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Following another successful season in Mongolia in 2007, Zavkhan Trekking is offering several new trips in addition to our 'classic' Zavkhan ride. We will be heading into the Altai Mountains in the far west, visiting Bayan Olgii's Eagle Festival, and taking packhorses to explore further into the mountains of Zavkhan. Trips marked as 'exploratory' will have a greater degree of unpredictability about them, and a slightly reduced price. Read all about these treks and more below.

Trips booked before the end of February will receive a 5% discount, and when two or more people book together, receive a further discount of up to 15%. See here for details.

Zavkhan Classic (27th June to 10th July, 14 days)

Zavkhan is where it all started, and is still our favourite part of Mongolia. Despite having run a number of trips to the area, there is still a lot of new country to explore. We will be riding across open steppe, through forested valleys, and up into the mountains of Tarvagatai Uul National Park. After riding we drive west to where the forest-steppe meets the desert sweeping up from the south. No trip to Mongolia is complete without seeing the country's huge sand dunes. Highlights include riding high above Zavkhan's forested valleys, soaking in hot baths at an abandoned mountain spa, and camping amongst sand dunes by the shores of Khar Nuur.

This trip is scheduled to fit in with a visit to the annual Naadam festival. Please enquire about attending.

Price: £950 per person. Full trip description here...

The Altai Mountains (7th August to 25th August, 19 days, exploratory)

The Altai Mountains form the border with China, in the far west of Mongolia. Local people are predominantly Kazakh, and the culture is distinctly different from the rest of the country, although still nomadic. Making the most of contacts in the area, in 2007 we organised an exploratory trip into the remote southern part of Altai Tavan Bogd National Park. Local people tell us there have been virtually no foreign visitors to this area. In 2008 we will be riding further into the mountains than last year, so we are not sure what we will find (which is why we are running it again as an exploratory trip), but it will be exciting!

Price: £1100 per person. Full trip description here...

Zavkhan by Packhorse (29th August to 11th September, 14 days)

Our exploratory pack horse trip in 2007 was a great success, and everyone agreed we should do it again. Independence from the support vehicle allows us to push further into the mountains of Tarvagatai Uul National Park, where even Mongolian drivers can't go (and that's really saying something!). We have only just begun to explore this area, so join us and come and see what's up there!

Price: £950 per person. Full trip description here...

Altai Mountains Eco-Project(15th September to 28th September, 14 days, exploratory)

Mongolia has an amazing diversity of wildlife, but much of it is threatened by factors such as overgrazing, deforestation, poaching and mining. In 2008 the Zavkhan Trekking Team would like to start doing our bit to help, with your assistance and in cooperation with the local people. The focus of this trip will still be to experience Mongolia's wild places on horse-back, but to also identify possible opportunities to give something back to the local people and environment.

Price: £760 per person. Full trip description here...

Eagle Festival and Altai Mountains (30th September to 13th October, 14 days)

In early October each year an Eagle Hunter's festival is held near the village of Sagsai in Bayan Olgii aimag (province), in the far west. It was originally started in order to help preserve ancient Kazakh traditions such as archery, camel racing, tug-of-war with a dead goat, and of course hunting with eagles. It is now a fantastic two days where local people show off their skills, meet old friends from throughout Bayan Olgii, and dress up in their finest traditional outfits. Before attending the Eagle Festival we will ride into the Altai Mountains as described above.

Price: £950 per person. Full trip description here...

Zavkhan Classic (27th June to 10th July, 14 days)

Zavkhan is not an easy region of Mongolia to get to, which is why you won't see many visitors (if any). The drive from Ulaanbaatar follows 800km of some of the worst roads you will ever see. However we believe everyone should experience the 'great Mongolian road trip' once (one-way is enough, we fly back at the end of the trip!). We break the drive up over 3 days, stopping frequently along the way.

On the first day we reach Karakorum, famous as the old capital of the Mongolian Empire and a must-see on most tour itineraries, but you'll need a good imagination to see anything more than the collection of run-down communist era concrete buildings that is the present-day town. Erdene Zuu monastery on the other hand, founded in 1586, and mostly destroyed in the Stalinist purges of the 1930s is definitely worth a look around.

The second day will see us reach Terkhiin Tsagaan Nuur (The Great White Lake), a lovely spot surrounded by forested mountains and ideal for swimming. Finally we arrive in Tosontsengel where we meet our local guide and wranglers, and familiarise ourselves with the horses. We will take plenty of time to match you to a horse you feel comfortable with, since you'll be seeing a lot of each other in the coming days!

We start off riding south from Tosontsengel, across open steppe and into the forested foot-hills of Tarvagatai Uul National Park. At this point we have many options before us. Various routes head further up in to the mountains, some we know well but others we are keen to try out. We are really only limited by the need to meet the support vehicle at the end of each day. Whichever way we go, we aim to eventually reach an old abandoned spa in the mountains, perfect for a day or two resting and soaking in the hot baths, before picking a route back to Tosontsengel.

In order to explore deeper into the mountains where vehicles can't go, we need to use pack-horses. If this sounds like you, see our 'Zavkhan by Pack-horse' trip.

After riding, we head out to Khar Nuur, a beautiful and remote desert lake fringed by sand dunes. Perfect for swimming, hiking or just relaxing. In a country full of beautiful places, this is John's all time number one!

Finally we fly back to Ulaanbaatar.

Basic itinerary:

Price: £950 per person.

