Mongolia is the most memorable country I have ever been to.
The country is so vast that we decided that taking a tour is the best way to go. For those that hate taking travel tours, rest assured that this definitely not that typical tour – no tourists packed attractions, no tens of activities within hours, no food fitted just for foreigners taste buds. You can simply see it as a package for transport and accommodation.
With that said, I also wouldn’t say you will get to experience the RAW and EXOTIC local way of living within that handful of days you’re in their country. For example, don’t expect to see them serving you meat straight by slaughtering from the herd. Don’t expect to take an instagrammable shot with an eagle. This is not their everyday life.
Instead, go with an open heart to experience a balance of authentic locals’ way of life and comfort.
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Overview
- How to book your package?
- What does it include?
- How much to budget for the tour?
- Day 1: Staying with Horse Herders
- Day 2: The ancient capital of the Mongol Empire
- Day 3: Ongi Monastery Ruins and Flaming Cliffs
- Day 4: Gobi Desert with Camel Herders
- Day 5: Yol Valley
- Day 6: Iron Age Rock Painting Monuments
- Day 7: White Stupa and Gorkhi-Terelj National Park
- Day 8: Genghis Khaan Statue Complex
How to book?
We went to Ulaanbaatar without pre-booking any tours but had come across a review of Sunpath so we booked our first night accommodation at Sunpath hostel.
Everything went smoothly under the arrangement of the staff and her coordination is more than impressive, it’s mind-blowing. We set off from Ulaanbaatar with a group of 3 for the first night and on the second day, we joined another group who were halfway through their 16-day tour with a handful finishing up their tour in just a few days.
We were so impressed by the tour arrangement where they managed to fulfil each of our tour entitlements despite everyone taking up different packages.
What does it include?
Literally everything except personal expenses (alcohol and snacks!) and shower facilities cost. The price we paid included transport, accommodation, all activity costs, three meals a day and unlimited drinking water.
Transport alone is worth every cent. I can’t imagine travelling throughout Mongolia without our trusty driver. He is a professional! He kind of do all sorts of things – not only navigating within the desert without road signs or GPS system, driving for hours without rest, skillfully get us out of a pothole, but he also fixes the van, cook traditional Mongolian dishes etc. We rode an old Russian van throughout the trip.
Accommodation is a mixture of nomads homestay and tourist ger campsites. Whereas our activity highlights included horse riding, camel riding, museum and monastery entrance, national parks and various attractions. Any fees involved is inclusive in the package. We didn’t have to fork out an extra cent.
Three meals a day whereby daily breakfast is prepared by our guide, lunch in a restaurant in town and homecooked dinner. Not forgetting coffee and tea after every meal! Sounds too good to be true – but it is.
How much to budget for the tour?
We paid US$60 for a day during non-peak season and this applies to most of the packages of different duration. The price may or may not have increased but I hope this is a good benchmark for you. All fellow travellers on the tour paid exactly the same amount, so it seems like they charge very consistently if you book on the spot.
Do also have extra cash with you in case you would like to do extra activities such as singing karaoke (that’s what we did), drink a few beers and most importantly, showering facilities are rare and cost a small amount – you can’t afford to pass it up after days of no-shower.
It is also nice to tip your guide and driver who were taking care of you throughout the tour.
Day 1: Staying with Horse Herders
The first day and we were totally sold.
After stocking up our ration (junk food I mean) in a nearby supermarket, we rode the van for 2-3 hours to our first destination – the horse herders family.
Greeting the hosts
We were immediately greeted by the friendly hosts and their two bubbly children in the main ger. After exchanging greetings and a cup of suutei tsai (salty milk tea), we were settled down in our bedroom ger where we will spend a night in.
Horse Riding Session
The host also generously dressed us in their deel, Mongolia traditional clothing to complete the horse riding session.
Mongolian horses are known to be small yet strong and can gallop up to 10 km at once. The herders will first lead your horse for a stroll and slowly teaches you the commands. Throughout the short 1.5 hours, the horse went from walking to trotting and finally if the rider is ready, they will allow your horse to gallop freely back to the ger.
Spending time with the children
We then spent a lovely evening with the hosts’ two children playing all sorts of common games that we all know – the language barrier did not bother us at all.
Tip! Bring some snacks from your home country to share with them or get some toys from the city’s market. These children may not visit the city very often.
