Day 1 - Arrival
Riding: No riding.
Your English-speaking guide will be at the airport to greet you from the Turkish Airlines flight TK236 (usually scheduled to land at around 7.20 am in Ulaanbaatar), or at the 4* Khubilai Hotel at 09:00 am if you arrived a day early (recommended if you have a long flight). You will then depart for the Mongolian steppe in comfortable 4x4s (Land Cruiser or equivalent). The route will take you across the vast steppes towards Khogno Khan Park, nicknamed the Bayan-Gobi, the ‘Rich Gobi’, a northern extension of the Gobi Desert in Central Mongolia.
You will have lunch at a restaurant en route and arrive at your first private yurt camp amidst the dunes of the Bayan Gobi in the mid afternoon.
The richly decorated yurts combine comfort and tradition: large travel beds with comfortable mattresses and cashmere blankets, traditional furniture and private shower/toilet facilities. Enjoy a refreshing shower in the traditional tent adjoining your yurt, which houses your private bathroom facilities.
The late afternoon is set aside for some relaxation in this splendid setting. You can settle into the comfortable deck chairs in the restaurant’s lounge area to browse through the books provided on Mongolia, its history, wildlife and culture... whilst enjoying a cup of tea, coffee or a cold drink. You can also rest for a while in your yurt or set off to explore the dunes surrounding the camp.
Dinner is served in the large dining tent decorated with traditional patterns. Overnight stay in luxury yurt.
Day 2 - Bayan Gobi Dunes and Music
Riding: 4 - 5 hours
A gentle first wake-up call – one of the rituals you’ll soon come to love! A member of the team will knock on your yurt and leave a cup of coffee or tea of your choice, along with warm towels, at your door, so you can ease gently out of your dreams. You can then enjoy a hearty breakfast in the dining tent.
The horses will be ready for your first ride through the dunes of the Bayan Gobi. Imagine a ribbon of golden sand winding for nearly 80 kilometers through the vast Mongolian steppes. Located about 280 km west of Ulaanbaatar, in Bulgan Province, this site forms part of the protected landscape around the Khogno Khan Mountains. It offers a rare spectacle: dunes that suddenly rise up amidst green meadows, winding rivers, small lakes and rocky hills. This is not the vast southern desert, but an isolated patch of desert that seems to have been deposited there by a whim of nature, creating a contrast that is both surprising and harmonious. Here, the fine sand forms undulating ridges that sometimes reach several meters in height, fringed with bushes and tall grasses.
Unlike the Southern Gobi, this area receives more rainfall, allowing rich vegetation to coexist with the dunes. The result? A unique ecosystem where the desert meets the steppe, ideal for nature lovers and photographers in search of exceptional light.
You’ll enjoy these exceptional and exotic landscapes as you ride alongside the nomads who look after the horses, offering a first glimpse of these legendary horse people. You’ll likely come across Bactrian camels, which are numerous in the region, foraging for food in the hollows of the dunes.
You will return to camp for lunch before continuing your ride and exploring this rich ecosystem, where the desert meets the steppe.
Return to camp in the late afternoon for a well-deserved hot shower! Before dinner, traditional musicians introduce you to Mongolian music during a private concert in the large traditional tent. Traditional Mongolian music is characterised by a deeply nomadic identity, intimately linked to the vast steppes of Central Asia, where the melodies evoke the wind, the galloping of horses and the immensity of the landscape. Among its iconic instruments, the morin khuur takes centre stage: this two-stringed fiddle, carved with a horse’s head at the top of the neck, is traditionally made from pine wood with a soundbox covered in leather. Its rich and expressive sound perfectly mimics the neighing, the gallop and even the breath of the wind, symbolising the sacred bond between the Mongolian people and their mounts.
Dinner is served under the large traditional tent, before returning to the comfort of your luxury yurt for your second night under the starry Mongolian sky.
Day 3 - Dunes, Cliffs of the Bayan Gobi & Erdene Khambiin Khiid Monastery
Riding: 4 - 6 hours
After another gentle wake-up call amidst the sands of the Bayan Gobi and a refreshing breakfast, you explore a new, more mountainous area on horseback, reminiscent of the rocky formations of Arizona or Wadi Rum in Jordan.
Today you will ride to the Buddhist monastery of Erdene Khambiin Khiid. At the foot of Mount Khögnö Khan (1,967 m), the Erdene Khambiin Khiid monastery invites visitors to pray. Partially restored in the early 1990s following the end of Mongolian communism, it consists of three small buildings clinging to the cliff: a temple for services and two pagodas. One houses a large prayer wheel, the other is dedicated to a deity reputed to grant wishes.
Below lie the ruins of the monastery founded by Zanabazar, the first Bogdo Gegeen, born in 1635 nearby. Recognised as a saint, he was trained in Tibet in Lamaism, a 13th-century Buddhist tradition. As the first representative in Mongolia of the Yellow Hat sect, he founded numerous monasteries, including this one, named Erdene Khambiin (‘jewel of the Khamba’) in honour of his beloved master.
After lunch, you head up into the mountains to enjoy spectacular views of the dunes mingling with rivers and cliffs, creating a unique landscape.
Back at camp, for those who wish, the early evening is devoted to a Mongolian cooking workshop. You’ll discover the authentic delights of Mongolian cuisine, an explosion of nomadic flavours that warms the heart and soul! Buuz, those soft, steamed dumplings generously stuffed with meat and fragrant onions, or vegetables in their vegetarian version, are a true celebration of conviviality.
Khuushuur, their crispy, perfectly golden cousins, offer an irresistible fried version: a light pastry encasing a tasty, spicy filling, ideal for a snack after a day of adventure on the steppes. As for tsuivan, this comforting dish of stir-fried noodles with fresh vegetables and tender meat embodies Mongolian generosity with its delicious simplicity and flavours that invite sharing.
