Tour Scope: Western Mongolia Tour Route: UB-Olgii-Sagsai soum, Bayan-Olgii province-UB
Highlights: Altai Eagle Festival. This small eagle festival features about 60 eagle hunters and their eagles. They show off their skills in several events starting with chasing a fox skin and calling their eagle from a distance. Altai Eagle Festival takes place in late September
Tour Season: 12 Sep – 18 Sep Tour Level: Moderate
12-Sep-Wed: Day 1. Ulaanbaatar
13-Sep-Thu: Day 2. Flight to Olgii and drive to Sagsai area
14-Sep-Fri: Day 3. Kazakh Family
15-Sep-Sat: Day 4. Altai Eagle Festival
16-Sep-Sun: Day 5. Altai Eagle Festival
17-Sep-Mon: Day 6. Flight to Ulaanbaatar
18-Sep-Tue: Day 7. Departure
Meals: Inclusive meals are indicated in itinerary (B = breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner) Transport: A bus, mini-bus, 4WD Japanese Minivan or 4WD Japanese Jeep depending on the number of people Staffs: Visit Mongolia Team (Tour guide and driver)
DAY 1 12-SEP-WED, ULAANBAATAR
Upon arrival at Chinggis Khan International Airport in Mongolia, you will meet your Visit Mongolia crew and transfer to a hotel, conveniently located in downtown Ulaanbaatar. After freshening up from your flight, we start our first day around Ulaanbaatar at Gandan Monastery, the largest and most important monastery of Mongolia with 500 monks. From here we will go to the National History Museum which tells the rich history of Mongolia. The heart of Ulaanbaatar, Chinggis Square, is just a short walk away. Here we will see the Parliament House, National Opera and City Hall. Afterwards, we will visit Zaisan Hill, which offers great views of the city. In the evening, you will attend a performance of traditional dancing and khoomii (Mongolian throat singing).
Accommodation: Hotel in Ulaanbaatar
Meals: L, D
JULY 11, ULAANBAATAR AND CEREMONY OF NAADAM FESTIVAL ERDENE-ZUU MONASTERY
Participate in the Naadam Festival ceremony. Experience the great celebrations at the Central Stadium starting with the mounted escort of Chinggis Khan’s nine white horsetail banners from the Parliament House. Enjoy the parades and musical entertainment. See wrestling and archery. Overnight in hotel. (B, L, D)
DAY 3 13-SEP-THU, OLGII CITY/SAGSAI AREA
Transfer to the airport for a flight to Olgii, center of Bayan-Olgii province, the only muslim province in Mongolia. About 90% of its population are kazakhs. The flight takes 3 hours. Our local team will meet you at the Olgii airport. We drive to the Sagsai soum for 40 km, Sagsai area, home of Kazakh nomads.
Accommodation: Eagle hunter’s family
Meals: B, L, D
DAY 4 14-SEP-FRI, KAZAKH FAMILY
We will spend the day travelling throughout the surrounding area visiting nomadic Kazakh families to experience their lifestyle, the Kazakh ger with its spacious yet cozy interior and many colorful handmade rugs.
Accommodation: Eagle hunter’s family
Meals: B, L, D
DAY 5 15-SEP-SAT, ALTAI EAGLE FESTIVAL-1ST DAY
The first day of the festival features the fascinating history and techniques of traditional Kazakh eagle-hunting. We will enjoy the opening ceremony, the parade of all participants, eagle-call competition (tests hunters’ ability to call eagle to their horse from a distance), fox-skin, archery, Tiyn Teru (a race to pick a coin off the ground from horseback), Kyz Kuar (“woman chase,” a man and woman racing with the woman whipping the man), and the highlight, Kokpar (tug-of-war while on horseback).
