Solar
| country: | Mongolia |
| departures: | 2008: 27 Jul |
| price: | From £2300 (17 days) including flights from the UK. NB: this is a guide price. Price includes full board accommodation, transport as outlined in itinerary, twin-share accommodation, mineral water and entrance fees |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
introduction to Solar
Mongolia is a destination of many exciting adventures. On this trip, we will combine the adventure into the remote parts of western Mongolia, visit an amazing cultures and mountains of Kazak Mongolia. We will also experience the awe inspiring natural phenomena of a solar eclipse.
On this experience visit the most recommended and least travelled places including the remote western minority areas of Bayan-oglii and the border areas of China, Russia and Mongolia. You will experience the nomadic culture with local families. The trip continues to the site of wild Takhi horses and the ancient capital of Karakorum in the central part of Mongolia. At the end of your journey, you will have time for some souvenir shopping or enjoy a free afternoon in Ulaan Baator, the capital of Mongolia.
On this experience visit the most recommended and least travelled places including the remote western minority areas of Bayan-oglii and the border areas of China, Russia and Mongolia. You will experience the nomadic culture with local families. The trip continues to the site of wild Takhi horses and the ancient capital of Karakorum in the central part of Mongolia. At the end of your journey, you will have time for some souvenir shopping or enjoy a free afternoon in Ulaan Baator, the capital of Mongolia.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | UK- Ulaan Baator: Fly from London Heathrow to Ulaan Baator via Moscow. |
| Day 2: | Ulaan Baator: We stay at the best hotel in Ulaan Baator and the best hotel in the country – The Genghis Khan. Escorted free afternoon to rest or explore this exciting city of Ulaan Baator. In the evening, we will see throat singing, dancing, playing with traditional musical instruments, and the amazing contortionists. Welcome dinner and hotel overnight. |
| Day 3: | Ulaan Baator – Olgii: Local flight to Olgii, the capital of the Province (Aimnag) of Bayan-Ogyii. We will arrive at Olgii airport and check into our basic but clean local hotel, and we will head off and explore the busy local market and the local museum and visitor centre. Local Hotel |
| Day 4: | Olgii - Altai Tavan Bogd National Park: After a good breakfast we set off for the stunning drive to the Tavan Bogd National Park. The National Park name means the 5 holy peaks and is located on the border of Mongolia China and Russia. Camp. |
| Day 5: | Trek to Mount Khuiten Base Camp: Today we trek to the base camp for the mountaineering trip to Mount Khuiten. Horses are available for the trek and we use camels to carry all our equipment. All these peaks create the borders of Mongolia with China and Russia. |
| Day 6: | The Eclipse: We are settled into our base camp for the reason we have travelled such a long way, and to this remote place. The eclipse is due at 12:01 and we have the whole valley to find our special spot to experience this event. Camp. |
| Day 7: | Exploring the Mountains: We have a relaxing day around camp. We can explore the local area; walk into Russia without a visa, or for the energetic climb Mount Mulchin, which is a non-technical 4000m peak, with fantastic views of the mountains and all three countries. Camp. |
| Day 8: | Horse Ride or walk back to the Jeeps: Back on the road. We bid a final farewell as we ride horses (or walk) back to the National Park entrance and meet our jeep drivers. In the afternoon, we will visit a local Kazak eagle hunter and his family for an insight into their fascinating way of life. Camp. |
| Day 9: | Drive to Olgii: Today we drive back to the city of Olgii. On the way we will visit the amazing petroglyphs in a remote valley on our route. Local Hotel |
| Day 10: | Olgii – Ulan Baator: A mid morning flight returns us to the capital for a little bit of comfort before our next stage of our adventure. In the afternoon we can have a relaxing time sight seeing and shopping or just wandering the city square enjoying the summer sun over a local beer. |
| Day 11: | Takhi Wild Horses: Today we visit to a site of the ancient Takhi horses in the Khustai National Park. Ger Camp. |
| Day 12: | Mongol Sand Dunes: Today we drive to the Mongol sand dunes located 220km westwards from Ulaan Baator. At the mountains, there are two old sites of Buddhist Monasteries from 17th century. Ger camp. |