These specialities, steeped in centuries-old traditions and available in vegetarian versions, will transform your dinner into an unforgettable experience, full of warmth and culinary discoveries that will stay with you long after your stay!
Day 4 - Bayan Gobi - Karakorum - Khangai Mountains
Riding: No riding.
Today, you leave the Bayan Gobi Desert, land of the camels, to head for the Khangai Valleys, land of the yaks! Your hosts will dismantle the yurts and entire camp, to reassemble it in a completely different environment, nearly three hours’ drive away.
After breakfast, you drive in 4x4s towards Karakorum, the former capital of the Mongol Empire and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Karakorum, founded by Ögödei Khan in 1235, sits at the heart of the Orkhon Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that embodies over two thousand years of nomadic and imperial history. A fascinating remnant of Mongolian grandeur, the city now offers the evocative ruins of its palaces and temples, dominated by the magnificent Erdene Zuu Monastery, built in 1586 using
the very stones of the ancient capital and surrounded by 108 white stupas symbolising peace and Buddhist spirituality.
This region is considered the historical cradle of the nomadic way of life in Mongolia. Inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2004 as the ‘Orkhon Valley Cultural Landscape’, it is recognised for having been home, since prehistoric times, to successive nomadic cultures that shaped a unique nomadic pastoralism over more than two millennia, which remains alive today among Mongolian herders.
You will visit Erdene Zuu Monastery and the Karakorum Museum, before having lunch at a restaurant in Karakorum. After lunch you set off again, first by road and then along a track, to reach the new location of our yurt camp in a secluded valley of the Khangai. The Khangai Mountains, overlooking the Orkhon Valley, unfold a magnificent landscape of rolling steppes, green hills and forest-covered mountains. These vast expanses are still traversed today by numerous nomadic families with their yurts and herds of horses, yaks, cashmere goats and sheep.
Once settled in your yurts, you are invited to try a quintessentially Mongolian experience: archery! In the steppe breeze, you’ll feel the adrenaline and precision of Genghis Khan’s ancient horsemen.
Dinner will be served under the large traditional tent before you settle down for your first night amidst these vast historic landscapes, snug and warm in your yurt.
Day 5 - Nomadic Valleys of Khangai
Riding: 4 - 6 hours
Today is dedicated to an immersion in Mongolian nomadic life, in every sense of the word! Your day on horseback will take you through the landscapes of Mongolia just as you’ve always dreamed of: yurts nestled on a carpet of lush green grass and flowers, herds of yaks and horses roaming free, and rivers whose meandering curves trace delicate patterns beneath the blue sky. You’ll have the chance to meet a nomadic family who will show you how they live their daily lives in harmony with the herds and this magnificent yet sometimes harsh environment.
Lunch will be prepared by the chef for you before continuing on horseback to the hot springs that rise from the heart of a valley where pools have been created within a yurt camp. Your hosts will be waiting for you with your swimwear so you can fully enjoy the benefits of these healing waters.
Return to camp by 4x4, relaxed and refreshed. This is just the first step in our beauty regime to make us worthy of entering the court of the Great Khan, as the early evening will be devoted to the beauty ritual of the Mongolian queens!
In the evening you will have the chance to try a selection of Mongolian beauty products, made from natural ingredients sourced from the local flora and nomadic traditions (mare’s milk, etc.) - a real treat for your skin after five days in the Mongolian desert and mountains.
Day 6 - Tovkhon Monastery
Riding: 5 - 6 hours
Today is a big day! After completing many stages of your Mongolian initiation: the long rides, the yurts, the cooking, the music, archery... and even the beauty rituals of the queens of Genghis Khan or Khubilai Khan! you still have to follow the pilgrimage trails to Tovkhon Monastery, at the heart of Mongolian culture.
Riding at your horse’s own pace, you will traverse the endless golden steppes and the untamed ridges of the Khangai, treading the same ancient trails once walked by nomads and pilgrims long ago. Perched atop a sacred cliff, the monastery founded in the 17th century by the great Zanabazar, the first Bogd Khan, awaits you as a living sanctuary where Buddhist spirituality blends with millennia-old shamanic traditions.
This adventure is not just a horse ride: it is a return to the very roots of Mongolia, a journey of discovery where every step your horse takes brings you a little closer to the eternal essence of its culture.
Return to camp in the late afternoon. Tonight, the camp chef will pull out all the stops for a very special dinner where you, the guests of honour, will wear richly coloured and decorated traditional costumes and headdresses.
Day 7 - Khangai - Ulaanbaatar
Riding: No riding.
Enjoy your final breakfast in the steppe, before heading back to Ulaanbaatar, a long journey (6 hour drive) but made more comfortable by our 4x4s. Lunch is in a restaurant en route.
Your hotel is on the outskirts of Ulaanbaatar, avoiding the city centre due to its chaotic traffic. Your last night will be spent at the magnificent 4* Khubilai Hotel, featuring a spectacular interior dedicated to Khubilai Khan and an imposing statue of the Great Khan.
The hotel has a swimming pool, a sauna and a gym where you can unwind from the journey, before a final dinner at the hotel restaurant.
Day 8 - Departure
Riding: No riding.
Breakfast and transfer to the airport according to your flight times.
PLEASE NOTE: On selected dates, this program may operate in the opposite direction, beginning with the Khangai Mountains and finishing in the Bayan Gobi Desert. The last night remains at the Khubilai Hotel (or equivalent) regardless.
Note: All programmes and itineraries are weather dependent; in the face of adverse, or unexpected, weather conditions reasonable attempts will be made to provide equivalent riding. All programmes are accurate at the time of writing. However, the team may adapt or modify details, whilst aiming to provide a similar experience.
