Searching Inner Wisdom - Monasteries in Karakorum and Gobi for 14 days

Welcome to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia! 

Meet our staff who will welcome you at the airport/train station  in Ulaanbaatar (UB), the capital of Mongolia  and  assist you checking in to the hotel.  

Have a rest until we take you for  guided walking city tour that will introduce you to the highlights of the city. 

The capital of Mongolia, dates back to 1639 when it was first established as a moveable monastery. You will be introduced to the central city square with a grand statue of Genghis Khan and Sukhbaatar statue placed at the center as well. Museum of National History is located right next to the square will introducing Mongolia's history from early humans to modern era. Then choose to visit one of two museums from the following: 1. Choijin Lama or State Oracle Residence-museum displaying best samples of Buddhist artwork and religious masks. 2 The Fine Arts Zanabazar Museum displays old arts including   Buddhist arts, painting, folk arts and crafts, sculptures, carvings and embroideries.  

In the evening at 6 p.m you will be brought to watch a show of traditional music, throat singing and contortion. After the show  a welcome dinner is set for you. 

In morning at the agreed time we will pick you up from the hotel and head to Karakorum town where the 2nd son of Chinggis Khan built the capital of the Mongol Empire in early 13th century. Largely an experiment of city building in a pre-dominantly nomadic culture, Karakorum as it was known then never became a fully functional capital before it was demolished by invading Chinese Min Dynasty troops in late 14th century.

Local monk will guide us around the monastery. Today the main attraction here is the monastery museum of Erdene Zuu established in 16th century by a Mongol khan as part of introduction of Buddhism as the main religion. The monastery then suffered almost a complete destruction during the anti-religion campaign of 1930-ies with just a dozen of temples surviving till present. Spend some time in the peaceful premises of the monastery and take a glance at a few surviving artifacts of the old capital. You may as well walk the earthen hills nearby that still contain remains of the imperial capital. 

After the monastry tour we will have a tea with the monk and ask questions related to the monastic culture of the area.

We will visit Kharkhorin museum after the monastery. Overnight in ger camp equipped with shower and sanitation facilities. 

After breakfast we will continue our travel and leave for Terkhiin Tsgaan lake. 

Terkhiin Tsagaan lake is located in the province of Arkhangai, a spectacular region of wooded dome shaped mountains, rugged terrain and lakes. Landscape is dotted with white gers of nomads. Thousands of yaks, sheep and horses graze alongside the road. The lake, created by an earthquake millions of years ago and surrounded by faults, canyons and extinct volcanoes is one of the most famous tour destinations of Mongolia.

Once reached the area we will visit a local herder family. We will stay with this family for  2 nights. get to know them and learn about their lifestyle. 

When you wake up early enough before 9.00 in the morning you will see the women of the family milking their yaks and cows. Have local breakfast and help with the yak and cow milking. 

Today is a whole free day to enjoy the nature and hiking around the mountain Khorgo. The area is perfect for a number of outdoor activities: hiking, horseback riding, swimming and bird watching. 

Accompanied by local riding guides you may take a short ride to Khorgo crater. The last few hundred meters are to be climbed on foot. From the brim of the crater there opens a splendid view over the lake and the surrounding area. Alternatively, you may just laze by the shore or hike on your own. Boating and fishing options are also available. 

Have lunch and dinner with the locals and retire early as possibe as another long driving day is ahead. 

After breakfast say goodbye to your friends and head on to the next destination which is natural gift - a hot spring resort located at the Tsenkher valley. The valley with over a dozen of medicinal hot springs that emerge from the depth of the earth - each with its own mineral content. It is gift of the nature! They proved to be an effective cure for a number of illnesses.

The landscape here is typical to eastern Khangai mountain foothills: wooded domes with grassy valleys at their base. Nomadic encampments and hundreds of grazing yaks, sheep and goats watched by tough horsemen continuously pass by. 

Lunch is set at the camp at Tsenkher. After lunch hike around the area and enjoy hot bath of spring. In the evening you may continue taking the hot spring basin. Isn`t  it cool to have a bath looking at the forested mountains? You may as well take a relaxing body massage at a small additional fee. 

Overnight at the resort camp. 

In the morning after having breakfast, we ill continue our trip heading towards Orkhon river valley. Along the way we will visit the Tuvkhun monastery. Built in 1653 and named as a Land of Happy Solitude the monastery served as a refuge of meditation to the first Mongolian Buddhist King Zanabazar. He was the one to introduce the religion with a hope to unite Mongols under banners of the Yellow Faith. The monastery is nestled near the summit of Shiveet Ulaan Mt. There are several temple halls restored in recent years with the revival of Buddhism in Mongolia. A little tunnel in the rock called mother belly is believed to purify your sins in the next rebirth if you crawl in and out of it.

