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| 2010 Trips | |
| 19th March to 1st April | Altai Winter Wildlife - exploratory (14 days, £1200) |
| 24th June to 10th July | Zavkhan Classic (17 days, fly, £1500) |
| 13th July to 2nd August | Zavkhan Multi-activity - exploratory (21 days, £1950) |
| 13th July to 29th July | Altai Mountains Classic (17 days, £1700) |
| 4th August to 20th August | Zavkhan Classic (17 days, fly, £1500) |
| 6th August to 22nd August | Altai Expedition - exploratory (17 days, £2100) |
| 25th August to 10th September | Zavkhan Classic (17 days, drive, £1350) |
| 7th Sept to 21st Sept | Eagle Festival and Altai Mountains (15 days, £1600) |
| FAQs: | ||
| Should I go to Zavkhan or the Altai? | ||
| What does the price include? | ||
| What 'style' are our trips ("is there ice with my gin-and-tonic...")? | ||
| It sounds great, how do I book? | ||
| Other FAQs |
In 2009 we galloped across open steppe, picked our way along mountain trails, swam in desert lakes, rode over snowy passes and then drank tea with the local people. In 2010 we look forward to doing it all again! After another great trip to the Altai we have several more trips planned to this area. And of course we will be returning to our old favourite for great riding, the steppe and mountains of Zavkhan, including an exploratory ride. Read all about these treks and more below. Several of our rides in 2009 were fully booked so if you would like to join us in 2010, please get in touch as soon as possible.
Trips departing 24th June and 13th July are scheduled to fit in with a visit to the annual Naadam festival in UB. Please enquire about attending.
Trips booked before the end of February 2010 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.
Altai Winter Wildlife (14 days, departing 19th March 2010, exploratory)
This trip is strictly for the more adventurous traveller. Yes, it will be cold, but it will also be extremely beautiful. We haven't run a winter trip before so this will be exploratory. Highlights will include helping with a UNDP wildlife monitoring program involving riding through the mountains in search of ibex, and argali mountain sheep (the winter snows push them down lower at this time of year). We will also see Nauryz, the annual New Year celebrations for the local Kazakh people in the village where we ride out from. There will be traditional horse games as seen at the Eagle Festival. We are working with the local people to also stage their own small eagle festival at the same time.
Price: £1200 per person. ***This trip is in the planning stage and more details will follow soon***.
Zavkhan Classic (17 days, departures 24th June, 4th August, 25th Aug 2010)
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 Gobi desert sweeping up from the south. No trip to Mongolia is complete without seeing the country's spectacular 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, a remote desert lake.
For the 25th August departure we will drive to Zavkhan so you can experience the Great Mongolian Road Trip - 3 days of less than perfect roads but fantastic scenery and a visit to Genghis Khans ancient capital at Kharkhorin along the way.
Price: £1500 per person, or £1350 for the 25th August departure. Full trip description here...
Zavkhan Multi-activity (21 days, departing 13th July 2010, exploratory)
This is the trip for people who would like a bit of everything, and is ideal for horse riders with non-riding partners (or who are keen to do more than just ride). As well as great horse riding, we will experience Mongolia's infamous roads by four-wheel drive vehicle, ride mountain bikes, trek across the steppe on camels, hike in the mountains with packhorses, and explore a desert lake by kayak. As with all our trips, you will also get to experience the local culture in a region where tourism is almost unknown.
At each stage of the trip we will have more than one mode of transport available. Once you have had enough horse riding for the day, or the novelty of camel trekking is wearing off (along with the skin on your back-side perhaps), try hiking or mountain biking. If any mode of transport really does not appeal, you will not need to use it.
This trip is timed to allow you to see the annual Naadam Festival in Ulaanbaatar
Price: £1950 per person. Full trip description here...
Altai Mountains Classic (17 days, departing 13th July 2010)
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. In 2008 we ran two successful exploratory trips in to the beautiful and remote southern area of Altai Tavan Bogd National Park. In 2009 we returned for more great exploration. This is a sensitive border area requiring special permission for access. It is not always clear exactly where the border is but it's close enough to be able to peer into China! Local people do not live here but visit seasonally to harvest hay and cut timber. The remoteness of these mountains means that wildlife still clings on here when it has been driven almost to extinction elswhere in the country. We watched a herd of over sixty asiatic ibex in 2008 and stalked elk with our cameras, and there is known to even still be the occasional bear.
