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Day 1: Ulaanbaatar
Reception at the airport by our team. Transfer to the hotel. We go after lunch to explore Ulaanbaatar, an amazing city. This Soviet-style city still marked by its history is very much alive today. At the crossroads of Eastern and Western influences, it seems in transition between communist and capitalist economy, nomadic and sedentary lifestyle. Visits of National Museum of History and of Gandan Monastery, the largest religious center of Mongolia, will provide a clear historical and cultural basis for exploring the country.
Evening at the national academy for a traditional songs and dances performance.
Night: in hotel, lunch
Day 2 : Ulan-Bator - Zorgol Khairkhan
Early morning we leave the bustle of the capital to start our adventure by 4x4 to the south. Soon, we taste the pleasures of the track which replace the asphalt road! We drive across the vast steppes and find our first Mongolian images: herds of wild horses galloping along the track, smoking yurt isolated at the bottom of an irrigated valley... We reach in the afternoon the Zorgol Khairkhan sacred mountain: Rocky Mountain in the form of a lying fawn. According to custom, its name should not be pronounced in its surroundings.
Tonight, we are warmly greeted by our first nomadic family, sheep and goat herders. In the usability of the yurt, we enjoy our first "Suutei Tsai" - salted milk tea, and “Aaruul" - Mongolian dry cheese.
We enjoy the afternoon to freely observe our first scenes of daily life in a yurt and camp.
Night: in host family's yurt, 4-6 h of drive, 1-2 h of hike
Day 3 : Encampment of nomads
The breeding activity does not end with the arrival of travellers. On the contrary, we are invited to participate in various tasks relative to the daily life of our host family. While some to herd sheep and goats to the pasture on horseback, the other profit from the absence of animals to clean the pen and pick up the dung that will feed the fire. By late afternoon, we learn to tie animals by horns for the milking.
Night: in host family's yurt
Day 4 : Zorgol Khairkhan - Khugnu Khan
Today, we take back the road and go to the Khugnu Khan Natural Reserve, where is installed, during summer, our 2nd host family (horse herders)
This reserve has a very unusual landscape. In the middle of the rolling and green steppe, we find a large sand dune like a freak of nature ... The lovers of wildlife and flora will be marvelled of this site which represents two very different ecosystems at a time.
In the afternoon, a camel ride on sand dune Elsen Tasarkhai, also known as the "Little Gobi" allow us to familiarize with the desert landscape generally characteristic of southern Mongolia.
Night: in host family's yurt, 4-6 h of drive, 1-2 h of camel riding
Day 5 : Encampment of nomads
The place is ideal for learn the practicalities related to horse-breeding. Among them, the most important: the capture of horses from the pasture with the "Urga" - lasso attached to the end of a long wooden pole. After locating the herd and have gathered it, the horsemen must show great skill and dexterity to catch the semi-wild horse, he noticed.
Accompanied by proud horsemen of the steppes, we saddle our horses and go for a horseback riding to Khugnu Khan Mount. Progressing among the strange rocky formations, we reach the ruins of Uvgunt monastery.
In the evening, we taste the "Airag", the national drink, and our host family reveals the secrets of preparing this beverage which made from fermented mare's milk.
Night: in host family's yurt, 2-3 h of horse riding
Day 6 : Khugnu Khan - Orkhon valley
Today, we dive into the heart of the famous Orkhon Valley, the true cradle of the Mongolian people, declared World Heritage by UNESCO. The Orkhon Valley is one of the most populated valleys. Its more favourable weather conditions have attracted many nomadic families living on their husbandry.
We cross the valley from east to west in order to reach the encampment of our 3th host family. We travel across vast grassy plains, interspersed with basalt rocks and surrounded by ancient dormant volcanoes. On our side, Orkhon follow-up its banks, furrow between beds of Edelweiss and steep gorges. Our slow progress on the damaged track leaves us plenty of time to observe the different scenes of nomadic life.
Unexpectedly we find ourselves at the edge of the famous Ulaantsutgalan waterfall. A short walk through the canyon to the foot of the waterfall is worth seeing. In the evening, we arrive at the family of Batsukh, an excellent hunter of wolf and breeder of yaks.
Nights: in host family's yurt, 4-6 h of drive, 1-2 h of hike
Days 7-8 : Encampment of nomads
Hospitality of Batsukh and his family allows us to stay two days to discover their lifestyle, their customs and traditions.
We spend our days with them and we invest in the activities related to yak breeding. Bring the herd to the pasture, catch the small yaks and milking the "dri" (yak female), make dairy products (cream, yogurt, butter, cheese, alcohol) derived from yak milk are now part of our daily life. In the evening, we enjoy the fruits of our culinary elaborations.
We are led to assemble our first yurt. We identify the order in which the different elements must be adjusted. Our hosts enjoy the opportunity to teach us the symbols of the yurt and explain the traditional rites to be observed within it.
Free time offers us the opportunity to explore the surroundings and enjoy the natural beauty of the region.
This stay with our nomadic friends now allows us to better understand the life of nomadic herders, its pleasures as its constraints.
Nights: in host family's yurt
Day 9 : Orkhon valley - Tuvkhen - Kharkhorin
It is a cultural day ahead us today with a visit of the hermitage of Tuvkhen and the monastery of Erdene Zuu, as well as Kharkhorin the ancient capital of the Mongol Empire.
After saying goodbye to our nomadic hosts we go to visit the monastery of Tuvkhen dating from the seventeenth century. Built in a mountainside, on the bottom of the Khangai range, we reach the site by 3-4 km climb on horseback or on foot. Only when we arrived at its foot that we find the monastery perfectly integrated in its natural environment. Immediately, we feel calm, serenity and contemplation emerging from this sacred place, dedicated to the worship of Zanabazar, the first Buddhist spiritual leader of Mongolians.
We picnic facing a breathtaking view over Khangai mountain range and its surrounding valleys.
Then we join, Kharkhorin the legendary city of Genghis Khan, founded in 1220. The former imperial capital hosts the important Erdenezuu monastery and other historic sites reflecting the glorious past of the different empires issued from the steppe.
Night: in host's family yurt, 4-6 h of drive, 2-3 h of hike
Day 10 : Kharkhorin - Oulan-Bator
We make our last drive in the heart of the Mongolian steppes before reaching Ulaanbaatar. We'll get there in the afternoon. Transfer to hotel.
Free time for shopping or some visit in the city. Possibility of visiting the factory stores of cashmere.
Night: in hotel, 5 h of drive
Jour 11 : Return
After breakfast at the hotel, a driver is waiting to transfer you to the airport.
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