Naadam Games & Altai Mountains

ULAN BATOR

On the arrival day, to orient yourself we suggest a stroll on to central Sukhbaatar Square. The square is flanked by state buildings from the mid Soviet Era, and contains statues of Genghis Khan (seated) and Damdin Sukhbaatar (on horseback). A full day of explorations of Ulan Bator. The National Museum of Mongolia to admire its ethnographic collections of nomadic culture and examine the history which led to the imperial era of Genghis Khan. The Gandan Monastery, the busiest Buddhist site in Mongolia. Mongols share a strong religious affinity with Tibet, and the Dalai Lama as its supreme leader. The Winter Palace of the Bogd Khan.

TO DELUUN VIA ÖLGII

An early morning plane Ulan Bator will fly you the two-to-three hours to Ölgii. You will continue the journey by Land Cruisers for the four-hour drive to Deluun. Ready your cameras for beautiful Tolbo Lake, with the snow-capped Sair mountain serving as backdrop. Deluun, a small Kazakh village, is located on the west side of Hökh Serkhiin Nuruu National Park. Your private 360° Wilderness Ger Camp will be set up either along the Buyant River or in the Chigertei Valley, ready for three nights of glorious isolation.

HÖKH SERKHIIN NURUU & CHIGERTEI NATIONAL PARKS

You will set off on foot up the Ikh Yamaat (Big Goat) Valley, of Hökh Serkhiin Nuruu National Park, where with luck you might encounter hundreds of Siberian ibex. The Argali sheep, the world’s largest wild sheep, is also sometimes seen. These are prey animals to snow leopards, which are tracked and studied here by the Altai Research Institute. On one of the days. you will reach the remote border zone, summer highland pastures of Kazakh nomads at high elevation at the main ridge of the Altai Mountains, which marks the border with China’s Xinjiang province. There, we will strike up a conversation with these hardy nomads herding their sheep and goats, some of whom are prominent eagle hunters as well as pastoralists. Chigertei National Park joins with Keketuohai National Park across the border, the so-called ‘Yosemite of China’. Camera traps here enable ongoing research into wolverines. Numerous archaeological remains in the area, including kurgans (grave mounds) and Deer Stones, reveal evidence of habitation by Scythians, Hunnu, and layers of later cultures.

TO HOVD

Today we break camp and drive the four-to-five hours to Hovd Province, departing Altai proper and entering a region where the majority of inhabitants are not Kazakhs but Mongols. Hovd is an appealing, multi-ethnic town of Halkh Mongols, Myangad Mongols, Kazakhs and other peoples, hence why it boasts both Buddhist temples and a mosque. Hovd also has a noteworthy local museum, the only university in West Mongolia, and a vibrant local market to explore.

NAADAM GAMES

We will dedicate two days to enjoy Naadam Games in two settings. One at any of the nearby communities of Buyant, Duut Mankhan, Chandman or Dörgön, in order to experience a traditional rural Naadam Games, mostly featuring Mongolian wrestling and horse-racing. These are festival-style celebrations which draw entire steppe communities together, including those in the wider diaspora, such as ‘city-dwellers’ from Ulan Bator or Hovd come to be with their kin. People will dress in the best attire for the occasion. The horse-racing takes place over distances of up to 32km, with children, aged between four and 12 years old, as jockeys. Nomads take this event very seriously, training horses for 21 days prior to the race as they put their equestrian rearing skills to the ultimate test. To the victor goes fame and the admiration of the community. One of the days we will dedicate to Hovd. As well as horse-racing and wrestling, the games in Hovd will probably also feature archery. Together known as the ‘three manly games’, they have been practiced since at least medieval times and the heyday of the Mongol Empire. During the festivities, we will also encounter local throat singers and horsehead fiddle players. Throat-singing is claimed to have originated from Hovd’s Chandmani community in the nearby Great Lakes Basin.

TO JARGALANT STEPPE VALLEY VIA ULAN BATOR

Today you will transfer to the nearby airport and fly back to the capital, for the transfer to your hotel in downtown Ulan Bator. The following day after breakfast we will depart the city eastwards, making a brief stop at the Genghis Khan Monument, the world’s largest equestrian statue, just under an hour into our journey. Crossing the bridge over the Kherlen River, we will enter Hentii province and continue on to the Jargalant Steppe Valley, seasonal summer pastures for local nomads and their livestock. Here we will visit Deer Stones dating back to the Turkic period from the 7th to 9th century AD, predating the era of Genghis Khan and the Mongol Empire. Your private 360° Wilderness Ger Camp has been set up for you on the summer pastures of many Mongol nomads. We will remain here for two overnights.

BALDAN BEREEVEN MONASTERY

Tucked away in the nearby hills, the secluded Baldan Bereeven Monastery was founded in 1654 and rose to become one of the most important monasteries of eastern Mongolia with up to 8000 resident lamas. We will explore the remains of the site – it was destroyed during the Stalinist purges of the late 1930s, but the main temple has since undergone renovation – and chat to the last few lamas here, who are friendly and keen to talk about their experiences. The monastery itself abuts the steep cliffs of Mönkh Ölziit, and the scenic grounds are surrounded by sacred mountains rich in Buddhist petroglyphs. Return to our private glamp camp.

TO THE ONON RIVER

Today, your entire 360° Wilderness Camp will be packed up, loaded on to a small truck, and transported to your next site. Meanwhile, you will explore various points of interest on route, beginning with Binder Ovoo, one of the most sacred cairns in Mongolia, believed to have been here since the time of Genghis Khan. Nearby is the famous Rashaant Had (Spring Rock), so named because spring waters bubble forth directly from it. Petroglyphs indicate that it has been an important site for thousands of years. Next, we will continue into taiga forest to the hidden Öglögch Wall, a stone wall several kilometers long believed to date from the era of the Xiongnu (Hunnu), just before the birth of Christ. You may look for the secret of Genghis Khan’s grave here. After hiking along the wall, we’ll stop for a picnic lunch before journeying to camp, already set up somewhere convenient at a scenic and private spot.

ONON RIVER OR DAURIAN STEPPE LAKES

Today you can choose to explore the area of Binder and meet its Buryat Mongol inhabitants, or head to the Daurian Steppe Lakes, habitat to several crane species and kept in place by underlying permafrost. Keep an eye out for five of the world’s crane species that may be seen here, including the rare Siberian crane, Hooded crane, and White-naped crane. Great bustards (Otis tarda) are also commonly seen, the heaviest flying bird in the world - as large as a border collie with wings! The village of Binder sits beside the Onon River, the longest tributary of the Amur which drains into the Pacific Ocean through Russia. Together they comprise the longest undisturbed river in all of Eurasia. People around Binder are Buryat Mongols, a Mongol-speaking people who immigrated from east of Lake Baikal in nearby Siberia.

TO ULAN BATOR & DEPARTURE

After breakfast we we´ll drive for one hour to the small community airstrip at Binder village, where a Cessna Caravan aircraft, landing and taking off directly on to the grass, will fly you the one-and-a-half hours to Ulan Bator’s international airport in time for your connecting flight out of Mongolia.