On our Altai rides (including the Eagle Festival below) we will be donating 5% of the price you pay for your trip to a fund to help enable sustainable livelihoods in Altai sum (village), where we base our rides (not to be confused with Altai city in Gov-Altai province).
Price: £1700 per person. Full trip description here...
Altai Expedition (17 days, departing 6th August 2010, exploratory)
When we ride in the Altai Mountains, we can see beautiful distant snowy peaks lining the border with China. We've decided it's time to go and have a closer look. This is remote and inaccessible country, requiring us to load up the camels and pack horses and leave the (relative) comfort of our basecamp for a proper expedition. It won't be all just hard work of course. The wildflowers in the alpine meadows will be spectacular, and there will be asiatic ibex and other wildlife to watch out for. And the hospitality of the local people is legendary. If you are lucky the border guards will even let you practice stripping and assembling their AK47s, as we experienced in 2009!
Price: £2100 per person. ***Please contact us for further details about this trip***.
Eagle Festival and Altai Mountains (15 days, departing 7th September 2010)
In Autumn each year an Eagle Hunter's festival is held near the village of Sagsai, not far from Ulgii, 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 Ulgii province, and dress up in their finest traditional outfits. If you think you've seen some strange and interesting festivals elsewhere, this is sure to impress even the most jaded festival-goer. Before attending the Eagle Festival we will ride into the Altai Mountains as described above.
Price: £1600 per person. Full trip description here...
Further details for all trips
Zavkhan Classic (17 days, departures 24th June, 4th Aug, 25th Aug 2010)
Zavkhan is not an easy region of Mongolia to get to, with erratic flights and challenging roads, which is why we are very unlikely to encounter any foreigners there. For those who do make the effort, beautiful untouched landscapes and fascinating local culture awaits. For the trips starting June 24th and August 4th we will fly to Zavkhan, via either Uliastai in the south, or Moron to the north, depending on the flight schedule. The trip starting Aug 25th (and the Zavkhan Multi-activity trip starting July 13th) will begin with the epic three day drive from Ulaanbaatar to Zavkhan.
We start off riding south from the town of 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.
After riding, we drive south to Khar Nuur, a beautiful and remote desert lake fringed by sand dunes. A wonderful spot for swimming, hiking or just relaxing. In a country full of beautiful places, this is our all time number one!
Finally we fly back to Ulaanbaatar.
On Day 1 of the trip (or when you arrive, if you come early) we will meet you at the airport/train station and take you to your accommodation. You are then free to explore Ulaanbaatar - we are happy to point out some of the more interesting things to do in UB. You don't really need a guide, but we can arrange one if necessary. We are also there to assist with getting cash, finding your lost luggage if you flew with Aeroflot (just kidding hopefully!), and any other problems you might need help with before we head for Zavkhan the next day.
We will meet for an evening meal on Day 1 and discuss the coming trip. When we return to Ulaanbaatar we will have a final evening meal togther, and then on the final day of the trip we will take you to the airport/train station for your return home or further travels. If possible you might like to leave some time on the final day for picking up gifts for the folks back home, before departing. There will be no opportunities to buy souvenirs in Zavkhan, so you need to do this in UB.
The drive from Ulaanbaatar follows 800km of less than perfect roads, eventually becoming little more than a dirt track. Our vehicles are reliable Russian four-wheel drives, ideal for the conditions and driven by our highly experienced drivers. We believe the 'great Mongolian road trip' should be experienced at least 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 of driving we set out across rolling steppe and reach Karakorum, famous as the old capital of the Mongolian Empire and a must-see on most tour itineraries (hence the large number of purpose-built ger camps for tourists). However you'll need a good imagination to see anything more than the collection of run-down socialist-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. And the infamous penis rock can be visited (although it's really quite small).
The second day will see us reach Terkhiin Tsagaan Nuur (The Great White Lake), a lovely spot surrounded by forested volcanic mountains. Finally we arrive in Tosontsengel where we meet our local 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!