The Altai Mountains (7th August to 25th August, 19 days, exploratory)

This remote and mountainous region of Mongolia is just crying out to be explored. In 2007 we rode across barren and inhospitable terrain toward a snow-covered pass in the mountains and once on the other side we found ourselves in a beautifully lush and forested region. In 2008 we will ride into the same area, but continue on down through forested valleys toward the Chinese border. Our local guides have a good relationship with the Mongolian border guards, allowing us to explore into some very rarely visited areas. They have spent their whole lives hunting in this area (before it became a national park) and are keen to lead us deep into the mountains.

We will not ride everyday, to allow for hiking opportunities and rest days.

At this time of year the lush mountain pastures will be carpeted in wildflowers, making a wonderful contrast to the barren terrain surrounding this mountain oasis. There is a great variety of wildlife, including argali mountain sheep, ibex, bears and snow leopard. Unfortunately, as with the rest of Mongolia, heavy poaching means numbers are now low, but there is always the chance that we may spot something.

Our host in the local sum (village) is Amangul, representative for a UNDP project in the area. We are looking forward to working with her to promote sustainable tourism for the local community. There will be plenty of opportunities to enjoy the hospitality of the local people, before heading into the mountains. Vehicle support is possible for part of our journey, but then we will use camels and/or packhorses. We will fly from Ulaanbaatar to Olgii (capital of Bayan-Olgii province), and back, in order to maximise our riding time (otherwise it is a harrowing 5-6 days of driving!).

This is a remote and mountainous region, with demanding terrain. Therefore it is essential that you are fit and active and willing to take on a challenge.

Basic itinerary:

Price: £1100 per person.

Zavkhan by Packhorse (29th August to 11th September, 14 days)

In order to really get into the mountains of Zavkhan we need to abandon the support vehicle and load up the pack-horses. In 2008 we will go even further than last year, riding high up above the tree line, past ancient volcanic crater lakes and south along the Arkhangai mountain range. We have scheduled this trip later in the season to maximise our chances of fine weather. It will be cold at night in the mountains, but there will be less of the sudden rain showers which come through in the summer months. This is no problem when down in the valleys, but on the open tops it can be quite unpleasant.

On this trek we will need to make do without some of the comforts we usually provide (no wine with dinner I'm afraid!), but it does allow you to ride into areas where even the locals rarely go. Last year we discovered 'Whispering Lake', a wee gem of a place, and there are several crater lakes in the area. You are welcome to help with leading the packhorses, but often they follow along on their own or are herded, rather than being led. The basic itinerary will be as for the 'Classic' trip.

Price: £950 per person.

Altai Mountains Eco-Project (15th September to 28th September, 14 days)

We will travel to the mountainous Altai region in the west, which we first visited in 2007. There are several reasons why this area will be ideal. It is spectacular country, great for riding, and in need of a bit of exploring. We have established good contacts with the local people, who are keen to be involved. There is also a project covering the whole Altai region which we hope to be able to link in with. The wildlife in the National Park is very interesting (bears, lynx, ibex for example), but threatened.

In terms of how the trip would run, the main focus will still be on riding in this remote and beautiful area. But with the intention of also getting the ball rolling with a project to benefit the wildlife and people. In the first year, this may be as simple as making flora and fauna observations from horse back (but with no guarantee that the wildlife will show itself!), and talking to local nomads along the way about what they know of the local species. Sam is trained as an ecologist, and John's experience as a wildlife research technician will be useful. This is very much an exploratory trip, and we welcome input from the group in daily decisions.

If this sounds appealing please do get in touch with any further questions you have. We are certainly looking forward to getting back there ourselves!

The basic itinerary will be similar to the Altai Mountain trek starting 7th August, above.

Price: £760 per person.

Eagle Festival and Altai Mountains (30th September to 13th October, 14 days)

Our exploratory trip to the Altai region in 2007 was the first time we had been to the festival, and it really was fantastic. This is what Emily from New Zealand thought of it:

"There's not much to be said about the Eagle Festival except that it was undoubtedly the best festival in the history of the universe and two of the best days of my time in Mongolia. Awesome, awesome, awesome..." Read more on Emily's blog.

Everyone dresses up in their best outfits, which are spectacular; even the camels get to wear brightly coloured rugs. There is a general air of chaos with no clear line between contestants and the watching crowd - sometimes you end up closer to the action than you might like!

A crowd favourite (amongst the women at least) is the 'race between a man and a woman', in which the woman pursues the man, giving him a good whipping as they gallop across the steppe. The tug of war over a dead goat involves two riders holding each end of the goat and trying to pull each other out of the saddle as they gallop randomly about - including into the crowd. Brutal certainly, but a true spectacle, and very fiercely contested. It's quite incredible how far out of the saddle a rider can be pulled without actually falling.

For a real test of horsemanship, riders lean down out of the saddle at speed to pick up small targets off the ground. Very useful when you drop your hat. Archery from horse-back is another ancient skill on display, and evidently very difficult. Genghis Khan would not have been impressed! In the Mongolia of today it is not a skill in great demand (luckily for us).

When the riotous crowd of people, horses, camels and eagles gets too much, you can always pop into a ger for a cup of tea and khuurshuur (mutton pancake). Jenya and Ogi will be escorting this trip.

Basic itinerary:

Price: £950 per person.

The price for all trips includes:

Our trip style

We will have a support vehicle with us while riding, (except when using pack animals) but while it finds its own way, we can be off following horse-only trails, meeting up for lunch or at the end of the day. The support vehicle allows a degree of comfort that is just not possible with packhorses, and makes sense for other reasons, which you can read about here.

Our 'non-itinerised' style of trip has proven a hit, getting away from the 'tomorrow we will go here and do this, the next day we go there and do that...'. Running trips this way offers great opportunity to experience the unexpected, and allows for plenty of input from you as a member of the group. It does make it more difficult for us, but we think the rewards are worth it!