Sunday 9th Ulaanbaatar

You may arrive in the Mongolian capital by flight or join this program from any of our other trips. If you arrive today we provide transfer to your hotel. You may explore the city on your own for the rest of the day. Distances are short and nearly all points of interest can be reached by foot. Minor archery competitions and trainings will already start today. Especially special events such as children’s archery, Buryat style archery, etc. Training sessions allow for good photography. In the evening the horse trainers arrive with their horses and pitch their mobile camps at Hui Doloon Hudag, a steppe area 40 km away from the city center. In the evening we meet for a festive welcome dinner.

Monday 10th Ulaanbaatar

Today, one day before the National Naadam officially begins, we will drive out of the city and attend smaller, more intimate “country-style” Naadam festivals, usually held in three communities some 50-60km away. This failing, the big horse races also start on the Hui Doloon Hudag plains today. In the countryside you have the chance to get up close to the horse races, and also to the wrestling matches. Local people usually wear their finest traditional dresses, adding to the colorful, festive atmosphere. We have a picnic lunch nearby and head back to Ulaanbaatar in the afternoon.

Tuesday 11th Ulaanbaatar

Today Naadam is officially opened by the President of Mongolia. Soldiers on horseback, dressed in warrior regalia, ceremo-nially bring Genghis Khan’s nine white horsetail banners from the parliament, where they are normally displayed, to the stadium. We will attend the impressive opening ceremony, after which the first round of wrestling will immediately follow. In most years 512 wrestlers from all over Mongolia compete, but in some years there are 1024!

There are no judges, no time limits and no weight limits. We may try and attend the archery competitions (if not done the previous day) and later make our way out to the steppe area on the fringes of the city, where the horse races take place. We visit the nomadic tented camps that have sprung up, and experi-ence a concentrated version of nomadic Mongolia. Herdsmen have come with their horses and all provisions for the festivities, which of course include airag (koumiss; fermented mares milk) for the merry making. Stroll around the area and you are likely to be invited in somewhere. You may also try your luck at the finals of the horse races, but prior instructions are necessary, since the finishing line of a full horse race of several hundred, is a potentially hazardous environment.

Wednesday 12th Ulaanbaatar

Our services end after breakfast (and transfer to the airport if applicable), as we have covered all aspects and the highlights of Naadam by now. You may of course remain in the city to attend the final rounds of wrestling and the awards, or continue for one of our trips further into the great Mongolian void. You need to be attentive with hotel reservations and ad-vise us early if intending to stay beyond mid-day.

Dates ex Ulaanbaatar:

09 July to 12 July

PRICE ex Ulaanbaatar:

2d/2n: USD 1100 per person

3d/3n: USD 1200 per person

Single Supplement (3n): USD 300

Practicalities:

Includes:

English speaking guide. All meals. All local transport and transfers. Three or four star hotel in shared double. Accommodation can not be specified until a few weeks prior to arrival.

Excludes:

Air or train tickets in and out Mongolia.

Trip Extentsions:

Prior to and after this tour we have a series of trips into the vast Mongolian countryside. These are a Camel Trek in the Eastern Gobi and horse riding expeditions such as Mongol Horse Trails, Gobi Steppe Ride and Big Skies Trail.

Trips available in conjunction with Naadam:

• MONGOL HORSE TRAILS
• BIG SKIES TRAIL
• IKH NART NATURE RESERVE
• ARBURD SANDS
• JALMAN MEADOWS

1/Wednesday 18th September—Arrival in Ulaanbaatar

Arrive in Ulaanbaatar, the capital city of Mongolia. Transfer to your hotel. Free in the city. Tour briefing before dinner.

2/Thursday 19th September—Arrival in Bayan-Ölgii

Likely, in the early morning we will transfer to the airport and fly 3½ hours to Ölgii or Hovd. Both towns are small towns, being capitals in their respective provinces. Both towns have a local interesting museum on its natural history. Hovd was a town already during Manchurian times, prior to 1910 and it has several ethnic minorities with a majority of Mongols. Hovd has both
mosques and Buddhist temples. Ölgii is younger and with a majority of Kazakh people. Tuvans and Uriankhai peoples also live here. If we land in Hovd, there will be a nice drive of four hours with the Altai Mountains on both sides of the road, being the Hökh Serkhiin Nuruu and Tsambagarav Uul National Parks. We will use the time for sightseeing. Check-in at Eagle’s Nest Hotel.