Basic itinerary (fly to Zavkhan):
| Day 1 | Arrive in Ulaanbaatar, you are free to explore the city before meeting your fellow riders for an evening meal |
|---|---|
| Day 2 | Depart Ulaanbaatar, fly to Zavkhan |
| Day 3 | Arrive in Tosontsengel in the morning, meet the horses |
| Day 4 | Day ride, to match you to the perfect horse |
| Days 5-13 | Riding through steppe, forest and mountains |
| Days 14-15 | Drive south and explore Zavkhan's desert-steppe and lakes |
| Day 16 | Fly back to Ulaanbaatar |
| Day 17 | Depart Ulaanbaatar |
Basic itinerary (drive to Zavkhan):
After arriving in Tosontsengel the itinerary will be as for the trips where we fly to Zavkhan, except that we will meet the horses on Day 4, so there is one less day of riding.
Price: £1500 per person, or £1350 for the trip starting August 25th.
Altai Mountains Classic (17 days, departing 13th July 2010)
This remote and little-visited region of Mongolia is just crying out to be explored. In 2009 we ventured deep into the mountains and were rewarded with stunning riding amongst snowy peaks - in fact some of the best riding Mongolia has to offer. However this country is not for the faint-hearted, with precipitous trails and dense forests. Being a mountainous region, the weather can change rapidly. Toward the end of the season snow can make some routes impassable, at least to our support vehicle. Earlier in the season the lush mountain pastures are carpeted in wildflowers, making a wonderful contrast to the barren terrain surrounding this mountain oasis.
Our local friends have a good relationship with the Mongolian border guards, allowing us to ride into some very rarely visited areas on the Chinese border. They have spent years hunting in this area (before it became a national park) and know where the hidden game trails are.
After riding as far as the support vehicle can accompany us, we set up a base camp, with our large ger (traditional felt tent) to retreat to if the weather turns cold. You will have the opportunity to help erect the ger (in fact it is considered rude to watch and not participate). Depending on weather, we will take packhorses and ride out from base camp for a night or two. You do not need to ride everyday, to allow for hiking opportunities and rest days. There will also be opportunities for faster riding (and these horses can really move!)
Our host in Altai sum is Amangul, representative for a UNDP project in the area, and without doubt the most hospitable person in Mongolia. In 2009 we discussed the idea of starting a community garden for the sum and are looking forward to taking this further in 2010, using our 5% donation from each rider's trip fee. There will be plenty of opportunities to enjoy the hospitality of the local people during our journey, including seeing their hunting eagles. We fly from Ulaanbaatar to Ulgii (capital of Bayan-Ulgii province), and back, in order to maximise our riding time (otherwise it is a harrowing 5-6 days of driving!).
On Day 1 of the trip (or when you arrive, if you come early) we will meet you at the airport/train station and take you to your accommodation. You are then free to explore Ulaanbaatar - we are happy to point out some of the more interesting sites UB has to offer! You don't really need a guide, but we can arrange one if necessary. We are also there to assist with getting cash, finding your lost luggage if you flew with Aeroflot (just kidding hopefully!), and any other problems you might need help with before we head for Zavkhan the next day. We will meet for an evening meal and discuss the coming trip. When we return to Ulaanbaatar we will have a final evening meal togther, and then on the final day of the trip we will take you to the airport/train station for your return home or further travels. If possible you might like to leave some time on the final day for picking up gifts for the folks back home, before departing.
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:
| Day 1 | Arrive in Ulaanbaatar, you are free to explore the city before meeting for an evening meal |
|---|---|
| Day 2 | Depart Ulaanbaatar, fly to Ulgii |
| Day 3 | Drive south to Altai village (4 hours), meet the horses |
| Days 4-14 | Ride (11-12 days) into the mountains of Altai Tavan Bogd National Park |
| Day 15 | Drive to Ulgii, visiting family along the way |
| Day 16 | Fly back to Ulaanbaatar |
| Day 17 | Depart Ulaanbaatar |
Price: £1700 per person.
