Western Explorer

Drive to the home of Tumee and Jargaa – a herding family and strong part of the local community who move up to six times a year around the Orkhon River.

The Orkhon River Valley is one of Mongolia’s four UNESCO World Heritage Sites and the region is considered the cradle of Mongolian civilisation and an area rich in nomadic life as the Orkhon River provides an essential lifeline for nomads and their livestock.

On the second day, there is nothing pre-planned as everyone is different in what they like to do and leaving the plan flexible leads to a more respectful and more naturally Mongolian experience. But there’s plenty of flexibility and options. Ideas include visiting Kharkhorin, exploring the area on a horse trek, experiencing the way of life of the family or a mix.

Kharkhorin is the ancient capital of Ogodei Khan and the Mongol Empire in the 13th Century. Visit Erdene Zuu, the Kharkhorin Museum with its exhibits based on the history surrounding the Orkhon River Valley and the Turkish and Mongol Empire.

Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Continue on to Suman Gol where you will stay with Dondov, another member of the Cooperative Ar Arvijin Delgerekh. He is also a small market gardener and a local historian.

Don’t try to find this location in a guidebook – you won’t. But, although basic, the location of Dondov’s small camp comes as a good surprise – next to the river and part of the Tariat volcanic field. There are petroglyphs to explore as well as the lava terraces. For those interested, only 1% of Mongolia’s landmass is dedicated to crops and here you can learn from Dondov more about the challenges of growing vegetables in the harsh terrain of Mongolia.

Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Drive to Terkhiin Tsagaan Nuur and explore the volcano that created this beautiful area with an alpine lake at its core. Then continue your journey around the north side of the lake to our campsite. This is the region where we conduct our annual two-day community clean-up.

Our campsite is perfectly located for exploring this diverse lake area – especially the ridge tops with their outstanding views over the surrounding mountains and the lake shore. A natural highlight of Mongolia, White Lake National Park encompasses an area of wild nature – volcanic craters, rugged mountains, river valleys and rolling steppe.

Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Head west into the vast plains of Zavkhan Province – the valleys around this region are magnificent – tranquil and serene. Telmen Nuur is a shallow salt lake with peninsulas, salt marshes and sand dunes. It is one of Mongolia’s 70 Important Bird Areas and has three small islands where water birds such as Ruddy Shelduck can gather in vast numbers. One reason why we love this lake is that it feels a little bit like the lake and its atmosphere resembles the sea.

Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Continue to the glorious Khar Nuur. Zavkhan Aimag occupies a transitional zone between the Khangai Mountains and the Great Lakes Depression. Khar Nuur is a combination of both these zones – an alpine lake surrounded by the Bor Khyarin sand dunes. The contrasting landscapes are completely unexpected and wonderful to explore and you have complete freedom to do so.

Then travel through the centre of Zavkhan Province and a series of sand dunes centring around the community of Erdenekhairkhan where you will spend time exploring the landscapes including the spectacular Mukhartiin Gol – although this brief description does not do this remarkable region justice.

These drives are rough in places, but it really is about the journey as well as the destination.

Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Uvs Aimag is one of the ‘hardest’ aimags in Mongolia – from its climate to its terrain. Khyargas Nuur forms part of a national park in Uvs Aimag and your journey today will take you along the north side of this mighty windswept salt lake surrounded by desert terrain. It’s a big driving day – see it as the ultimate road trip – but a certain percentage of the route is on good asphalt road.

Khyargas is part of the massive Great Lakes Depression. The region does not look ‘pretty’ – it is a semi-arid region. But it is one of the most important wetland regions of Central Asia with the wetlands based on a system of interconnected shallow lakes with wide reed belts within a generally desert steppe.

Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Continue through Uvs Aimag to this beautiful off-the-beaten-track lake – circled by Mongolian herding families. A perfect location for a little time out.

Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Stop in Ulgii to have a hot shower at the local town shower house, then transfer through the Altai landscapes to Sagsai – a district of Bayan Ulgii Province.

You’ll be hosted by the Kazakh eagle hunter Bashakhan. Together with his family, they move twice a year. In the summer months, their summer pasture is located within the region of the snow-capped Tsengel Khairkhan Mountain.

The landscapes of Tsengel Khairhan form the backdrop for the next three days. This mountain has an elevation of 3,943m and is one of highest glacier mountains in the Mongol-Altai mountain range. This is the Altai that few others get to see and you’ll experience it through the eyes of Bashakhan, but most importantly his wife and daughter in law. We leave the days flexible – you could take a horse trek or an extended foot trek (wild camping each night) or spend the days relaxing enjoying the rural way of life.

Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Drive out across expansive rocky plains to the small windswept town of Tsengel. From here continue along through the river valley as to the rugged peaks of the Altai and the spectacular alpine lakes of Khoton and Khurgan Nuur.

Altai Tavan Bogd National Park can be divided into two regions, the Tavan Bogd Mountains in the northwest and the Lakes Region to the southeast. The lakes are fed by glacial melt and annual snow fall and form the head waters of the Khovd River.

Then explore this mountain forest steppe region – including the valleys that the local herders use for their summer and winter pastures on the Chinese border. You can take a day hike to Baga Turgen Waterfall.

Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Travel back to Ulgii where you will be hosted by your Kazakh translator, Jako, and her family.

Ulgii is a predominantly Kazakh city where a Muslim influence is widespread, from street signs to clothes and food, and gives the town its diverse atmosphere. As well as spending time at the family home do as the locals do and visit the market where you can purchase some locally made wool and embroidery crafts and take in the view from Ulgii’s viewpoint – always popular with local families. Also, consider the surprisingly interesting local museum.

Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Fly back to Ulaanbaatar. On arrival into UB, we’ll transfer you to your accommodation and the rest of the day will be yours to create your own experience. Remember you could use our UB guide to help you to explore the urban side of Mongolian life in downtown Ulaanbaatar. Alternatively, one of our trip assistants could be made available.

Included meals: Breakfast