mammals, in particular, the skeleton of a hornless rhinoceros, the largest known mammal in the world.

Camping

After lunch, return to base camp for your overnight.

Sightseeing

En route, stop by the Moltsog Els sand dunes to explore the local area.

Sightseeing

After dinner, visit a camel breeders camp for photo opportunities, camel riding lessons, and learn more about the nomadic lifestyle. (B,L,D)


Day 8 - Ulaanbaatar

 
Gobi/Ulaan Baatar.
Commercial Flight

After breakfast at the base camp, fly back to Ulaan Baatar.

Museums

En route to the hotel, visit the Bogdo Khaan Winter Palace Museum. The Bogdo Khaan Winter Palace is the home of the last Mongolian King, Javzun Damba Khutagt VII. The Museum contains a number of Buddhist artworks and the private collection of Bogdo Khaan, composed of gifts from rulers and kings from all over the world. The artworks displayed here were made by the top Mongolian, Tibetan and Chinese master-sculptors of the 18th and 19th centuries and represent the gods of Buddhist pantheon. If you did not have time on your earlier trip through Ulaan Baatar, visit the newly renovated Museum of National History.

Hotel

Overnight at a centrally located hotel. (B,L,D).


Day 9 - Ulaanbaatar

 
Ulaan Baatar/Hustain Nuruu National Rese.
Museums

In the morning, visit the Natural History Museum in the center of the city. The museum displays exhibits on the geography, geology, botany, fauna, and paleontology of Mongolia. Among the treasures on display are 800 objects from the lower Cambrian Age (500 million years ago) to the Quaternary Age (10,000 to 15,000 years ago), and includes fossils of vertebrates, plants, leaf prints, dinosaurs and mammals. The specimens of dinosaur skeletons and bones vary in size from a few inches to over 100 feet tall, and several are to be found only in Mongolia.

Adventure

You will then be driven to the Hustain Nuruu National Reserve (62 miles), for a look at the Przwalski Wild Horses, recently re-introduced back into Mongolia. The 222,300 acre reserve was established in 1993 and the Takhi (the Mongolian name of wild horses) were brought to Mongolia from zoo parks from Holland. Tour the visitor’s center to learn about conservation projects and current developments.

Camping

Overnight in a ger at base camp. (B,L,D)


Day 10 - Mongolia

 
Bayangobi.
Sightseeing

After an early breakfast, drive to Bayangobi, a unique combination of steppe, forested mountains and desert-type landscape in one combination. The ger base camp is located along the sand dunes and it is the starting point for travel to the beautiful Hogno Khaan Mountains.

Relaxation

You will have time at your leisure for local exploration.

Horseback Riding

You also visit a horse-breeder’s camp to explore the lifestyle of nomads, see the making of airag (the Mongolian national drink of fermented mare’s milk) along with an opportunity to go horseback riding on Mongolian wooden saddles.

Camping

Overnight in gers at the base camp. (B,L,D)


Day 11 - Mongolia

 
Naadam Festival in Bayangobi.
Sightseeing

Spend the day attending the Naadam Festival.

Sporting Events

Enjoy the Opening Ceremony, competitions of the three manly sports: wrestling, horse riding and the archery.

Performing Arts

Enjoy Naadam Gala Concert and Gala dinner.

Camping

Overnight in the gers at the base camp. (B,L,D)


Day 12 - Mongolia

 
Bayangobi/Karakorum.
Private Car Service

After breakfast at the base camp, transfer to Karakorum (approx. 80 miles).

Sightseeing

Situated on the banks of River Orkhon, the site of the imperial capital, Karakorum, was chosen by Chinghis Khan in 1220. The city, capital of the largest land empire the world has ever known, served as a supply point for the Mongol armies and was a cosmopolitan and multi-cultural place in its time. Today almost nothing remains of the once-great city, but the sense of its grandeur and importance can still be felt by the visitor. Karakorum was located on trade routes and was surrounded by walls with four gates, each with its own market. The nearby Erdene Zuu Monastery was the first Buddhist monastery built in Mongolia, constructed using stones and bricks from the ruins of the ancient city in 1586. During the communist purges of the 1930s, many of the temples in the monastery complex were destroyed, but the remaining temples and stupas are some of the best examples of Mongolian Buddhist architecture. Erdene Zuu is now both a museum and a functioning monastery. Tour symbolic ruins of Karakorum. Visit Erdene Zuu Monastery and Shanh Hiid, the local active Buddhist temple. The Shanh Hiid, along with the Erdene Zuu, is the only other monastery in the region to have survived the 1937 purge.

Camping

Overnight in ger at the Karakorum base camp. (B,L,D)


Day 13 - Ulaanbaatar

 
Karakorum/Ulaan Baatar.
Private Car Service

Drive back to Ulaan Baatar arriving late in the late afternoon.

Food and Dining

There will be a farewell dinner at the hotel.

Hotel

Overnight at Edelweiss Hotel. (B,L,D)


Day 14 - Ulaanbaatar

 
Ulaan Baatar/Departure.
Airport Transfer

In the morning, transfer to the airport for your departure flight. (B)


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