3/Friday 20th September—Excursion

Today, one day prior to the Eagle Festival, we’ll visit the nearby Eagle Hunter nomad family to see how they’re preparing for their festival and competitions. You can experience the nomadic life-style firsthand and close encounter with the Golden Eagles.

4/Saturday 21st September—Opening ceremony

The Altai Eagle festival starts this day, near the village of Tolbo which is organized in third weekend of September. It is a spectacle with eagles released from the hills, hunting for a fox skin in tow behind a horseman. Horse games such as the Central Asian game bouzkhasi, which is on horseback tug-of-war with a goat carcass. Quite wild at times. You will explore the eagle hunters’ traditional custom and culture.

5/Sunday 22nd September—Eagle festival 

Explore another full day at the festival. Some shows of eagles are played. Eagles fly to the own trainers’ hand and catch the moving objects or prey while flying. Today there will be a camel race. In the evening, traditional concert of Kazak ethnic group performed and enjoy a farewell dinner.

6/Monday 23rd September—To Ulaanbaatar

Transfer to Ölgii airport and fly back to Ulaanbaatar 3½ hours.

7/Tuesday 24th September—Ulaanbaatar

A.m. Visit to Gandan Lamasery, center for the revival of Buddhism in Mongolia. Visit Sukhbaatar Square, where the Parliament Building is located as well as the statues of Sukhbaatar and Genghis Khan, Ögödei Khan and Khubilai Khan. Visit the National Museum of Mongolia.

8/Wednesday 25th September—Departure

Transfer to the airport for international flight out.

DATES 2025 ex Ulaanbaatar:

17 September – 24 September 2025.

PRICE ex Ulaanbaatar:

2 members: USD 3950 per person

Single supplement (7n): USD 700

Practicalities:

Transport:

This tour is supported by a jeep or minibus depending on the number of travelers.

Accommodation:

For early bookings there will be space at the only new small hotel sporting ten rooms with attached facilities. If the flight schedules are unfavourable, we will stay in a small two-star hotel in Hovd.

Operations:

Domestic flight days and times are confirmed latest in April. It means you may fly to any of Ölgii, Hovd or Ulaangom airports.

Staff:

An English-speaking Mongolian guide will accompany you at all times. Other language guides such as Russian, French, German, Italian, Korean etc. available at additional cost, upon request.

Meals:

Our cook will prepare the meals. We pride ourselves in having excellent cooks adept at both western and Mongolian cooking on our trips. There is no problem accommodating vegetarians on our trips.

Includes:

Guide. All meals outside the Ulaanbaatar. Breakfast every day in Ulaanbaatar. Domestic flight. All transfers.

Excludes:

Beverages, lunch and dinner in Ulaanbaatar. Air or train tickets in and out of Mongolia.

Wednesday August 3rd—Hustai National Park

We pick you up from your hotel after breakfast and leave Ulaanbaatar in westerly direction to Hustai National Park. We drive for about two hours. We have lunch with a local herding family, who live on the fringes of Hustai with their herds of livestock. Here we have the chance to learn about the Hustai bufferzone program. After lunch, you may join the everyday activities of the nomad family. In the afternoon, we explore the interior of the park by vehicle. We can also go on a small hike up on one of the ridges to catch fantastic panoramic views of the surrounding landscape. After an early dinner at the Hustai Ger Camp Restaurant we go on an evening game drive to see the Przewalski’s horses (Equus Ferus Przewalskii), that roam the park in small herds. During the day they are usually hiding from the heat at higher altitudes, but chances are quite good to see them at close range, when they come down to drink and graze before sunset. We drive to Hustai Ger Camp and check into our gers.

