Mongolia Altai Trekking, 16 days

The contrast between ancient traditions and the dawning of a 20th-century democracy is most visible in Ulaanbaatar where traditional gers (felt tents) and Buddhist monasteries coexist with modern high-rises.  Upon arrival at the airport, you will be welcomed by your Zendmen Travel guide and transferred to a comfortable, centrally located hotel within walking distance of various museums and shops. You will visit Gandan Monastery, the largest Buddhist monastery in Mongolia where you can see a gigantic Janraisag Statue, the god of eternity, as tall as a 9 stories of apartment block.  In the afternoon, you will visit the National Museum of Mongolia, one of the 100 best museums in the world where you can see traditional costumes of different ethnic Mongols, archaeological discoveries of prehistoric people and the Mongol Empire of the 13th century. Enjoy a welcome dinner at a local restaurant.

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Your flight takes you to the provincial centre of Altai where our local crew will welcome you. The highest elevated town of Mongolia (2,181m), Altai is a provincial centre of Gobi-Altai province. The area is famous for its writers, poets and politicians in Mongolia. You will continue the trip towards the curative sand spa with an en-route exploration of the ruin of the Biger Monastery. Enjoy the tranquility of the wilderness area in the rest of evening.

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See beautiful Tsagaan Haalga waterfall in the morning. After lunch, we travel through drive across Mongol Altai mountain range via a district of Tsogt with en-route stop at the burial sites of Hunnu period (BC 3C –AD 1C). The landscape will switch into dry gobi area later today. You will go camping with view of a stunning monolith of Mother Mountain.

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You will explore beautifully eroded rock formations of Mt Mother, a monolith in the middle of the Gobi Desert. A unique throne shaped mountain contains many fascinating rock formations. Among all, nine craters, ‘theatre seats’, the Lama cave are the most fascinating. This is an edge of Great Gobi National Park home to endangered species of Gobi Bear, Wild Camel and Wild Ass. The area is also famous for its watermelon and mini-apple, grown in the Zahui Oasis.

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You will explore another fascinating area with stunning views of Mt Burhan Buudai (3,765m), a sacred place for Mongolian people that is home for many wild species including Ibex and Maral deer. You will drive across Altai mountain range.

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A unique experience of riding two humped Bactrian camel with local nomads in the Sharga Gobi, an incredible vast depression. There was Chinggis Khaan’s army base of Chinhai in the area. The region is the lowest elevated area of the Great Lakes Depression at 750m a.s.l. The area is inhibited by Oold ethnic group who remained.

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You will trek in the snow capped Mt Sutai, 4,091 m. The route is challenging involves mountain walking and scrambling in loose gravel, moraine, steep slopes, glacier and snow.  You will aim to trek to Mt Baga Bogd, a parallel mountain range to Mt Sutai. Altai Snow Cock and Wild Ibex can be spotted whilst trekking.

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You will see ancient burial mound dating back 7000 years, Bronze Age. Altai mountain range is home to ancient cultures of Scythians and Central Asian Nomads. The region is also rich in ancient rock drawings.

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After a challenging mountain trek, you will relax on the Lake Har Us and Dorgon. The area is known as the Great Lakes Depression that is the remarkable wet land  area in western Mongolia. The area is famous for its marshal and desert  birdlife (240 species) including Cormorant, Pelican, Heron, Mandarin Duck, Whooper Swan, Arctic Tern, Lap Wing, Sand Grouse, Sand Owl, Falcon,  Steppe and Golden Eagle and many more.  In addition to that, you will have an opportunity to visit a renowned throat singer where you can listen to in very unique way of singing, ‘Hoomii’- one of the key intangible cultural heritages of Mongolia.

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You will continue your journey to the steppes of Dorgon and Huis Gobi, one of only three regions in Mongolia, where Saiga Antelope (Saiga Tatarica Mongolica) inhibits. Saiga Antelope is the only mammal that survived through the Ice Age and is endemic species to Mongolia.  The Huis Gobi is rich in various species of plants that sustain its wildlife and other endangered species.

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You will visit a horse herding nomadic family and ride around their campsite. Here you can experience Mongolian nomads’ daily animal husbandry chores of catching horses, herding and watering animals. You can also experiment how to distil ‘milk vodka’ from fermented milk. If you find it comfortable, you can make visit a local school where children can get some inspirations of speaking in English from you.

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You next adventure continues to the Lake Ereen, a stunning fresh water lake, surrounded by the large pyramid shaped singing sand dunes of the Mongol Els, which emits a humming sound upon its surface shifts. Local legend tells that a giant cow-like water creature lives in the lake and makes an appearance at the end of summer. Bar headed goose, Sand Owl, Kite, Sea gull and Buzzard is common here.

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Your next mountain trek is in a beautiful Hasagt Hairhan National Park, a home to many endangered species including Wild Horned Sheep, Ibex, Snow Leopard, Maral Deer and many more. You will trek at the approximate altitude of 2,500-3,000 m. Your trek continues through challenging terrains of scree, steep inclines and possibly snow. Trek will be supported by local nomads and pack horses.

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Today you will start driving early to take a domestic flight to Ulaanbaatar. Upon arrival, you will check in your hotel. In the afternoon, enjoy visiting Bogd Khan’s Palace Museum where the Mongolia’s last king Bogd resided. This is a magnificent symmetrical architecture offering elements of Mongolian and oriental architectures. Also magnificent royal jewellery and dresses are on display along with some fascinating presents from European and Asian countries. In the evening, enjoy the performance of a famous Tumen Eh folk ensemble followed by farewell dinner.

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After breakfast transfer to the airport for the return flight.

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