Tour itinerary

Mongolia is a paradise for trail riders.

However, you can enjoy the great outdoors as much as sleeping in a cozy bed, so Mongolia Travel & Tours decided to offer this "comfort" horseback tour with 100% accommodation in yurts!

This comfort horse riding tour in Mongolia has been designed to allow riders to combine :

• their dreams of wide open spaces
• the magic of nights spent in yurts, the symbol of Mongolia,
• the comfort of a bed and a shower every evening or almost every evening...

This magnificent 13-day exclusive horseback riding trip will allow you to enjoy the best of Mongolia in the best conditions, with accommodation in yurts every night.

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.
Lunch at the yurt camp where you will also spend the night.
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 at the yurt camp.
For your first night in Mongolia, you will discover the traditional Mongolian yurt (up to 4 riders per yurt - showers in a separate building).

Day 2: Hustai Park - Khogno Khan Park (Bayan Gobi)

Breakfast at the yurt camp.
You continue your journey by 4x4 to Hogno Han 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 two days of trail riding in the Bayan Gobi Desert.
It is impossible to ride a horse in the southern Gobi Desert as only camels can be found there.
This northern tongue of the desert is therefore a unique opportunity to ride a horse in a typical Gobi Desert landscape.

In the afternoon, we will go on our first horseback ride along the cliffs of Khogno Khan to enjoy spectacular views before reaching Ovgon Khiid Monastery, which we will visit in the magnificent setting of a valley with a geological landscape tortured by erosion.
Dinner and overnight stay in a guest yurt close to the nomadic family (up to five people per yurt).

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

PLEASE NOTE: The comfort in guest yurts is simpler than in the yurt camps as there is no shower building, but you will experience the real nomadic way of life.

Day 3: Khogno Khan (Bayan Gobi) - Full day on horseback

After breakfast, we set off for one of the most spectacular days of this horseback trip!
This region is truly the heart of Mongolia.
It is not only the geographical centre, but also lies at the meeting point of three major Mongolian ecosystems: two of the country's three major mountain ranges - Khangai and Khentii - and a northern tip of the Gobi Desert.
Mount Batkhan overlooks this region and gives rise to several rivers that mix their waters with the sand of the Elsentasarkhai dunes - the ‘sand fracture’ - forming changing and spectacular landscapes.
We ride through the dunes of Elsentasarhaï and along the cliffs of Bayan-Gobi, across vast semi-desert steppes that give us a sense of the immensity of Mongolia.
We are sure to encounter herds of Bactrian camels, which are numerous in this region.
Picnic lunch.
The contrast between the desert dunes and the lush green area along the river is spectacular!
This day's trail ride takes us from the desert to the Garden of Eden, as nomads often gather their herds in this vast wet plain.
We arrive at the end of the day at a yurt camp, located in a semi-desert part of the park.
Dinner and overnight stay at the yurt camp (2 to 5 riders per yurt, in individual beds, showers and toilets in a separate building).
PLEASE NOTE that these two days can be reversed, with the night at the yurt camp first and then the night in the guest yurt.

Day 4: Khogno Khan - Orkhon Valley

We take the road the Orkhon Valley, which we follow up to the waterfall region where we will spend the night in the guest yurts of a nomadic family.
During lunch, we get to know the nomads who will be our horseback guides in the Orkhon Valley!
It's time to choose our mounts and saddle up for our first afternoon on horseback in the Orkhon Valley. This first ride allows us to get to know our horses, and as we return to our nomad friends in the evening, it will be possible to change horses if necessary.

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

We can participate in their daily 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.

Dinner and night in a guest yurt with our nomad friends.

Day 5: Horseback riding in the Orkhon Valley (upstream from the waterfalls)

Breakfast with our nomadic family, then we begin our horseback ride up the valley toward the wild landscapes of Naiman Nuur Park.
This part of the Orkhon Valley is uncrowded, isolated, and very wild.
In this volcanic region, ancient solidified lava flows form a strange landscape, their black color contrasting with the white foam of the Orkhon River and reminding us of Mongolia's tumultuous geological past.
Picnic brought by our 4x4 vehicles, nothing to carry on our horses!
This allows us to adopt a fairly fast pace, with lots of galloping.
We soon reach the edge of the forest. In front of us stand the wooded slopes of Naiman Nuur Park, the “Park of 8 Lakes.”
We arrive at a small, very isolated yurt camp in the middle of the forest for dinner and the night (2 to 4 riders per yurt, in individual beds, with showers and toilets in a separate building).

Day 6: Trail ride to the Orkhon Waterfalls

Breakfast at camp, then we resume our horseback ride along the Orkhon River, still in this very wild part of the valley upstream from the waterfalls.
Picnic provided by our 4x4 vehicles.
We arrive in the late afternoon at our yurt camp, not far from the famous Orkhon Waterfalls, which we explore.
Dinner and overnight stay at the yurt camp (2 to 4 riders per yurt, in individual beds, showers and toilets in a separate building).

Day 7: Horse riding tour in the Orkhon Valley

Breakfast and departure for a very invigorating day on horseback following the Orkhon river.
Lunch by the river, which you cross on one of the very few bridges, allowing you to start climbing the Khangai Mountains that border the valley, until you reach the edge of the forest.
Dinner and overnight stay in a guest yurt close to the nomadic family (up to five people per yurt).

Day 8: Horse riding in the Orkhon Valley (Tovkhon Monastery) - Hot Springs

Enjoy a hearty breakfast to build up your strength before the long day ahead.
You ride on horseback through the forest to the Tovkhon monastery, which you then visit on foot. You continue your trail by riding down to the valley. The views of this wide valley, overlooked by wooded peaks, are spectacular.
Lunch brought by the 4x4 vehicles at the foot of the Khangai Mountains, on the side of the valley.
We continue our ride along the river, once again over terrain that lends itself to long gallops.

This afternoon ride will take us to natural hot springs, a fantastic experience, especially after all those days in the saddle! Don't forget your swimming suit ...
Dinner and overnight stay at a yurt camp close to the springs (2 to 5 riders per yurt, in individual beds, showers and toilets in a separate building).

Days 9, 10 and 11: Horse ride to Karakorum

These three days on horseback are still in very open terrain allowing for galloping and trotting. On days 9 and 10, we sleep in guest yurts with nomadic families, so the day by day program can change depending on how these families move their yurts and their herds.
Our ultimate goal is to reach Karakorum, the ancient capital of the Mongol Empire, the symbolic end point of the equestrian part of our journey.
On the last evening with our nomadic herders, we share the gifts we have brought to help their families in this very isolated life. Our drivers are often nomadic herders themselves, and everyone will be happy to find something to help their families or their elderly parents.
For humans: moisturising cream, lip balm, sun cream, sunglasses, pocket folding knife or Swiss army knife, medicines such as paracetamol, ibuprofen, concentrated antiseptic mouthwash, eye drops, creams for arthritis or burns ...
For the horses: healing or antiseptic cream, footpick, currycomb, brush ...
All these things, which are hard to find on the steppe, will be divided up according to each person's needs.
Dinner and overnight stay at a yurt camp close to Karakorum (2 to 5 riders per yurt, in individual beds, showers and toilets in a separate building).

Day 12: Karakorum - Ulan Bator

Breakfast and visit to the 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 13: 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.