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Naadam festival
  • Itinerary
  • Tour detail
  • Includes
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Trip highlights

Diverse landscapes, including steppe, forest, sand, lake

  • Meet nomad families, experience their daily lifestyles
  • Opening ceremony of Naadam festival, three manly games: wrestling, horse racing and archery
  • Natural beauty of Khangai Mountain Range, Khuvsgul lake – the deepest lake in Central Asia, ancient capital Kharkhorin (Karakorum) city, historical Orkhon valley,  and the heart-felt hospitality of nomad people.

The particularity of this trip is firstly, it takes place in the ideal travel season when the weather is most favorable for traveling and other adventurous activities and secondly, the trip provides an opportunity to see Naadam Festival, one of biggest national celebrations organized on July 11-13. This festival is locally named as EriinGurvanNaadam or Three Manly Games. It is believed that Naadam celebrations started with the rise of Great Mongolian Empire as Genghis Khan’s strategy to keep his warriors strictly fit. Besides this, as stated in historical sources, nomads of the steppe used the three manly games as a means to select their future son-in-law and furthermore, to test their intelligence, patience and stamina. This will be the perfect trip for you to enjoy the festivities of the nomad people and experience the true natural beauty of the country at the same time.

Trip itinerary

Day 1: Arrive in Ulaanbaatar. Opening ceremony.

Day 2-3:Horse racing and archery

Day 4: Amarbayasgalant

Day 5,6; Khuvsgul province

Day 7: Khuvsgullake

Day 8: Relaxing day

Day 9: Arkhangai province via Murun

Day 10: White lake

Day 11: Tsenkher hot spring via Tsetserleg

Day 12: Orkhon waterfall via Tuvkhun monastery

Day 13: Erdenezuu monastery

Day 14: Arrive in Ulaanbaatar.

Day 15: Departure

Activity : Travel approximately 200 km on dirt road and 350 km on paved road by 4×4 vehicle. Hiking is possible to arrange. Other activities include trekking, sightseeing and cultural visits.

 
Date & Price

Duration: 15 days and 14 nights

Accommodation: 4 nights in a hotel, 3 nights in ger camp, 7 nights in a tent

Transport: 4*4 Russian van

 

 
Google map

Tour detail:

Day 1: Arrive in UB. Transfer to a hotel. You will watch the opening ceremony of Naadam festival in the central stadium. The ceremony will be followed by traditional wrestling contest in the morning and later in the evening continue with folk singing and dancing performance.

You will stay the night in a hotel**

Day 2-3: Continue enjoying festival days. See the horse race in Huidoloonhudag, the grassland where horse racing takes place. Smaller Naadam festivals take place on July 11, 12 in all provinces of Mongolia. Overnight in a hotel.

You will stay the night in a hotel** (B+L+D)

Day 4: Set off for Amarbayasgalant monastery located in Selenge province- the Northwestern part of the country. The monastery was one of the biggest religious centers which was built for the first Bogd King – UndurGeghenZanabazar – the enlightened genius of Mongolia.

Overnight in tent. (B+L+D)

Days  5 and 6: Travel to Murun across Bulgan province and enjoy Jalavch and Urantogoo- the dormant volcanoes. Visit a local nomad family.

Overnight in a  tent under the stars of open steppe. (B+L+D)

Day 7 : Drive to legendary Khuvsgul lake. Visit a local nomad family. Horseback riding can be arranged at a request. Horse trekking or hiking can be arranged for the rest of the day.

 Overnight in a ger. (B+L+D)

Day 8: Enjoy free time, doing favorite activities, such as enjoying the picturesque scenery of the majestic mountains and the taiga surrounding Khuvsgullake, hiking along the shore of the lake and meeting the local nomads.

Overnight in a ger. (B+L+D)

Day 9: Drive back to Murun town and continue to Arkhangai province.

Overnight in tent.(B+L+D).

Days 10: Drive to Arkhangai province across Shine-Idersoum and reach “TerkhiinTsagaanNuur” lake.

Overnight in tent.(B+L+D).

Day 11: Drive to Tsenkher via Tsetserleg. See the Khorgo volcano crater. Overnight in Tsenkher hot spring.

Overnight in ger. (B+L+D)

Day 12:We will drive to  “Tuvkhun” monastery and Orkhon waterfall.

Overnight in tent.(B+L+D).

Day 13: Drive to Kharkhorin.VisitErdenezuu monastery.

Overnight in tent.(B+L+D).

Day 14: In the morning  return to UB. We will enjoy shopping and more sightseeing.

Overnight in a hotel.** (B+L)

Day 15:Departure

Service included:

  • Local guides.
  • Entrance fees/ Naadam special ticket
  • Private transfers and transports
  • Twin/double share accommodation: hotel**
    Ger camps 2nights**
  • Meals as listed
  • Invitation letter
  • Travel equipment
  • Accommodation:

We accommodate our customers in 2-5 star hotels with favorable locations in the heart of Ulaanbaatar. Click here to see information of hotel.

  • Tourist Ger Camps: The camp is made up of several Gers, furnished with 2-3 beds, a stove and other traditional furniture, and has all modern facilities, including washing blocks with western style toilets and shower rooms, laundry places, restaurant and shopping facilities. As there is no heating system in the Gers, the stoves are used for heating.Click here to see information of hotel
  • Tents: We use tents of Ferrino brand that are easy to put up and take down and most importantly, perfectly suit Mongolia’s extreme weather condition.

Click here to see information of hotel

  • Meals: A group made up of more than three people will be provided with a professional chef who will be serving a wide variety of Asian, European and Mongolian dishes throughout the trip. You will be served breakfast, lunch accompanied with salad and snack, and hot meal for dinner carefully prepared to suitable the weather and condition in the trip field.

Click here to see picture of some meals

  • Transportation: We choose the transportation from 4×4 Russian vehicles, 4×4 Japanese or Korean vehicles and modern buses. The most suitable transportation for countryside travels is, in most cases, Russian vans. Baggage is sometimes carried on horse, camel and yak carts in relevance to the trip type.

Click here to see picture of cars

Service not included:

  • International Airfare/train tickets + Tax
  • Excess luggage charges
  • Travel insurance
  • Visa fees
  • Items of a personal nature such as laundry, drinks, camera or video fees at any sites etc.
  • Tips for your guide and driver (discretionary).
  • Meals in Ulaanbaatar

Click here to see our terms and conditions