| Day 13: | Orkhon River Valley: After a sunny morning breakfast at the Ger Camp, we join the road heading towards Orkhon River valley in the Khangai Mountain Ranges. It is one of the major watersheds of the world. Orkhon River valley is rich in hot and cold springs, ancient tombs and interesting natural sites. Orkhon Waterfall known as the Ulaan Tsutgalan, cascades from an impressive height of 20m, and 10m in width and extends for 100m from the Orkhon River. Ger camp. |
| Day 14: | Tovkhon Monastery: Today we pack for the day and drive to a historic Tovkhon Monastery located on top of Tovkhon Mountains. Zanabazar who came here to meditate and do his artwork built the original temple complex in 1654. Zanabazar was a religious leader and gifted artist. Although the communists largely destroyed the temple during the 1930s, it has been restored with great initiatives from the local communities and many restoration projects. Ger camp. |
| Day 15: | Erdenezuu Monastery Karakorum: This morning we continue our journey to the Erdenezuu Monastery located in Karakorum village. In the 16th century the monastery was built from the remains of Karakorum city and reopened to public in early 1990s. Ger Camp. |
| Day 16: | Karakorum – Ulaan Baator: After an early breakfast we drive back to Ulaan Baator. Picnic lunch at a scenic spot on the way back to the capital and arrive in time for some shopping. Farewell dinner at a local restaurant as we bid farewell to our Mongolian Adventure. Hotel. |
| Day 17: | Ulaan Baator - UK: Transfer to the airport for a flight home. |
traveller reviews for Solar
It was one thing to see the sun slowly covered by the moon, but to be sharing safety glasses with those who lived there, pointing out the shape of the moon using a pinhole in a piece of card, and finally experience the majesty of totality without having the luxury of sharing a language, made the experience even more intense.
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small group adventure holiday
Typically you will be sharing your experiences with between 4-20 like minded travellers (depending on the trip, operator and how many others are booked on the trip) and you'll have a group leader with you. Whether you are travelling alone or with friends its good value, and a great way to meet new people! While itineraries are pre-planned there is some flexibility and you'll have plenty of privacy. This trip will appeal to travellers of all ages who enjoy meeting new people as well as seeing new places. how this holiday makes a difference
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In Central Asia we have developed unique relationships with many of the semi-nomadic peoples of the region and as tourism is becoming one of the main economical sectors of Mongolia, we are committed to making sure that the tourist economy benefits the local people. We work with Mongolian owned hotels and tourist Ger camps directly – these camps in the countryside hire local staff, creating thousands of employment opportunities and ensuring that money goes directly into the community. Although the tourist season is limited, this income allows country dwellers enough food and supplies to survive the harsh winters. To put this into perspective; Our drivers earns 250, 000 tugrik for one trip - these wages are equal to the cost of educating one child for a year or to feed his family for 1 month. In each part of the trip we employ local guides in addition to our Western guides, such as Bat-Erdene, Tulga and Munkhbat, which again places funds directly in the pockets of local families.
We train our staff (both local and Western) to be responsible travelers in the countryside and to respect local community and environment. Also we have trainers for Leave No Trace Ethic. For our Mongolian staff we organize training of “Leave No Trace”, a program supported by the Mongolian Tour Guides Association. When you take one of our trips, we make a contribution to “Climate Care” – an organisation devoted to ‘offsetting’ or ‘neutralising’ harmful greenhouse gas emissions caused by your flight. This is done by funding projects across the world that will reduce greenhouse gases on your behalf through sustainable energy or rainforest restoration. We also support several NGOs around the world such as the Hope Foundation, A-Cet and Adopt-A-Minefield, which are all carefully selected to improve the standard of living for the communities we visit. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |