Winter in Mongolia

Day 1 - Arrival

Riding: No riding.

You will be met at Ulaanbaatar airport and transferred to your 3-star hotel in the city. After lunch you will walk through the Yurt District to visit the Gandantegchinlin Monastery and the Naran Tuul market where you can buy some last minute supplies - fur hats are very popular here!

Dinner is not included this evening so that you can choose from the many dining opportunities available in the city.

Day 2 - Ulaanbaatar - Hustai National Park

Riding: No riding.

After breakfast, you will be driven to Hustai National Park, where the wild Przewalski horses live - keep your fingers crossed! After lunch at Hustai yurt camp, you head out in the truck to look for them as well as the rich wildlife within the park.

Overnight at the Hustai yurt camp, which is quite modern and even in the heart of winter, you can normally have a hot shower - make the most of it! Dinner and overnight in the ger camp where 2 to 4 people share a ger/yurt.

Day 3 - Hustai - Karakorum

Riding: No riding.

After breakfast you will be transferred by road to Karakorum (Kharkhorin), arriving in time for lunch. There will be time to visit the Erdene Zuu Monastery before transferring to your accommodation. Tonight you will either sleep in a yurt camp or with a nomadic family or in a guesthouse in Kharkhorin, depending on availability (most ger camps close in winter) - this will be confirmed to you before your departure.

Day 4 - Karakorum - Orkhon Valley

Riding: 2 - 3 hours

After breakfast you are transferred by road to the Orkhon Valley - your journey is slow as you are on basic tracks through a wintery landscape. In winter the nomads move their yurts to winter sites which are protected from the winds - these are usually in the hollow of a valley or near a forest. An enclosure is erected to gather the herd together and enable them to keep warm.

You will be staying with a nomadic family and so the duration of your transfer will depend on their location, but you should arrive in time for lunch. There will be your first ride in the Orkhon Valley this afternoon before returning to the yurts for dinner and to overnight. The guest yurts are installed alongside the families and sleep up to five people.

Days 5 to 6 - Orkhon Valley

Riding: 2 - 5 hours

During these two days you will discover the wonderful Orkhon Valley on horseback. Every day you ride to a different part of the valley, viewing the famous Orkhon Falls which are frozen in the cold, or perhaps a pass from where you will get a fantastic view over the whole valley. The precise itinerary depends on the weather as the climate can be very challenging in winter and your safety is the number one priority. If it is very cold then you may explore further afield by vehicle rather than on horseback.

As it is impossible to stop for a picnic lunch during the day, due to the cold temperatures, you do not stop during the day but return to the yurt camp for a late lunch.

These days are also a wonderful opportunity to discover the traditional way of life of Mongolian nomads and how the whole family cope with the extreme weather - how they protect their children, yaks, horses and sheep herds. This nomadic family will take great care of you and a fire will be kept burning in the stove even at night.

Day 7 - Orkhon Valley - Khogno Khan / Bayan Gobi Park

Riding: 1 - 3 hours

After breakfast you will have your final morning in the beautiful landscape of the Orkhon Valley. After lunch with your hosts and a sad farewell you are transferred to Khogno Khan / Bayan Gobi Park.

Tonight you will have dinner and overnight in a guest yurt alongside your host family.

Day 8 - Ride in the Khogno Khan / Bayan Gobi

Riding: 2 hours

After breakfast enjoy a short ride along the spectacular cliffs (2 hours). The contrast between the cliffs and the frozen marshland that borders them is spectacular! Difficult to imagine that in summertime, this area is a Garden of Eden where nomads often gather their herds in this vast wet plain.

This horse ride can be turned into a camel ride depending on the way the horses managed to cope with winter weather.

Visit of the Ovgon Khiid Monastery, set in a dramatic scenery.

Meals and overnight with a nomadic family.

TSAGAAN SAR DATE ONLY: Tonight is Bituun, the eve of Tsagaan Sar, a bit like a Mongolian New Year's Eve. It is customary to end the year in a very rich way, eating as much as possible! That is your mission to honour your hosts!

We devote ourselves to the traditional preparations for Tsagaan Sar, the Mongolian New Year. In particular, we have to prepare lots of buuz, meat-filled dumplings that are offered to visitors who come to offer their good wishes over the following days.

We help our hosts with this task and with looking after the herds, in a very joyful atmosphere...

Rest assured that this evening will be very festive, as the nomadic family hosting us are true friends with whom we work all year round, and with whom it will be a great pleasure to celebrate Tsagaan Sar.

Day 9 - Ulaanbaatar

Riding: No riding.

After breakfast, we are on the road again to Ulan Bator, through the spectacular landscapes of frozen steppe. You will have lunch en route.

The rest of the afternoon is dedicated to shopping in stores downtown where you will find traditional clothing and objects of daily life. Check into a hotel ideally located close to Sukhbaatar Square, giving you a wide choice of restaurants and the opportunity to do your shopping at the Department Store, which is open late at night.

Dinner at leisure to allow you to take advantage of the many possibilities offered by the capital. Overnight in a 3-star hotel close to Sukhbaatar central square (in a double or triple room).

TSAGAAN SAR DATE ONLY: It's Tsagaan Sar, and we're going to try our best to follow the traditions associated with this auspicious day: You will put on your best clothes (we'll forgive you if you don't have formal wear or a traditional deel) and
take our first steps out of the yurt in the direction indicated by each of our horoscopes. You will make offerings to the four cardinal points. Greet your hosts with the traditional hug.... and of course, honour the table!

You will meet all your neighbours, friends and family members who will come to greet our hosts, according to tradition, dressed in their finest traditional clothes.

After lunch, you will set off for Ulaanbaatar.

Day 10 - Departure

Riding: No riding.

Early in the morning (approx. 5:30am), transfer to the airport in time for Turkish Airlines flight TK237 usually departing at 08:40 am. The hotel will provide you with a packed breakfast (remember to ask the day before).