After the temple visit, continue driving to the 24 meter high Ulaan Tsutgalan waterfall formed by a small tributary dropping in to a fault in which the main body of Orkhon river flows. We arrive to the 24 meter high Ulaan Tsutgalan waterfall formed by a small tributary dropping in to a fault in which the main body of Orkhon river flows. Visit the waterfall and retire in a local family ger. 

Today we will leave the mountains and rivers behind and head to the South into the Gobi semi-desert area. Around 5 to 6 hours of driving is expected. As you move  to the South the steppe turns saline and semi-arid, vegetation gradually thins out and less people come across our way. We may not encounter a human being for hundreds of miles, only endless bushy plains, camels and mirages. This is middle of nowhere. 

Local monk will guide us through the once thriving Ongi monastery site. The Barlim Monastery is located on the north bank of the river while the Khutagt Monastery sits on the south bank. The older southern complex consisted of various administrative buildings as well as 11 temples.  

After lunch dharma talk continues and followed by a short meditation that will help us to keep a balanced and relaxed mind.

Rest, hike around the valley utill dinner. Tonight we will stay overnight at the ger camp. 

Today we will drive to one of the wonders of Mongolian Gobi, Bayanzag cliff.

Bayanzag means "An area abundant with saxaul trees" as there is a saxaul grove nearby. It is a paleontology fossil site where the first samples of dinosaur eggs intact in their nests as well as hundreds of dinosaur skeletons among them of several new species were discovered by American expedition headed by Paleontologist Roy Chapman Andrews, in 1920-ies. Roy Chapman called the cliff "Flaming Cliff" as it looks like red fire flame when sunlight shines it.  

Here we hike the eroded ravines of red sandstone and try make your own discovery. A picnic lunch will be served with the view of the cliffs as the backdrop. You may as well take a short trip to Bayanzag, a saxaul grove nearby. Saxaul is a desert bush that grows to a height of 2 meters and is a valuable soil supporting agent although the most popular fuel of local herders.

We will sleep at a family ger.

Exciting trip to Khongoriin Els meaning Khongor sand dunes in English. We will arrrive at the dune in the afternoon. The Khongor Sand dunes, sometimes called by locals "The singing dunes".  Here, the most exotic and unique photos are taken. Hit the dunes under sunset and sun rise, then see what happens to your photos. 

The Singing dunes stretch for over 100km and reach 200 meters in height. They run parallel to the dark range of Sevrei Mt. A small oasis feeds a green meadow at the foothill of the massive dunes. Do the dunes really sing? Yes, they do; on a windy day a distant propeller hum is distinctly heard from the dunes. Fine sand is pushed up by the dominating NW winds on to the ridges. Gradually building up on crests it then collapses down the steeper slope producing the tremor of tons of sand rolling down.

Hike around and retire at local family ger. 

Another interesting trip is waiting for us. After breakfast drive to the “Yol Canyon” or Lammergeyer Gorge is a highlight of Gobi destinations. Nestled between the beautiful peaks of the Three Beauties Mountains the gorge shelters a small "glacier" which remains frozen even on summer's hottest days. However, due to the chinging climate, the glacier is melting year to year. Many of us witnessed Wild Goats roaming the steep cliffs. If you get up very early in the morning. spotting of the Wild Goats is guaranteed. At the entrance of the gorge is a small museum displaying samples of the area’s animal world. 

We will ride horse for 3 km from the gate till the canyon. Rest at local family ger and enjoy dinner.  

A day to travel to Tsagaan Suvarga cliff. It is one of the most popular destinations where people go to catch the exotic scenery and take nice photos.

Having 10 million years history, the cliff indicates different times by its colored layers. It’s 90 degree of straight, consists of many colors of clay deposits. In ancient times, there was a big sea in the valleys of Tsagaan Suvarga. After the sea was dried up, this area became a valley with many escarpments, covered by different sedimentary deposits. Tsagaan suvarga is a big escarpment with height of 200m  and length of 400m.

It is great place to have unique selfie photos or to test you photography skill. 

Enjoy dinner and overnight at a local family ger.

Enjoy your breakfast under the ray of sun shining the cliff.

Today we will visit the last destination of our tour, Baga Gazriin Chuluu, which is a 15km long and 10 km wide stone massif, is located 30 km to the south east of Adaatsag sum. The highest point is Tahilgat Mountain /1768 m/ in the Northwest part of the stone massif. Over 20 kinds of medical herbs and many species of animals such as wild sheep, ibex and marmot exist here, Surtiin am is one of many beautiful places in Baga gazriin stone massif. This is a narrow canyon with asp, birch, white whicker and elm tree, as well the ruin of a stone temple and the site of 2 yurts where monks lived and meditated since the seventieth century. 

Overnight at a ger camp. 

Holding nice memories of the entire tour, we will drive back to Ulaanbaatar. Have lunch on the way. Our staff will take you to your hotel and agree on time to pick you up next morning. 

Our staff meet you at the hotel and take you to airport/train station. Thank you for travelling with us. Have a safe trip back!