Day 1

Morning flight to Ulgii – visit Kazakh families

Early in the morning we will drive to the airport for the flight to Ulgii. This is the centre of Bayan Ulgii province, and the only Muslim province in Mongolia. The flight takes 4 hours, including a stopover for fuel - your guide will accompany you on the flight. On arrival, you will be met by our local staff and vehicles, and driven to a nomadic settlement of Kazakh families. Their gers are slightly larger than Mongolian gers, and are decorated with brightly coloured rugs. Their traditional dress is also slightly different to the Mongols as the men tend to wear large, black dels and small, bright hats. We will set up camp close to them.

Note: For August departures we will drive 80km directly to Lake Achit and camp on its shore.

Day 2

Visit Kazakh eagle hunting family –Lake Achit & Lake Uureg, Uvs Province – 105km

In the morning we will visit a Kazakh eagle hunting family. The eagles are kept near the Kazakh gers in the summer and then taken out to catch small animals in November and December, when the first snow covers the ground. The eagles are trained from a young age or caught when they are older having already developed the hunting instinct. At the age of 15 they are released back into the wild. We will look at the birds outside the gers and watch the Kazakh men with them. After lunch at the camp we will drive into Uvs Province. The road will take us along Lake Achit and on to Lake Uureg. We will camp by the lake.

Note: For June departures there are no eagle hunting families available.

Day 3

Altai Mountains – 125km

Today we will drive into the Altai Mountain range and camp in the valley of Mount Turgen. This is one of the highest peaks of the Altai Mountains and has snow and a glacier all year round. The vehicles cannot drive any further up the valley, so we will drive to the southern foothills of Turgen Mountain and set up camp there. Towards evening our horsemen will come to the camp with horses.

Day 4-5

2 days horse riding - Kharkhiraa River

Two full days of horse riding down the mountain valley towards Tarialan Soum along Kharkhiraa River. Each day we will ride 20-25km, our support vehicles will follow us and serve meals on the way. The scenery is full of grazing herds of livestock. We will arrive here around the time when those families move back to their seasonal settlement, and will be able to see how nomadic people move their gers using camels. Our final destination is the gorge of Kharkhiraa River.

Day 6

Gobi desert – 120km drive

Today we leave the peaks and horses behind and drive into the Gobi desert. Our way will lead us to Khyargas Lake where you can swim and sunbathe, just like on the seashore. We will camp near Khar Termes (Snake Spa).

Day 7

Gobi – Lake Bayan 

Today we drive to Lake Bayan situated amidst the Mongol Els sand dunes. Here the flora and fauna are typical of deserts: vast open spaces; sand dunes; and bush plants, with camels grazing. We will reach Lake Bayan and camp on its shore. Here we meet our camel wranglers and camels.

Day 8

Camel ride across sand dunes – Zavkhanmandal Soum

Today we will ride camels across the sand dunes towards the south until we see Zavkhanmandal Soum. Those who don't wish to ride camels can stay in the vehicles and drive around the dunes, meeting the riding party on the other side of the dunes. We will have dinner and camp.

Day 9

Camel ride – drive to Uliastai – 160km

This morning we will ride camels for 2 more hours in a south-easterly direction. After lunch we will drive to the south-east to Uliastai, the center of Zavkhan Province.

Day 10

Flight from Uliastai to Ulaanbaatar - dinner

We will drive into the town of Uliastai and catch a noon flight to Ulaanbaatar. On arrival you will be transferred to Ulaanbaatar.

Departure codes and dates:
NSA-002, 3-16 June, 2013
NSA-004, 17-30 June, 2013
NSA-009, 19 Aug - 1 Sep, 2013

Price per person for a group more than 9 people:
USD3.324

Single supplement: USD330

Prices include the following:

2 domestic flights, transportation within Mongolia, twin accommodation in a 3 star hotel. Single accommodation can be arranged at an additional cost. Tented accommodation while on trek, three meals a day, English-speaking guide, all sightseeing costs, transfers, camel or horse hire where specified, support staff including drivers, horse /camel men and camp assistants.

Prices do not include:

International transportation, travel insurance, visas, departure tax, alcoholic drinks, gratuities, items of a personal nature.It is the responsibility of the client to be fully covered with travel and medical insurance while traveling in Mongolia.

Please note:

Upon request, single supplement in the countryside can be provided at the additional cost. In case single accommodation in ger camps was not provided the amount would be calculated based on the missing nights and reimbursed. Nomads cannot be held responsible for over bookings, as long as the company can prove with sufficient documentation that overbooking has been the error of the third party.Should circumstances beyond our control, such as the imposition of quarantine restrictions, any changes of domestic flight or train schedules, require a change of itinerary, we will inform your agent and propose an equivalent itinerary. Again, Nomads cannot take over the responsibility for the Airlines or the National Train Company. The traveler is responsible for having proper travel documents, such as a valid passport, proper visa and the necessary passport pictures.