Mongolia Gay Cultural Vistas Tour

Day 1: Arrival in Ulaanbaatar 

Welcome to Mongolia, once home to Genghis Khan (Chinggis Khaan)! Our transfer driver will take us to our hotel to relax after our long flights. We will have an informal meeting this evening with anyone whose flight arrives early enough to join us. 

Day 2: Exploring Ulaanbaatar 

Today we will explore Mongolia’s capital city of Ulaanbaatar, the country’s only metropolitan center. We will visit the Gandan Buddhist Monastery in the morning and the National Museum of Mongolia in the afternoon. This evening, we will enjoy our welcome dinner, which will be accompanied by a traditional Mongolian folk concert with dances and throat singing.  

Day 3: Gobi Desert & the Yol Valley  

Today we fly to the southern Gobi Desert. Our main stop this afternoon is for a walk in the Yol Valley (Yolyn Am). For a desert, the Gobi surprises with hidden green gems, lush vegetation and even cute voles. The river running through the Yol Valley remains partially frozen until late June, but provides water year-round, which attracts a variety of wildlife such as the Altai snowcock, the Bighorn Argali Sheep, the wild ibex ram, wolves, and foxes. Scan the skies and keep your eyes open for the Lammergeier vulture, for which the valley is named. There are even occasional reports of snow leopard tracks in the area. Enjoy a 2-to-3-hour hike into the valley, weather permitting (it is out-and-back so you can stop or turn around at any point).  

We then continue to our Gobi ger camp, where we will stay for the next three nights. Gers are traditional Mongolian circular sturdy tents, perhaps better known to you from the Russian name yurt. Our gers provide a comfortable room with beds, a desk and chairs, a window looking out on the Gobi landscape, and ensuite bathrooms.  

Day 4: Nomadic Family and the Flaming Cliffs

After a good night’s sleep, we will visit a local nomadic family in their seasonal home. They will talk with us about nomadic family life in the desert, as well as joys and problems that they face in the modern era.

Next, we will visit the world-famous dinosaur fossils found in 1922 at the “Flaming Cliffs” (bayanzag in Mongolian). American explorer Roy Chapman Andrews, whom some say was the model for Indiana Jones, discovered not only intact dinosaur bones, but also the first dinosaur eggs ever to be discovered. The Flaming Cliffs, so aptly named, are red in color and almost seem to glow in the rising or setting sun. As you wander through here, keep your eyes peeled for geodes. Some fossils are still being discovered today! In the evening, we will head back to our ger camp for dinner.

Day 5: Gobi Camel Ride and Khavtsgait Petroglyphs 

After breakfast, we will head to the sand dunes to enjoy a camel ride offered by a local herder family. The camels in Mongolia are Bactrian Camels which have a double hump, and we will saddle-up in between the humps. Our local hosts will lead us on a walk, telling us more about our sturdy steeds, why they are here, and the purpose of the humps. We will return to the ger camp for lunch. The afternoon is at your leisure. However, we offer an optional excursion this afternoon to Khavtsgait, an area on top of the central mountain range cutting through the Gobi that contains bronze age petroglyphs.  We will hike 30 minutes uphill to reach these ancient carvings. We can explore this area while the guide explains about bronze age life in the gobi. Afterwards, return to the ger camp for dinner and perhaps a campfire under the big sky of the Gobi.  

Day 6: Nomadic Mongolian Experience

We will take an early flight back to the capital, heading west of the city to a traditional Mongol Nomadic ger camp with presentations on ancient Mongolian life. These activities will include traditional music, how they make Mongolian vodka, how to load camels and yaks to transport their gers to their next camp, drying leathers, and how they break horses. The guests are able to try on traditional clothing and furs. After the festivities, we continue to our contemporary, somewhat upscale ger camp, the HS Khaan resort. This ger camp is Japanese-owned and Mongolian run, offering an upscale experience, large rooms with grand views, and fine food. Unpack and rest before we will have dinner at the resort.

Day 7: Contemporary Buddhist Temple Aglag Buteel & Boulder Carvings

After Breakfast, we visit a modern Buddhist temple called Aglag Buteel. This temple was designed by a famous Buddhist monk named Purevbat, who annually determined the Tibetan Buddhist calendar based on astronomy. As usual, the temple is situated high on a hill with a peaceful view of nature. Interestingly, he and his followers have spent the last fifteen to twenty years carving the granite boulders and cliffs above the temple into unique and quite striking images of gods and mythology. Visit the temple. And for those up for the extended walk, we will continue up the hill behind the temple to enjoy a walk with the gods. Afterwards, we return to our resort for the afternoon and evening.

Day 8: Terelj National Park and Tsonjin Boldog Statue

After breakfast we will drive east to Terelj National Park. This area is the southern tip of the Siberian boreal forest known as the taiga, and is a stark contrast in landscape with the Gobi desert. We will have lunch at one of the camps in the restaurants in the area and we will spend the afternoon enjoying the sights that Terelj National park has to offer. This area has many unique rock formations, including the famous turtle rock whose name is derived from its uncanny resemblance of a huge turtle. After a quick stop at this rock, we will visit the Ariyabal Buddhist temple and climb the requisite 108 stone steps to reach its entrance. Mongolian Tibetan Buddhist monks, in the past, would retreat here to meditate and pray. Nowadays, the monks are not active here when tourists visit. Late afternoon we arrive at our luxury hotel where we stay for two nights.

Later, we can enjoy a short horse ride in the area before returning to our hotel for dinner.

Day 9: Tsonjin Boldog and Private Naadam Festival

In the morning, we will go to Tsonjin Boldog, a huge metal statue of Chinggis Khan on horseback. Inside the statue we either take the stairs or an elevator to the top of the horse, offering a great view of the area. After leaving Tsonjin Boldog, we will visit a local ger camp to enjoy the spectacle of a small, private Naadam festival. The Naadam festival, a summer tradition dating back to the times of Chinggis Khaan, is a trio of contests displaying the Mongolian sports of horse racing, wrestling, and archery in traditional attire. In this area we can also take a horse ride if you would like

Day 10: Return to Ulaanbaatar

After a relaxing start to our morning, we will return to Ulaanbaatar for our last night in Mongolia. The afternoon will be on your own to explore more of the capital city. After our farewell dinner together, perhaps a visit to a local gay bar for those who are interested.

Day 11: Homeward Bound 

Today we all start our journey home or to our next destination. Transfers will be provided based on flight times. Bon, voyage!