Mongol Horse Trails

Day 1: Ulaanbaatar

Upon your arrival in Ulaanbaatar you will be transferred to your hotel. There will be a tour briefing and dinner.

Day 2-3: To the Steppes

In the morning we visit the Gandan Lamasery, the center for the Buddhist revival in Mongolia, possibly in time to see the prayers. Mongolians follow Lamaism (Tibetan Buddhism), with the Dalai Lama being the supreme theocratical leader. We then drive out of the city, and gradually the wide open Mongolian landscape unfolds before our eyes. We have a picnic lunch on arrival, pitching camp near some nomadic families. Here we will meet the local herders with the yak carts and our horses. We will get to know the horses and go an short trial ride.

Day 4-5: Steppe ride

All our provisions, camping equipment and luggage will be loaded onto yak carts. Even a ger (yurt) will be brought, and we will learn how to set it up. We ride across open steppe, but also cover hilly terrain with occasional patches of birch forest. Throughout the ride we will have the chance to meet with local herdsmen, often relatives and friends of our local horsetrail guides. On the second day, forests will suddenly start to appear and we are now riding towards the Khentii wilderness ar-ea, which includes the Khan Khentii Strictly Protected Area and Gorkhi Terelj National Park. In Mongolia the Siberian boreal forest meets the Central Asian desert and steppe and will be riding through the transitional zone between grasslands and northern Larch forests. We will spend two nights here.

Day 6-7: To Sharbulag Valley

The horses will enable us to ride through the Larch forests, up the slopes of the mountains and to follow ridges that offer views of superb scenery, whilst the yak carts will follow along the broad river valleys. We will arrive and pitch camp at Sharbulag Valley. We will spend two nights here, which will allow for some flexibility in the middle of our ride.

Day 8-9:  To Jalman Meadows

We ride towards Jalman Meadows, famous for its wildflowers, and reach our semi-permanent ger camp, which is situated next to a beautiful wooded meadow on the upper parts of the Tuul River. Here we say good bye to the herders and their yak carts caravan. We will stay at Jalman Meadows Ger Camp for two nights, having a superb last day ride in the surrounding area.

Day 10:  To Ulaanbaatar

We are picked up by a driver and return to Ulaanbaatar. Check into your hotel. See the capital city on your own. Distances are short and nearly all points of interest may by reached on foot. Your guide is standing by to assist you in your shopping or sightseeing activities. We will have a farewell dinner in local restaurant as well as entertainment.

Day 11: Departure

Transfer out back home or on to your next destination.

DATES ex Ulaanbaatar: 2025

MHT01: 10 – 20 Jun (Tue/Fri)
MHT02: 30Jun – 10Jul (Mon/Thu) Naadam ext
MHT03: 10 – 20 Aug (Sun/Wed)
MHT04: 1 – 11 Sep (Mon/Thu)

PRICE 2025 ex Ulaanbaatar:        

2 – 10 members: USD 2550 per person

Single supplement (10n): USD 500

Private trip supplement:

2/4 members USD 500 per trip

5/up members no charge

Practicalities:

We emphasize the quality of human contacts and encounters with local people and respect for the horse and local equestrian traditions, from which many lessons can be learnt. Traveling with Nomadic Journeys means a shared adventure with horses and yak carts in the great outdoors, choosing the life of the nomad.

Transport:

On this tour, apart from the short drive to the starting point of our horse riding adventure and back to the city we will not rely on any motor vehicle support. Instead we utilize traditional wooden carts, that Mongolian families still use moving from one pasture to another. Here we will travel by yak cards and riding horses.

Accommodation:

During the horse riding trip we will stay in spacious tentipis, with foldable bed-cots. Bring your own sleeping bag. We take along a Mongolian ger (yurt ) to serve as our mobile restaurant, as well as showers and compost toilets housed in traditional Mongolian marquee style tents. For two nights we stay at Nomadic Journeys own low-impact ger camp at Jalman Meadows. Two nights in Ulaanbaatar at a centrally located hotel. All accommodation in double occupancy.

Staff:

A Mongolian English speaking guide will accompany the group at all times. A cook will follow with the camel cart car van. In addition, the services of local herdsmen will be employed along with their animals. The horsemen follow a traditional lifestyle in the areas where we will be riding. If the group consists of four riders or more, we will also have a Mongolian doctor come along as part of the crew.

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. We can usually buy fresh milk and yogurt from local herdsmen.

Minimum riding ability:

You should be a competent rider, fit and capable of riding horse at all paces confidently. We will cover varying terrain, and will be in the saddle for several hours on most days.

Naadam Games:

There is a Naadam Festival extension possible for MHT02. There will be horseraces with almost 1000 race horses on the plains outside the city. As well as wrestling and archery.

The cost is additional USD 1000 per person.

Reversal of trip:

Riding tours may be done in the reverse for operational reasons. There are other language guides such as Russian, French, German, Italian, Korean etc. available at additional cost, booked and confirmed ahead of time.

Includes:

English speaking guide, breakfast every day in Ulaanbaatar, welcome and farewell dinner. All meals outside Ulaanbaatar. All overnights in hotels (2n.)  gers (2n.) and tents (6n.) in shared double,  camping equipment and all local transport.

Excludes:

Drinks, laundry, lunch in Ulaanbaatar. Air or train tickets in and out of Mongolia. Bring your own sleeping bag, riding helmet and short chaps.