Sainbainuu! Welcome to Mongolia. Your adventure begins with a welcome meeting at 6 pm to meet your local leader and group members. If you arrive early, why not get out and discover the city. Maybe check out the Gandan Khiid, Mongolia’s largest and most important monastery. You could also stroll through a local market or visit one of the many museums, including the Fine Arts Museum and Winter Palace Museum of Bogd Khan. After your meeting, get to know your group better with an optional dinner or maybe go to the restaurant you were eyeing earlier. It’s very important that you attend the welcome meeting as we will be collecting insurance and emergency contact details at this time. If you are going to be late, please let your travel agent or hotel reception know. Ask reception or look for a note in the lobby for more information on where the meeting will take place.

Start your morning with a drive to the Chinggis Khan equestrian statue. You’ll climb up to the horse’s mane for a great photo with the Khan. Then, drive to Terelj National Park. Stop to take a photo at the famous turtle rock and head out on a short hike to the meditation temple for a great view of the valley. Stop at a roadside cafe to refuel for lunch then head back to UB. After stocking up on some food and drinks at a local supermarket, hop on an overnight train to Erdenet. Sit back, relax and take in a mode of transportation the locals use to travel long distances in their country. Your travel time today will be approximately 5.5 hours of driving with a 13-hour overnight train. For your overnight train tonight, you'll be in compartments for 4 people sharing. Pillow, blanket and sheet are provided and shared toilets are at the end of each carriage. You may share with people outside your group depending on your group composition. The train is a old model with no air-conditioning. Several stops will be made along the way.

This morning, you’ll hop off the train in Erdenet city. After a long ride, you may want to stop by a local cafe for breakfast and restock at a shop for snacks for the next leg of the trip. Make the drive to Murun today. Once you arrive, join your group for a short walk around Murun and visit the main square before heading out into the wilderness. Your travel time today will be approximately 6.5 hours.

After breakfast, drive down a dirt road to Ulaan-Uul. On the way, you’ll stop at Uushig Valley to check out the unique Deer Stones that are representative of Bronze Age religion, culture and society significance. You’ll also make another stop at the sacred shamanistic site of ovoo – the pile of stones that has been built as a home for mountain spirits. Tonight, you’ll stay in a family-run guesthouse with stove-heated wooden huts or gers. Your travel time today will be approximately 6 hours. Your accommodation tonight will be at a local people’s hut or gers with 3-4 people sharing one. There will be a pit toilet outside with no shower facilities

Drive to Khogorgo Valley today to spend the night with a Darkhad nomad family for a unique insight into their nomadic way of life and culture – they graze cattle, horses, sheep and goats versus the Tsaatan people who only raise reindeer. Get to know your hosts as you help them prepare for a Mongolian style BBQ dinner and get to know the importance of meat in their diet and how Mongolian characters are intertwined with their food and cooking. You might even have the chance to watch as the family’s livestock are milked and herded. Your travel time today will be approximately 6 hours. Depending on the weather conditions when you travel and the location of the reindeer herders, you may go to Ulaan Uul Valley instead. Your overall experience won't be impacted. Conditions are very basic and may be a culture shock for some but this is a unique and authentic experience. There are no toilet facilities, but your leader will point you in the right direction for the ‘bathroom’. It can get chilly in the evenings to packing warm layers is essential. You'll be likely to sleep with the host family in their ger on the sleeping matts. It could be cramped depending on the group composition. There is a one-camera policy when staying with locals on this trip, which makes for a more immersive engagement with hosts and minimises intrusion. This is one way you can live the philosophy of responsible travel while in Mongolia. (Photos can be copied and shared among the group back in UB.) It’s Mongolian tradition to bring gifts when visiting another family, so we advise that you consider bringing small gifts for the family ger stays on this trip. Your leader will be able to recommend what’s appropriate and it would usually cost about 3-5 USD.