Zavkhan Multi-activity (21 days, departing 13th July 2010, exploratory)
The Great Mongolian Road Trip
We start with the epic drive from UB to Zavkhan (three days, 850km), stopping at Kharkhorin (Karakorum), site of the 13th century capital of the Mongolian Empire, and on past Terekhiin Tsaagan Nuur, the Great White Lake (see a full description of the Road Trip here...).
Our indestructable Russian four-wheel drive vehicles will handle anything that Mongolia's notorious roads can throw at them. We stay at comfortable ger camps each night, to ease you in to the wilderness camping to come.
Horse Riding
Initially we travel through the same great riding country as on our Zavkhan Classic ride (8-9 days riding). A mix of wide open valleys, perfect for a gallop for the more experienced riders, and forest trails. We make our way up in to the mountains of Tarvagatai Uul National Park, where we will visit our favourite abandoned old spa for a well-earned soak. There will be enough horses with us for everyone to ride, since there is a strong possibility that the bikers and hikers will see the sense in horse riding, at least for part of each day!
For a full description of the horse riding on this trip, see our Zavkhan Classic ride.
Mountain Biking
While riding the horses (and also the camels later), we will have mountain bikes available. The riding will not generally be hard-core down-hill (although there are some good spots if you are after thrills!). If biking is really not your thing, you can always stick with the horses or camels. Our horses will easily reach 50km per hour at a gallop, so the bikes may struggle to keep up at times. However the average speed over a mixed day of walking, trotting, cantering and galloping works out at about 8 km per hour, perfectly achievable on a bike. You will be riding on dirt tracks and horse trails.
Our bikes are good quality UK-designed models made for Landrover, with front shocks. For those who know about these things, the components are by SRAM, Truvative, RockShocks, Avid.
Hiking
Once we reach the mountains, where wheeled transport cannot follow, we leave the vehicles and mountain bikes and set out on foot and horse back, using some of the horses as pack animals. Our destination is Marz Nuur, a lovely lake at the foot of Marz Mountain. Listen for the eerie call of loons (divers) at night. This is an ideal spot for swimming, and makes a good base-camp for an ascent of Marz, quite a climb at 3025m.
The summit can be reached in a day, but the way is steep and there is no trail so a reasonable level of fitness is required. The view from the top is worth the climb, but if that doesn't sound like fun, the lake is a great place to relax for a day. Those with a taste for the macabre can visit the wreckage of a plane which crashed on the mountain summit some years ago (please note that this was well before the current airlines started to operate!).
This is a mountain environment and the weather can change rapidly. The journey to Marz lake and mountain is very much weather-dependent.
Camel Trekking
After riding/biking back down from the mountains, we start camel trekking. Mongolian camels are the Bactrian (two-humped variety) and are an excellent mode of transport when travelling out on the steppe where water is limited. We will set out from Zambaga ger camp, a great place to stop for a night and enjoy a soft(ish) bed in a ger, and a hot shower (no promises). We trek south-west for three days across the steppe, until reaching the shores of Khar Nuur, a beautiful desert lake (120km). This route is completely new to us, so you need to be prepared for anything!
During this part of the trip we will also be able to ride the mountain bikes. We may be able to meet our four-wheel drive vehicles at the end of each day, depending on the terrain and route we take. Alternatively we will use some of the camels as pack animals and be fully independent.
Once we reach Khar Nuur, we set up base camp on the shore amongst the sand dunes, which is as far as we have ventured previously. From here we will attempt to travel along the southern shore of the lake, with some of the group continuing with the camels and some by kayak, swapping modes of transport each day.
Kayaking
The far end of the lake is uninhabited and inaccessible by vehicle, and we are not sure exactly what we will find there, but satellite photos show a huge area of sand dunes sweeping up from the Gobi Desert and meeting the shores of the lake. Kayaks are the ideal way to explore this area. We will camp three to four nights along the way. If you are not comfortable with the idea of kayaking, there is the option of hiking or riding the camels.
Our kayaks are made by Pyranha in the UK, and are suitable for people with no previous experience. A reasonable level of fitness will make this part of the trip more enjoyable. You will be supplied with a bouyancy aid and a spray deck (for experienced paddlers) and will be in the care of a qualified instructor.