Thursday August 4th 

Danshig Naadam at Hui Doloon Hudag

After breakfast we will see the horse races, wrestling and archery competitions, as well as the Lamaist ritual mask dances, called Tsam in Mongolian. Danshig actually is the more traditional Naadam, drawing on the yearly gatherings of the seven Mongol princes of the Khalkha province. It is a symbolic demonstration of unity as well as a religious and political event for the Khalkha Mongols. After the People’s Revolution of 1921, the religious elements of this festival were discontinued and the name was changed from Danshig Naadam to simply ‘Naadam’. There are many stalls set up, offering a variety of local snacks and dishes.  Different monasteries from throughout Mongolia have their own tents, where the monks meet the public. In the late afternoon, we drive back to Ulaanbaatar and drop you off at your hotel.

Dates 2025 ex Ulaanbaatar:

28 June – 29 June 2025

PRICE ex Ulaanbaatar:

2 members: USD 800 per person 

Wednesday 02nd October—Arrival in Ulaanbaatar

Arrive in Ulaanbaatar, the capital city of Mongolia. Transfer to Bayangol Hotel. Free in the city. Tour briefing before dinner.

Thursday 03rd October—Arrival in Bayan-Ölgii

Transfer Likely, in the early morning we will transfer to the airport and fly 3½ hours to Ölgii or Hovd. Both towns are small towns, being capitals in their respective provinces. Both towns have a local interesting museum on its natural history. Hovd was a town already during Manchurian times, prior to 1910 and it has several ethnic minorities with a majority of Mongols. Hovd has both mosques and Buddhist temples. Ölgii is younger and with a majority of Kazakh people. Tuvans and Uriankhai peoples also live here. If we land in Hovd, there will be a nice drive of four hours with the Altai Mountains on both sides of the road, being the Hökh Serkhiin Nuruu and Tsambagarav Uul National Parks. We will use the time for sightseeing.

Friday 04th October—Excursion

Today, one day prior to the Eagle Festival, we’ll visit the nearby Eagle Hunter nomad family to see how they’re preparing for their festival and competitions. You can experience the nomadic  lifestyle firsthand and close encounter with the Golden Eagles.

Saturday 05th October—Opening ceremony

The Golden Eagle festival starts this day, which is organized in first weekend of October. It is a spectacle with eagles released from the hills, hunting for model artificial foxes. Horse games such as the Central Asian game bouzkhasi, which is on horseback tug-of-war with a goat carcass. Quite wild at times. You will explore the eagle hunters’ traditional custom and culture. Most certainly Aisholpan will be there, the now famous young “Eagle Huntress”. A friend of Nomadic Journeys.

Sunday 06th October—Eagle festival 

Explore another full day at the festival. Some shows of eagles are played. Eagles fly to the own trainers’ hand and catch the moving objects or prey while flying. In the evening, traditional concert of Kazakh ethnic group is performed and have farewell dinner.

Monday 07th October—To Ulaanbaatar

After breakfast, transfer to the Ölgii airport and fly back to Ulaanbaatar.

Tuesday 08th October—Ulaanbaatar

After breakfast, visit to Gandan Lamasery, Sukhbaatar Square and National Museum of Mongolia.

Wednesday 09th October—Departure

Transfer to the airport for international flight out

DATES 2025 ex Ulaanbaatar:

1 October – 8 October 2025.

PRICE ex Ulaanbaatar:

2 members: USD 3950 per person

Single supplement (7n): USD 350

Practicalities:

Transport:

This tour is supported by a jeep or minibus depending on the number of travelers.

Accommodation:

In Ölgii we will lodge at a comfortable temporary ger camp. If the flight schedules are unfavourable, we will stay in a small two-star hotel in Hovd or Ölgii.

Operations:

Domestic flight days and times are confirmed latest in April. It means you may fly to any of Ölgii, Hovd or Ulaangom airports.

Staff:

An English-speaking Mongolian guide will accompany you at all times. Other language guides such as Russian, French, German, Italian, Korean etc. available at additional cost, upon request.

Meals:

The meals will be provided in the ger camp, or as picnic lunches.

Includes:

All meals outside the Ulaanbaatar. Breakfast every day in Ulaanbaatar. Domestic flight. All transfers.

Excludes:

Beverages, lunch and dinner in Ulaanbaatar. Air or train tickets in and out of Mongolia.