Wake up this morning and have breakfast on site then meet the horsemen who will be carrying your bags for today’s hike to the autumn camp of the Tsaatan reindeer herders. Journey through a forest and across a small creek then arrive at the camp where you’ll get a firsthand look into their daily life. This group relies on reindeer for transportation, milk and is a large part of their cultural identity. Learn about their lifestyle and how its deeply tied to the mountains and shamanistic traditions. Tonight, you’ll get a taste of a traditional Tsaatan meal cooked by the family and sleep in shared Tsaatan orts – sort of like sleeping in a tent. Your hiking time today will be approximately 5-6 hours at an elevation of 2000-2500 metres above sea level. There will be boggy and marshy patches here and there, small creeks to cross while hiking so waterproof hiking boots are essential. Packed lunch on the hike. The camp is only accessible on foot so you'll need to be in excellent health and fitness level to hike to the Tsaatan camp. This is an authentic experience with very basic conditions – no electricity, no phone coverage and no shower. There are usually 3-5 families together at the camp. The Tsaatan ort is similar to a teepee. You'll be sleeping on the ground with a sleeping mattress and depending on the group composition and the families at the camp, there could be 4-6 people sharing one ort. There will be a toilet tent with portable seat toilet for the group. Temperatures can get cold at night, so a good quality heavy duty sleeping bag, a waterproof light weight and insulated jacket are essential (please refer to the Packing section in the Essential Trip Information for the full recommendation). There's almost no pollution in the area so the locals take water from nearby creeks directly for cooking but your water will be boiled first for drinking. You may bring water purification pills as well.

For your two days here, you’ll truly experience life at the camp by helping with the daily activities, like preparing wood for the fire, fetching water from the spring, milking the reindeer or processing the milk. You may get to help in herding and rounding up the reindeer or watch the men make wood and reindeer horn carvings – you could support the families by purchasing something as an authentic souvenir to bring home. Tsaatan people love singing, so if you’re up for it, learn a traditional song and sing along with your new friends. This is a great opportunity to learn about Tsaatan daily life and culture through a hands-on experience.

Say goodbye to your hosts this morning and hike back to the Tsagaan Nuur. Once back, you’ll say farewell to the horsemen and drive to Renchinlkhumbe sum where you’ll stay overnight in a family-run guesthouse. Your hiking time today will be approximately 5-6 hours and your travel time today will be approximately 3 hours. No shower is available at the guesthouse but there is a public shower house in the town.

Drive to the Khovsgol Lake today via Jigleg or Khoridol Pass depending on the road condition. Take in views of the lake from the top of the pass and the scenery along the way as you cross the Khoridol Saridag mountains. Some say this is Mongolia’s most beautiful destination, a pristine wilderness with forests, grasslands and meadows. You’ll arrive to the ger camp in late afternoon for time to settle into your yurt and take in the serene scenery. Your travel time today will be approximately 6.5 hours. Ger camp here are tourist ones and will have electricity. Shower and toilet facilities are well set up and shared on the camp. The route through Jigleg pass can change due to weather conditions. If the route is not possible we will take the southern route to the lake.

Today is yours to enjoy a relaxing day at the lake at your own leisure. You might like to hike up to one of the nearby peaks or maybe take a boat trip out on the lake. Explore on foot and relax on one of our few days not on the road. All of these are great ways to experience this wild region. While you’re here, camp staff might offer you the option to visit a local settlement of reindeer hosts. You’ll know after living with the real reindeer herders, the climate here is not suitable for these animals, so we do not support such commercial activities.

Today, you’ll drive to Bulgan and on the way, visit the monument on the intersection of 50 and 100 degrees of longitude and latitude. There are only four points on Earth where 50 degrees intersects with 100 degrees longitude – one in the Pacific Ocean, one in the Indian Ocean, one in Canada and one in Mongolia. Stop by a roadside cafe for lunch then stay overnight in a family-run guesthouse. Your travel time today will be approximately 9 hours. The guesthouse has electricity, outside pit toilets, hand basin, stoves and beds with linen and blankets. No shower is available at the guesthouse

Say farewell to Bulgan today and drive back to Ulaanbaatar. The rest of the afternoon is free for you to do as you please, whether you want to relax, go sightseeing or shop for some last-minute souvenirs. Tonight, join back up with your group for a special cultural show featuring throat singing and traditional dancing then head out for an optional final dinner recommended by your leader to celebrate your trip. Your travel time today will be approximately 7 hours.

Your trip comes to an end after breakfast this morning. If you’d like to extend your stay, just get in touch with your booking agent ahead of time to organise additional accommodation.