Day 2: The ancient capital of the Mongol Empire – Karakorum
Kharakhorum Museum
This museum well illustrates a walkthrough of the earliest era in the capital of the largest empire in human history. It is enriching and the best place to learn about the history of the Mongol Empire.
Entry fees and a dedicated English speaking guide are included as part of the tour.
Erdene Zuu Monastery
Located just beside the museum, this is the oldest surviving Buddhist monastery in Mongolia built between 1585 and 1586. In 1939, the communist leader destroyed the monastery but today, it is a UNESCO World Heritage site and a beautiful place for worshipping.
Tourist Ger Campsite
There were many campsites catered to tourists nearby. Just a short ride away, we arrived at one of the most beautiful campsites to spend our night at. Best thing? Shower facilities available in this campsite at a small fee of 3,000₮.
Traditional Mongolian Food – Khorkhog
Since we arrived pretty early, our drivers had time to prepare a traditional Mongolia barbecue dish for us, also known as Khorkhog! How lucky!
It is prepared by heating up hot stones and place the boiling hot stones in an iron pot together with mutton for a good charred flavour. Followed by adding in potatoes and carrots before serving.
The guide plated our Khorkhog nicely with thick cuts of meat and a side of pickled cucumber. Seated at the table next to us, our driver and guide are devouring the flavourful meat closer to the bones.
We were told that the restaurant in town has a private room for karaoke – so off we went. A couple of hours flew by singing, dancing and that’s how we concluded the wonderful evening.
Day 3: Ongi Monastery Ruins and Flaming Cliffs
Ongi Monastery Ruins
Ongi Monastery used to be one of the biggest monasteries in Mongolia, housing 17 temples and 4 Buddhist universities. Similar to Erdene Zuu Monastery, almost all monasteries including Ongi Monastery had been destroyed under the leadership of the Communist Party of Mongolia. Massacred of monks took place here.
Rebuilding efforts are taking place with one stupa and the main temple reconstructed.
Picnic by the ‘river’
Supposedly beside a river but in summer, the river dries up. That did not affect the picnic ambience at all. Our guide brought cooked rice and tuna for lunch and we spent a lovely afternoon here.
Flaming Cliffs (also known as Bayanzag)
Our trip planners know so well. This place is beautiful at any time of the day but it is absolutely magnificent during golden hour, almost looking like planet Mars. The cliffs looked as though they were glowing in fiery red. We spent some time going up the cliffs and slowly watch the sunsets. It is doable for anyone, nothing too intense.
One of my favourite destination for sure.
Tourist Ger Campsite by Sunpath
Again, we settled down in a comfortable campsite catered to tourist but this is newly built and owned by Sunpath. There were no shower facilities when we were there but was told that it will be available very soon – should be up now.
Day 4: Gobi Desert with Camel Herders
We were in an ethical dilemma – is camel riding morally wrong?
The most associated animal in the desert is none other than camels and spending the night with a Bactrian camel herder meant that we were offered the opportunity to spend some time with these animals.
Camel Riding Session
Observing the herd, the most prominent feature of the camel is their neatly trimmed thick fur. To be honest, we were wow-ed by the beauty of it. They looked more than healthy at a glance – the fur, the two highly protruding humps and their laidback attitude. However, like most herders, they use nose pegs on the animal which is neither entirely wrong nor abusive.
We were also briefed not to pet the camels (no matter how adorable they look) as they are semi-wild and not used to human’s touch.
The herders helped us up the camels one by one and lined them before we went for a slow 30 minutes stroll. No violence or any sort of harsh behaviour towards the animal were witnessed.
The conclusion is, it is a new experience we never had which was cool. But to be honest, was it necessary to ride that camel other than out of curiosity? We would probably skip that camel ride next time but thankful that we did not meet with an abusive camel herder this time.
Khongor Sand Dunes
Since there is no internet connection in this region, we spent most of our evening at the Khonggor Sand Dunes, the largest Sand Dunes in the country at 800m high, 20km wide and about 100km long. Our ger was situated just 5 minutes drive away.
Tip! Prepare to cover up from head to toe, take me literally because the wind is strong, the sand is coarse and they will get stuck to you anywhere possible especially your scalp! Not forgetting you may not get to shower that evening. Wear long sleeves, pants, hat and use a thin jacket to cover up your face!