Accommodation: Eagle hunter’s family
Meals: B, L, D
DAY 6 16-17-SEP-SUN, FLIGHT TO ULAANBAATAR
Approximate distance covered and estimated travel time: 280 km, 5 hours
Travel to Hustai Nature Reserve to see the Przewalski wild horses, reintroduced back into the wild in their native homeland. Visit the local information center for learn about the history of the last pure wild horses and the history of the area. In the evening you have chance to go horse riding. Overnight in a ger camp. (B, L, D)
DAY 7 19-SEP-TUE, DEPARTURE
Transfer to airport for return flight. (B)
Visit Mongolia’s policy is to provide top quality service to our customers at reasonable prices. We will pleased to provide detailed price quotes for those interested in specific tours.
In Ulaanbaatar:
Hotels are available in different ranges of quality and service. The package cost includes all services except accommodations in Ulaanbaatar (UB). We do give “choices” for our clients to pick their appropriate accommodations in Ulaanbaatar. However we encourage group travelers to pick the same property. We will provide hotel rates for Visit Mongolia customers for your selection. Please select hotel and room type and let us know.
In the Countryside:
– Ger Camps
While touring in the countryside, the most common accommodations outside cities on our tours are called ger camps. A ger is the traditional felt tent of nomadic herders. Accommodation in the ger camps is based on two people sharing one ger. Each ger is heated by a wood stove and has two wood-framed beds.
The camp restaurant and western-style toilet/shower facilities are located in the middle of the camp or close by. All camps supply towels. The ger camps provide all bedding and clients will not be expected to bring their own sleeping bags if they stay overnight in the ger camps. Staying in a ger is a memorable experience of Mongolian culture.
– Tented camping
We use tented camps on our adventure journeys to more remote areas. The tents are either 2 or 3 person tents. A sleeping mat will be provided to each person staying in a tent but clients are asked to bring their own sleeping bags. Our expedition staff sets up camps and prepares meals and takes care of all your needs. Tented camps allow you to interact more with the nature and visit the remotest areas of the country.
We use different types of vehicles depending on the nature of tours, destination and final number of travellers.
– For jeep overland adventure tours we use Japanese 4WD vans and SUV’s (Mitsubishi, Toyota, Nissan), which is the best available for its type
– A bus or mini-bus serves group tourists within Ulaanbaatar
– In some remote areas where we have to fly, we arrange local vehicles most of which are Russian 4WD jeeps or minivans. Daily driving distance will be appr. 200-250km.
– For sightseeing in Ulaanbaatar we use deluxe coaches, vans and sedans.
All Visit Mongolia drivers have many years of experience. They know their way around the Mongolian countryside including many places where they are no marked roads. They are all skilled mechanics which is crucial in remote places. Technical inspections on the vehicles are made regularly.
An English speaking Mongolian guide will accompany the entire time of your trip. The most of our guides have a wonderful and outstanding reputation among our clients. They have an in depth knowledge of Mongolian history, nomadic civilization, customs, traditions, and nature memories. After every tour we get feedbacks and emails about our guides.
Meals are included in the cost. Visit Mongolia provides the selection of the best available local restaurants on cities and popular destinations.
When you are in Ulaanbaatar, you can eat out in number of restaurants as serving Indian, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Italian, English, French, German, Russian, Latin American and of course Mongolian cuisines. FYI, basic foodstuffs for Mongolians are beef, mutton and noodles.
When you stay in tourist Ger camps, the most camps provide meals as western cuisine. During excursions to remote areas we provide services of professional chefs who normally accompany the group. Arrangements can be made for vegetarians and those with special dietary needs with advance notice.
Mongolia’s climate is continental and extreme. With more than two hundred days of full sun per year it has been given the nickname of ‘the’ Country of Blue Skies’.
The tourist season in Mongolia is between the months of May and September. The weather during this time varies considerably from region to region. The highest rainfall period is in July and August, however, there are still days of glorious sunshine during this time. The Gobi usually has the hottest temperatures. Summer evenings in the Gobi can be cool because of Mongolia’s high altitude. The best time to visit the Gobi is June and September. The spring is a time of strong winds, especially difficult in the sandy areas of the Gobi.
Most travelers come to Mongolia in mid-July for the annual National Naadam Festival.