By Day 19 we will need to be back at base-camp, ready to drive south to the airport (3 hours) for our flight back to Ulaanbaatar.
IMPORTANT: This is most definitely an exploratory trip. You will need a keen sense of adventure and be prepared to deal with the unexpected.
Trip Outline
| Day 1 (13th July) | Meet for dinner in Ulaanbaatar |
| Days 2 to 3 | Drive to Zavkhan |
| Day 4 | Arrive in Zavkhan, short horse ride |
| Days 5 to 7 | Horse riding, hiking, mountain-biking in Tarvagatai National Park |
| Days 8 to 10 |
Horse riding and hiking to Marz Mountain |
| Days 11 to 12 | Horse riding, hiking and mountain-biking back out to the steppe |
| Day 13 to 15 | Camel trekking to Khar Nuur |
| Days 16 to 19 |
Kayaking, camel trekking |
| Day 20 | Fly back to Ulaanbaatar |
| Day 21 (2nd Aug) |
Transfers to airport |
Highlights
- All the fun of a Zavkhan Classic trip, plus...
- Help us pioneer new routes
- Hike and ride further in to the mountains with packhorses
- Camel trek across the steppe
- Kayak on Khar Nuur
- Mountain bike on dirt tracks with no vehicles
- The Great Mongolian Road Trip, including Kharkhorin/Karakorum, Erdene Zuu Khiid (a 16th century monastery), and the 'mini-Black Market' at Tsetserleg
Eagle Festival and Altai Mountains (15 days, departing 7th September 2010)
This festival really is one of the greats. Don't just take our word for it, 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 with 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). We often stage our own mini festival during the ride so you can have a go at tug-of-war with a dead goat (or an old sack in our case) or try to chase and whip your fellow riders (not that we encourage that sort of thing of course).
Basic itinerary:
| Day 1-3 | As for the Altai Mountains trips above |
|---|---|
| Days 4-10 | Ride into the mountains of Altai Tavan Bogd National Park (7-8 days riding) |
| Day 11 | Drive to Sagsai near Ulgii, visiting family along the way |
| Days 12-13 | Eagle festival |
| Day 14 | Fly back to Ulaanbaatar |
| Day 15 | Depart Ulaanbaatar |
Price: £1600 per person.
The price for all trips includes:
- Transfers to and from the airport/train station (including arrivals before Day 1)
- Transport while in Mongolia, including support vehicle for the duration of the trip, and internal flights
- Accommodation in Ulaanbaatar for two nights (Day 1, and one night upon returning to Ulaanbaatar). If you require extra nights accommodation, we can arrange this for you
- Accommodation outside of Ulaanbaatar
- All meals for the duration of the trip, from dinner on Day 1 to breakfast on the final day
- Interpreter
- Local horse wranglers/guides
- National Park and border area entrance fees
- The fine company of John, Sam or Jennifer
The price excludes:
- International air and train travel
- Mongolian visa
- Personal medical and travel insurance
- Entry fees into tourist attractions in Ulaanbaatar
Our trip style
Zavkhan Trekking aims to provide an 'authentic', hands-on experience of Mongolia, but with a level of comfort at the end of the day that makes up for all that authenticity. We will be travelling well off the tourist trail and into remote areas, and will need to 'rough it' when necessary. But while there may not be ice in your drink, a glass or two of something pleasant while relaxing by the fire in the evening is certainly part of our style.
Once we start riding we will be camping under the stars and cooking over an open fire every night. But that doesn't mean you will be eating endless boiled mutton; our campfire cuisine extends to Thai curries, risottos and vegetarian meals. We always aim to get to a well-watered campsite at the end of each day, where you can wash and perhaps swim. Along the way there will be opportunities to fish, look for wildlife, meet the locals, or just relax and enjoy the view.
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!
One last thing. If you are tired of travelling in developing countries where you are seen as just another foreigner to sell tacky tourist souvenirs to, you will be pleasantly surprised. Where we ride tourism really is non-existent..."My trip was everything and more I hoped and expected it would be, having dreamt since a child of one day travelling to see the real Mongolia rather than tourist Mongolia (Sue 2008)".