Mongolia

country:	Mongolia
price:	From £750 per person, (minimum 2 pax) including accommodation and meals
vouchers:	Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday

the amazing things you'll be doing

This trip is no longer running in 2003. Contact us to find out more information on similar trips

You need to travel - and use the same modes of transport - as the Mongol herdsmen themselves, in order to get a real feeling for the country and experience a close up encounter with the pace and lifestyle of the local people. During this dramatic journey you will wander by foot into the Khan Khentii Strictly Protected Area, a wilderness area close to the Hentii Mountains.

If you are an experienced rider, a horse may be rented for you. We will be equipped as a true Mongolian expedition, yak carts bringing the luggage. On this journey we use low impact traditional modes of transport. Our equipment will be carried on camel carts, in the same way nomadic herders transport their belongings, moving from one pasture to another. In this area camels are being used for this purpose. We will also carry a ger, which is the traditional felt tent that Mongols live in today. Essentially, it means that we can use the services of the local people living in the area where we travel. The herdsmen are the experts and we will be able to get a first hand experience of how to move a camp the traditional Mongolian way.

day-by-day itinerary

Day 1:	Arrive into the Mongolian capital by air (from Moscow or Beijing), or from our Gobi Camel Trek. (not included in price) Transfer to the hotel. Overnight hotel.
Day 2:	After breakfast we leave Ulaanbaatar for the Upper Tuul River Valley in the Khan Khentii Strictly Protected Area some 110 km away. A three-hour drive by bus or car. We drive one hour on tarmac road, one hour through a beautiful steppe valley with many herdsmen with their livestock. The last hour crosses the ridge at Zamtiin Davaa, and through forests we reach the Upper Tuul River Valley. It is the winter grazing lands of the local herdsmen, which is why most of them are not in the area at the time. It allows for a profusion of wildflowers, such as edelweiss. Our yak carts and the local herdsmen who will be our hosts in the area meet us. Pitch camp next to the Tuul River.
Day 3:	Our first campsite is in a steppe valley, surrounded by the Hentii hills, covered with larch and birch forests, the protected area was established in December 1993, Herdsmen keep their livestock in the southern areas, and they follow a lifestyle that essentially has been the same since the time of Gengis Khan. During the trek we will see and make contact with herdsmen, thus coming close to the fascinating and hospitable nomads of the Mongolian steppe who have maintained a similar lifestyle since the time of the Huns: that is, at least 200 BC - a living archaeology indeed!
Day 4:	We trek for three full days toward the Hentii wilderness areas, and soon we touch the limits of human habitation. Although rarely seen, wolves are numerous in the area. There are also wild boars, moose, red deer (Cervus elaphus), marmots and gazelle. We will use yaks to pull the wooden traditional carts on which all our equipment will be loaded and transported. Our Mongol staff will accompany us on horseback. No support vehicles will be required, let alone practical in the area where we are to trek. The yaks will set the pace of the nomadic journey over easy terrain (max. 20 km per day). A cook who knows western and Mongolian cooking will be with us in the field. Members will be able to learn how to build a ger: this can be very quick if several people join in. Overnight in tents.
Day 5:	We are now in a scenic area, where rivers flow down broad steppe valleys. Around are forested hills and mountains. Along the rivers there are wooded and alluvial meadows with broad leaf forests. Today we will reach back to the road
Day 6:	After breakfast transfer back to Ulaanbaatar (3-3,5 hrs). In the afternoon free time to explore the city. Overnight in a hotel.
Day 7:	You have the choice to continue explore other parts of Mongolia, stay another day or two in Ulaanbaatar. The overnight train to Beijing departs in the morning. The cost is £80 per person in quadruple cabin or the double cost for double occupancy.

how this holiday makes a difference

Your visit contributes ongoing support for communities and wildlife conservation efforts that Discovery Initiatives were influential in establishing over seven years ago. This trek illistrates the increasing pressures on rural nomadic life in a rapidly changing world. On this journey we use low impact traditional modes of transport.

Climate Care
Discovery Initiatives make a contribution to Climate Care on behalf of every traveller to offset the carbon emissions caused by air travel

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