Mongolia - Khentii Hills Horse Riding

Day 1 Arrive in Ulaanbaatar and transfer to a 3 star hotel. The rest of the day will be free for you to explore the city. In the evening, your guide will take you to a cultural performance, which will be followed by dinner in a local restaurant to welcome you to Mongolia.

Day 2 In the morning we will head east of Ulaanbaatar, reaching Khentii National Park after a 3-hour drive, where the landscape consists of green, forested hillsides, and spectacular granite cliffs. Many nomads live in this area, and you can see yaks, sheep, goats and horses grazing in this peaceful valley. After lunch in a ger camp, we will hike through lush meadows for a couple of hours towards the Tuul River valley, where we will meet our horsemen. Then, we will have dinner and camp on the Tuul River bank.

Day 3 After a substantial breakfast, we will saddle our horses and prepare for the linear ride, while the packhorses are being loaded. As we start, we will ride into the valley along the base of mountain ranges. You will soon realize that you are slowly leaving civilization behind, entering the wilderness - birds, marmots and other ground squirrels nestle in the surrounding area. After 4 hours of riding, we will reach our campsite for the night.

Day 4 Today, as we follow the Tuul River, we enter dense pine forest, at the southern tip of Siberian Taiga. Throughout the three-and-a-half hour ride, we will see Golden eagles, woodpeckers, and other birds. We will arrive at the confluence of the Tuul and Hagiin rivers, where we will camp for the night.

Day 5 Leaving the Tuul valley behind us, we will enter tundra forests. This environment is typical moose habitat, and you will see so many marks of this magnificent animal that by the end of the day, you will be able to detect their presence like an expert! After an hour of riding, we start to ascend a mountain through deep forest noted for its abundance of wolves, bears, deer and moose. Reaching its top, we overlook and descend to the breathtaking Black Lake. We will set up camp on the yellow sandy beach of the Lake.

Days 6-7 After 3 days of riding we will enjoy a deserved rest at the lake and let our horses rest. There will be ample time to swim, fish, hike and explore the abundant wildlife of the area.

Day 8 We will saddle our horses and ride to 3 wonderful smaller lakes further on in the valley, the ‘three pearls’. The most adventurous of you can climb the surrounding mountains and admire the superb panorama. We will spend the night in a valley nearby.

Day 9 After breakfast we will ride through Khongoryn River valley. Riding down the stream for 4 hours, we will ford the river. After a couple more hours, we will come across a mountainous forest of birch, pine and age-old cedar. We will spend the night camping in the forest, close to a stream.

Day 10 We will make a steep ascent, and an even steeper descent across the Khaviragiin Pass, which lies at the eastern shoulder of Altan Ulgii peak. Translated as ‘Golden Cradle,’ this 2646m mountain is one of the highest peaks of the Khentii range. We will continue riding towards Terelj through the Dund Bayan Gol valley. As before, luggage, food and equipment will be carried by packhorses. Towards the end of day, we will meet up with the support vehicles, and set up camp for the night.

Days 11-12 We will drive to our camp in Ogoomor valley and enjoy 2 days of rest. There will be opportunities to hike or visit local families and learn about their ways of life. On the last evening, you will have a traditional Mongolian meal of “khorkhog”. This is mutton cooked slowly in a huge, metal urn with vegetables, water and hot stones from a flaming fire. The meat becomes soft and tasty and the water turns into a thick meaty broth.

Day 13 After breakfast we will return to Ulaanbaatar and check into the hotel.

Day 14 In the morning, you will visit Gandan, the largest functioning monastery in the country, and there will be time for shopping before lunch. In the afternoon, you can discover the treasures of the National History Museum. The rest of your afternoon is free, before a farewell dinner in a local restaurant.

Day 15 Morning transfer for your international departure.

NEW Visa Rules - If you are planning to stay in Mongolia for more than 30 days you must register (and de-register) with the Foreign Citizens Registration Office – the cost of this is negligible, but you may need to allow extra time for the two visits to the registration office.