Tour itinerary

EXCLUSIVE - We improved this trail to make it even more intense:

• 14 days on horseback instead of 12
• More varied landscapes: lakes, canyons, dunes, grasslands, forests, cliffs, volcanoes and mountains!

This 3 weeks trip to Mongolia on horseback is a real horseback adventure which enables you to ride really deep in authentic Mongolia. It combines:

- a 5 days horse riding trail between cliffs and dunes, around a sacred moutain.

- a 9 days equestrian expedition in the canyons and volcanoes of Arkhangai (Central Mongolia)

TransMongolia is aptly named and offers an unparalleled discovery of Mongolia on horseback!

Day 1: Ulan Bator - Hustai National Park

Welcome to Mongolia!
Your English or French speaking translator is waiting for you at Ulan Bator airport at the arrival of Turkish Airlines flight TK236 usually landing at 07:15am for a grouped transfer.
Immediate departure for the Mongolian Steppe!
A 2h30 drive takes you to the famous Hustai National Park, home to Przewalski's wild horses, also known as Takhi.
We set up camp and enjoy a lunch prepared by the team.
Your driver will take you on a 4x4 safari in Hustai National Park, in search of Przewalski's wild horses, as well as deer and marmots, which abound in this protected area.
Dinner and night in tents.
CAMPING: Everyone pitches their own tent (shared tents or individual tents are provided at no extra cost for single travellers who request one when booking; couples are provided with a tent for 3 people so that they can settle in comfortably).
A mobile shower tent and a large tent for preparing meals add to the comfort of the camp (see our page dedicated to the camping equipment used on this trek).

Day 2: Khustai National Park - Khogno Khan / Bayan Gobi Park

Breakfast at the camp.
You continue your journey by 4x4 to Khogno Khan Park, also named the Bayan Gobi Desert, the ‘rich Gobi’, where the first part of your horseback trail through the dunes and steppes of Mongolia will take place (approximately 2-3 hours’ drive depending on traffic conditions).
You will meet the nomadic herder who will be your equestrian guide for these five days of trail riding in the Bayan Gobi Desert.
First contact with traditional Mongolian nomadic life: how each family organizes life in the yurt, how horses, goats and sheep live freely in the surrounding steppes...
Dinner and overnight stay in a guest yurt close to the nomadic family (up to five people per yurt - shower tent available).

Days 3 to 7 : Horse riding trail along the Sacred Mountain

After breakfast, we begin the first part of this epic horseback adventure in Mongolia!
For 5 days, we will ride horses between cliffs and dunes, along the sacred mountain of Khogno Tarna. This region is rarely visited by tourists, who tend to stay in the southern part of the Bayan Gobi Desert, where roads and yurt camps make it easier for travelers to access.
Our horses allow us to head north, keeping the cliffs of the mysterious Khogno Tarna Mountain on our right.
This mountain is steeped in historical legends, as it was home to the great Buddhist monastery of Ovgon Khiid, which was destroyed and all its monks killed by the troops of Galdan Boshigt Khan in 1640. The monastery was later rebuilt, but destroyed again during the communist period in 1937.
At the end of the communist era, in the 1990s, it was rebuilt in a more modest form, and we will have the chance to visit it on our first day on horseback, in the magnificent setting of a valley with a geological landscape tortured by erosion.
This 5-day trail ride is full of variety, as several ecosystems meet here: steppe, taiga, desert, rivers, and impressive granite mountain formations. We can therefore find a wide variety of flora and fauna, characteristic of these different ecosystems, as well as superb landscapes.
This first part of your horseback trip will end (possibly with a road transfer if conditions require) at Lake Ogii Nuur, famous for its migratory bird populations.
Each evening, we meet up with the support vehicles and set up camp in the middle of nature.
We can enjoy the comfort of our trail shower cabin and the large kitchen tent, which is used to prepare meals!
Everyone pitches their own tent (individual tents are provided at no extra charge for single travelers upon request before departure; couples are entitled to a tent for 3 people so that they can settle in comfortably).
Dinner and night in tents.

Day 8: Ugii Lake - Arkhangai

After breakfast, we drive East to reach the departure point of the second part of our horse riding tour in Arkhangai region.

Picnic lunch en route.

We cross the Khangai mountains and arrive at the yurts of the nomads who will accompany us during this tour and who breed the horses we will ride.

The rest of the day is devoted to the discovery of the traditional lifestyle of the nomads of Mongolia.

We can participate in their activities, and become acquainted with the various family members.

You'll find simple tips to facilitate contact with your host family on the site by clicking here.

This night, we will sleep in a "guest-yurt" close to our nomad family's yurts.

Days 9 to 17: Horse riding tour in Arkhangai (Central Mongolia)

After breakfast with our nomadic family, we start our horse riding adventure in Mongolia.

These nine days are devoted to a trail ride in Arkhangai to Lake Terkhiin Tsagaan Nuur, the “White Lake,” via the canyons of the Chuluut and Suman rivers and the Khorgo volcano.

This ride is a real horseback adventure as we will reach a different place every day.

Arkhangai - the Northern Khangai - is a wooded and very wild region. The valleys are narrower and more rugged than the Orkhon Valley further south, and the steppe gradually gives way to dense larch forests and more abundant wildlife.
The rivers and valleys are mainly perpendicular to our direction, so our trail ride will be punctuated by passes and river crossings.

 

The first few days on horseback follow the banks of the Tamir River, which is very powerful and fast in spring and summer.
The Tamir Valley is very green and wooded. Some of the poplar trees in the area are over 300 years old.
We then cross densely wooded and almost uninhabited mountain ranges. A plunge into wild Mongolia, very different from the steppes of the Orkhon Valley.
The trail ride continues with more galloping days in more open landscapes, dotted with yurts and herds of Mongolian families whom we greet as we pass.
We also ride along the Chuluut Canyon, carved by the river in lava flows originating mainly from the Khorgo volcano.
This canyon with its basalt walls is about 100 km long and forms a particularly spectacular landscape.
Each evening, we meet up with the support vehicles and set up camp in the middle of nature.
We can enjoy the comfort of our trail shower cabin and the large kitchen tent, which is used to prepare meals!
Everyone pitches their own tent (individual tents are provided at no extra charge for single travelers upon request before departure; couples are entitled to a tent for 3 people so that they can settle in comfortably).
Dinner and night in tents.

Day 18: Road transfer to Karakorum

After breakfast, road to Karakorum, the ancient capital of Mongolian Empire.

We arrive in Karakorum in the afternoon. Lunch at a restaurant on the way.

Dinner and night at a yurt camp (2 to 4 riders per yurt, with single beds, showers in a separate building).

Day 19: Karakorum - Ulan Bator

Breakfast and visit of Erdene Zuu Monastery.

We then set off towards Ulan Bator.
Lunch in a restaurant en route (6-7 hours’ drive depending on the traffic conditions).
Transfer to a hotel or yurt camp on the outskirts of Ulaanbaatar, heading towards the airport.
Dinner and night at the hotel / yurt camp in a double or triple room.

Day 20: Transfer to airport

Early in the morning (5:30 am), transfer to the airport on time for Turkish Airlines flight TK237 usually departing at 08:40 am.
Breakfast is not included as the transfer leaves too early but you will find a coffee shop at the airport in the right part of the transit area.