Day – 1 : Arrive in Ulan Bator city
Arrival at Ulan Bator and transfer to your hotel for a warm shower and a moment to relax after this long flight (no lunch included).
Afternoon, visit of Gandantegchinlin Monastery. Built in 1809, the Gandantegchinlin Monastery – formerly known as the Gandan Monastery – is a Tibetan-style Buddhist monastery located in Ulan Bator. Its name of Tibetan origin can be translated as “Great site full of Joy”.Several hundred monks currently reside there.
It contains a statue of Megjid-Janraiseg (Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara – called Chenrezig in Tibetan) by 25 meters high.
The original statue, made of copper, was erected in 1911 and was dismantled in 1937 by Soviet troops (the remains of the statue were subsequently used to make bullets during the siege of Leningrad). Following the fall of communist regimes, it was rebuilt in 1996 with donations of gold from Nepal and Japan
.
Adorned with gold and nearly 2,286 precious stones, the statue weighs over 20 tons and is covered with nearly 100 kg of silk clothing.
Visit of the National Museum of Mongolian History. The National Museum of Mongolian History tells the story of the country, from prehistoric times to today. In this museum there is also an ethnographic section with costumes and jewels from various ethnic groups of countries: Kazakhstan, Buriats, Clzemchins…
Dinner and overnight at the hotel.
Day – 2 Ulan-Bator to Canyon of the Yoliin Am (560km)
(from UB to Yoliin Am 560km of paved road, approximately 7 hours of drive)
After breakfast; we will start our journey to the Yoliin Am in the east of the Govi Gurvan Saikhan area in Umnugovi province. There is a gorge in the Gobi and is characterized by iced up to July. It is home of rare animals. When you arrive in the morning, you may see Argali, ibex, and leopard.
Lunch on roadside restaurant
Planned activities: visit Yoliin am’s canyon.
At the end of the day, we will participate in the preparation of our dinner: Mongolian ravioli or –buuz. Everyone can participate, a real moment of cultural sharing!
Dinner and overnight at nomad family
Day – 3 Canyon of the Yoliin Am to Bulgan Soum (100km) “Festival of 1000 Camels”
After breakfast; we take the road to come to the place where the “Festival of 1000 Camels” will take place.
On the territory of Soum Bulgan there is a fabulous place called Bayanzag. Bayanzag is a very special place for natural history, archaeology and world science. People have discovered and are still discovering important remains, fossil remains and finds that are very well preserved for millions of years. The importance of Bayanzag is limitless in many sectors, for this it is named considered one of the 7 Mongolian wonders. Remains of around 40,000 years and over, stone and bronze age equipment are still found by visitors. The team of American adventurer Roy Chapman Andrews found the world’s first dinosaur egg in Bayanzag. The 2 main dinosaurs in the American Natural History Museum came from Bayanzag. The rarest birds of Mongolia live in this area. Such as Henderson’s jay, great bustard and desert warbler (white throat), etc.
Planned activities of Festival:
09:00-13:00 Pre championship of Camel Polo (competitions between local teams should be finished day before)
13:00-14:00 Lunch
14:00 Opening ceremony of the Camel Festival. Camels Parade. Tourists can attend the parade. Contest of the best couple on camelback
15:00 Start of the Mongolian Traditional Game– ice shooting competition
17:00 Championship of Camel Polo
“Camel – My friend” Painting Exhibition organized by “Altai Snow cock” nature protecting club of Bulgan soum’s high school students and their activities
Explore the exhibition of local handcrafts, camel milk, healing effects of camel dairy products
18:00 Enjoy the cultural concert of the “Altai Snow cock” nature protecting club
Dinner and overnight at nomad family
Day – 4 “Festival of 1000 Camels”
After breakfast; we come back to the Festival.
09:00 – Start of Camel Race. Making bets on chosen camels. Organizing the bets “Bulgan Bulagyn Trainer’s Association”
10:30 Enjoy Camel Racing
12:00 2 year-old young camels’ race with the bets
13:00- 14:00 Lunch break
14:00 “Camel Relay” competition testing camel herders’ agility
17:00 Awarding and closing ceremonies
In the evening, our hosts will prepare a traditional specialty, the Khorkhog, the “Mongol Barbecue“.
Khorkhog is a traditional nomadic specialty of the Mongolian steppe. You will almost never find it in a restaurant.
To prepare the Khorkhog, the nomads cut the sheep or goat into pieces, keeping the bones. Fifteen stones the size of a fist are heated in the fire.
When they are hot enough, they are layered with the meat in a metal container, which is often a can of milk. Other ingredients are added on stones and meat, potatoes, carrots, cabbage, seasoning …
Sufficient water is added so that all the ingredients are cooked by both the steam and the heat of the stones. The container is closed and placed on the fire for an hour to an hour and a half.
When the container is opened, the Khorkhog is ready to eat.
The family removes the meat and vegetables, as well as the stones that have become black, both because of the fire and the fat they have absorbed.
These stones are still hot and the guests keep them in their hands because the Mongols consider them to be beneficial for health.
We usually eat the Khorkhog with the fingers, using a knife to cut the meat.
Dinner and overnight at nomad family
Day – 5 Soum Bulgan – Khavtsgait Rock Petro glyphs- Middle Gobi
After breakfast; we are heading towards the Gobi Gurvan Saikhan mountains where 28 km from Soum Bulgan.
Planned activities: visit the “Khavtsgait Petroglyph”, the remnant of the ancient people, which locate in Baruun Saikhan Mountain, the one of the Gobi Gurvan Saikhan Mountains.
Lunch in Dalanzadgad
In the late afternoon we arrive at the capital of Middle-Gobi and installation in a 2 * hotel.
Dinner in a traditional restaurant.
Day – 6 Middle-Gobi to Ulan-Bator
Breakfast and drive to Ulan Bator.
Lunch on roadside.
Afternoon is dedicated to shopping in stores downtown, or at the Narantuul “black market” where you will find traditional clothing and objects of daily life.
Visit a cashmere factory.
Dinner downtown and overnight at a 3* hotel (local standard) in the center of Ulan Bator.
Day – 7: Return Home
Breakfast (depending on your flight schedule) and transfer to airport for your flight back home.