Getting to the top of the sand dunes take about 30 minutes if you are fit (if you are not, you may not get to the top and that’s ok too). The top view is famous for its sunset scene or you can choose to rent a sandboard halfway through the dunes and enjoy some fun times!
Day 5: Yol Valley (also known as Yolyn Am)
This is also where you can see the rare snow leopards, lynxes, foxes, wolves and many other wild animals. Well, don’t go with those expectations though because they live deep in the valley and are not so commonly seen. Realistically speaking, you can expect to see many yaks lazing around, a few horses and goats.
The valley is also known as ‘ice valley’ because there used to have ice all year round. However, due to global warming, the ice now melts in July. As we went in early summer, the ice valley was not at its prime. It has only a stretch of ice that leads deeper into the valley. Nevertheless, this place is undoubtedly an instant mood booster for us! We love feeling so small and free in between the massive mountains.
Staying with the Souvenir Shop Owner
Just outside of the national park where Yol Valley is located, we settled down in the house of a souvenir shop owner. She had all sorts of traditional Mongolian games which included one that uses goats’ ankle bones. We were confused but apparently it’s just like the local version of a board game!
This ger has one of the most comfortable beds I ever slept in! The sunset is also incredible here with purple and yellow hues painted all over the sky. Mongolia continues to amaze us in different ways.
Day 6: Iron Age Rock Painting Monuments
Bathhouse in Town
In case you have forgotten the last time we took a shower was 3 days ago. On day 6, we finally arrived in the town that has showering facilities! We paid 3,000₮ per person for a refreshing hot shower.
Rock Paintings (Petroglyphs)
There are a handful of paintings in this area but there are no signs of protection or preservation efforts by the government. These are precious artefacts that trace back to 1200 B.C. but there was vandalism alongside with the real paintings. It was a little disappointing while we were there plus there was not much description of the paintings.
Homestay with Nomad Family
As we spent most of the time travelling back to the capital city, this day was short. We had a popular dish called Tsuivan prepared personally by our host. Every family has their own version of the noodle dish but in general, Tsuivan is the dish that foreigners find it easier to adapt to compared to other dishes.
Day 7: White Stupa and Gorkhi-Terelj National Park
White Stupa (also known as Tsagaan Suvarga)
This place is impressive! The formation looks like an ancient civilisation from afar. However, it used to be a big sea. After the sea dries up, the depositary sediments over the years give different colours to the rocks. The cliff is 30m high and 100m wide and we had to do a little bit of hike here.
White Stupa is also one of my favourite destinations of this tour.
Gorkhi-Terelj National Park
We finally arrived at the last destination of the tour, the most touristic national park around Ulaanbaatar. Although touristy, the park did not lose its charm. The place is filled with a variety of accommodation from luxury hotels to gers and cottages, each with their own unique traits. Livestock grazing on grass everywhere in the park. This place truly deserves every single bit of its fame.
Turtle Rock
I really appreciate how this rock lives up to its name. Without a doubt, it looks exactly like a turtle! We needed a #touristshot with the symbol of the national park.
Day 8: Genghis Khaan Statue Complex
Aryapala Temple Meditation Centre
Visiting this Buddhist temple requires a fee (included in tour) and an okay stamina to walk up the hill. Along the path up the hill, there are words of wisdom that reflects life. Followed by a wooden bridge on which a sign tells: ”the bridge that leads beyond wisdom” and then a flight of stairs that will lead you into the temple. The interior is filled with paintings and hangings of Buddhist teachings.
From here, you can also get a good view of the national park.
Genghis Khan Statue Complex
Standing at 40m tall, the Genghis Khan Statue is currently the biggest equestrian statue in the World. The statue is built at the location where Genghis Khan found his golden whip and facing the direction of his birthplace.
Visitors are able to ascend to the top of the horse for a panoramic view of the surroundings. We also mailed a postcard back home from one of the souvenir stores inside the statue building.
Back to Ulaanbaatar
This marks the end of our Mongolia trip. Everything just falls right in place thanks to the meticulous planning of Sunpath. We enjoyed every single bit of the country, food and culture. Very thankful to have such friendly locals hosting us all the time and Mongolia will always be one of my favourite countries in the World.
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