Mongolia cycling holiday
| country: | Mongolia |
| trip type: | Moderate cycling holidays |
| departures: | 2008: 5 Sep |
| price: | From £2045 - £2275 (17 days) including flights from the UK. Includes accommodation and meals (except 2 lunches and 1 dinner). Single supplement from £90, bike hire available. This trip can also be booked without flights |
the amazing things you'll be doing
A cycle adventure in Mongolia, exploring the mountains and steppes that were home to Genghis Khan
Mongolia remains a mysterious presence in the heart of Central Asia, a traditional country where foreign visitors are still an unusual sight. Nomads wander the grasslands, setting up their white gers (tents) where the pasture is lush for their horses. The local people are warm and welcoming and we share their experience of life under a felt or canvas roof.
The landscape is both beautiful and varied, and we follow good trails across wide, open steppe, into expansive mountain scenery, and through larch and pine forests.
Camping wild under the wide skies adds an adventurous edge to what is certainly one of our most intrepid cycle tours. We end our riding at Mongolia's ancient capital Karakorum, once the centre of a vast empire and site of the largest monastery in the country.
Mongolia remains a mysterious presence in the heart of Central Asia, a traditional country where foreign visitors are still an unusual sight. Nomads wander the grasslands, setting up their white gers (tents) where the pasture is lush for their horses. The local people are warm and welcoming and we share their experience of life under a felt or canvas roof.
The landscape is both beautiful and varied, and we follow good trails across wide, open steppe, into expansive mountain scenery, and through larch and pine forests.
Camping wild under the wide skies adds an adventurous edge to what is certainly one of our most intrepid cycle tours. We end our riding at Mongolia's ancient capital Karakorum, once the centre of a vast empire and site of the largest monastery in the country.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Depart London. |
| Day 2: | Arrive Ulaan Baatar; transfer to hotel. |
| Day 3: | Morning sightseeing; overnight train to Erdenet. |
| Day 4: | Ride to Tal Tolgoi Well via the small township of Bugat; camp. |
| Day 5: | Cross Tuluugiin Pass, hike craters of extinct Mt Uran and Mt Togoo; camp. |
| Day 6: | Arhangai steppe ride through undulating country to open green valley below Mt Kharikhan (1862m); camp. |
| Day 7: | Short climb to cross Kholboogin pass (1649m) before descending to Khairkhan Lake camp. |
| Day 8: | Head up Khunjiin River valley to camp beneath Mt Chingeltei. |
| Day 9: | A short climb past the headwaters of the Khunjiin; descend into Tamir River valley; camp near Great Rock of Ikh Tamir. |
| Day 10: | Half-day ride to Tsetserleg, capital of Arhangai, afternoon free. |
| Day 11: | Morning ride in foothills of the Khangai mountains; ger camp with hot springs. |
| Day 12: | Across undulating steppe to Mt Ondor Khairkhan (2312m). |
| Day 13: | Cross the Khangai mountain range on good jeep tracks; descend to Orkhon River valley. |
| Day 14: | Ride to Karakorum and Erdene Zuu Monastery; overnight in traditional ger camp. |
| Day 15: | Drive to Ulaan Baatar, visit sand dunes at Mongol Els; free afternoon. |
| Day 16: | Free to explore Ulaan Baatar; late evening transfer to airport. |
| Day 17: | Depart Ulaan Baatar; arrive London. |
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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As a part of our continued commitment to responsible tourism, we operate this trip in a way that aims to reduce impacts and to give as much back as possible to the local communities. As this is a cycling trip, we automatically reduce our environmental impacts as well as being able to have a much greater interaction with the local communities we visit along the way. Group size is a maximum of 16 which we feel is small enough to keep our impact minimal.
Our Australian tour operator has been running his business in Mongolia for many years and all his staff and tour leaders are Mongolian. We have had a long-term relationship with the operator thereby stabilising the income generation and creating a more sustainable future. We have worked with him to help train staff in all aspects of their jobs, thereby investing in the people to help improve their knowledge and future prospects, and this includes Responsible Tourism training. Leaders advise the travellers how to behave with regard to litter, drinking water (plastic bottles), washing in streams, and visits to villages. We visit and stay in many local ger camps (traditional fur tents that nomads place where the grazing is good for their horses) and try and have as much interaction with the locals as possible. The money goes directly to the community and it is not uncommon for them to ride alongside us on their horses as we cycle.  When not camping we use all locally owned and run accommodation on this trip. This contributes directly to the local communities as local staff are employed and locally produced and sourced goods are bought for the accommodation benefiting the wider community. We have at our offices worked to reduce our carbon footprint through a reduction of energy use and energy conservation measures. We also actively reduce the waste produced by having active reduction and recycling policies in place. We run annual staff workshops on Responsible Tourism. Global warming is a reality and to help you make a difference by reducing the carbon dioxide that is produced when you travel we offer a chance to carbon balance your flights. We encourage all our clients to do this and do so for all our staff travel. Go on do your bit! |
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. |