7 Days / 6 Nights
Tour grade: Easy
Style: Join in Group Departure
July 09. Arrival In Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Meet your driver at the airport after clearing customs & claiming your luggage. You will then be transferred to the hotel. We will meet again at 6 pm as a group for a welcome dinner at Mongolian restaurant.
Accommodation
Hotel 4*
Meals Included
July 10. Naadam Festival: Horse race
After breakfast, we will drive to the Naadam festival horse racing venue and witness the horse races. Afterwards, continue to UB, and arrive in town in the early afternoon. Visit the Central stadium where the archery & anklebone shooting competitions are held and see the most important competitions in the country for these sports. As the day draws to a close, immerse yourself in Mongolia's rich cultural heritage with a traditional folklore concert. Dinner is independent and overnight in a hotel.
Accommodation
Hotel 4*
Meals Included
July 11. Naadam Festival: Opening Ceremony
See the fantastic opening ceremony of Naadam festival in the central stadium where the president of Mongolia opens the ceremony, followed by 1.5 hr of entertainment, and the first round of wrestling match. After lunch, we will drive to the Giant Genghis Khan Statue Complex to explore its impressive grounds. You will then be transferred to your hotel. Dinner will be at your own arrangement.
Accommodation
Hotel 4*
Meals Included
July 12. Karakorum via Elsen Tasarkhai sand dune
After breakfast at the hotel, we depart to the west toward Karakorum, the ancient capital city of Mongolia, at 8 am. Break our drive at the Elsen Tasarkhai, aka Bayangobi sand dunes, around lunch time. Enjoy lunch then visit the Khugnu Khan Nature Reserve and Erdene Khamba monastery ruins. We also do 1-hr camel riding in the afternoon. Continue our drive to Karakorum in the evening and arrive before dinnertime. Check into your accommodation and enjoy dinner.
Accommodation
Ger camp
Meals Included
July 13. Karakorum
In the morning, visit the Erdene-Zuu Monastery, the first Buddhist lamasery centre dating back to the 16th century with its 108 stupas. Then, we’ll explore the Karakorum Museum, learn about its historical significance, and visit the Tortoise Statue at Melkhii Tolgoi. A short hike to Khaadiin Khushuu Hill will reward us with stunning panoramic views of the Orkhon Valley. Before returning to the hostel, visit the Erdenesiin Khuree newly established calligraphy art gallery (if clients wish to attend a calligraphy workshop, fee is paid on spot by the clients). Overnight at a ger camp.
Accommodation
Ger camp
Meals Included
July 14. Hustai National Park
This morning, we drive back towards Hustai National Par and after a few hours’ drive, arrive at our camp for the night. Check in and enjoy lunch. In the late afternoon, we will take a short drive to one of the most popular national parks of Mongolia, the Hustai National Park. Upon arrival, we will trek through the beautiful national park and try to view the endangered Przewalski wild horses (one of the last remaining wild horses). On this day, we will do 1 hour horseback riding in the rolling green hills of Mongolian steppe.
Accommodation
Ger camp
Meals Included
July 15. Departure From Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
You will be transferred to the airport/train station after breakfast /or continue your post-tour to other parts of Mongolia/.
Meals Included
Tour Dates:
If you would arrange a private or customized tour just click the "Customize this tour" button at the bottom of the page. One of our travel advisors will get back to you shortly regarding your booking.
TOUR PRICE
4-12 pax: 1750 USD per person (based on twin and double occupancy)
Single supplement charge: 400 USD (limited availability)
INCLUDED SERVICES
EXCLUDED SERVICES
ACCOMMODATION INFO ON YOUR MONGOLIA TOURS
In Ulaanbaatar: Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, features a wide range of accommodations, from basic guesthouses to luxurious five-star hotels. Some of our tours do not include hotel stays in Ulaanbaatar, allowing you the flexibility to select a hotel that fits your needs and budget. Be sure to check the Inclusions and Exclusions section of your tour program to see if your hotel stay is part of the package.
If you’d like assistance with booking, your travel consultant is ready to recommend and arrange the perfect hotel for your stay.
Here are some of our recommended hotels:
- Springs hotel (3*)
- Holiday Inn (4*)
- Novotel (4*)
- Best Western Premier (4*)
- Shangri-La Hotel (5*)
Outside Ulaanbaatar: Outside of Ulaanbaatar, where hotels are scarce, tourist Ger (yurt) camps provide the ideal accommodation for travelers. A Ger is a traditional Mongolian dwelling made from layers of felt and wooden frames, a design that has served the Mongolian people for thousands of years. These tourist Ger camps offer comfortable accommodations, with each Ger featuring 1-3 beds and quality bedding (1 Ger is equivalent to 1 hotel room). Guests can enjoy well-maintained public western-style showers and restrooms on-site. Some camps also provide en-suite bathroom facilities for an additional fee. For more information, please consult your Selena Travel advisor when booking your Mongolia tour.
MEALS ON SELENA TRAVEL TOURS:
In the capital city of Ulaanbaatar, a great variety of restaurants can be found and you will be eating at some of the best restaurants of Ulaanbaatar on your Mongolia tour while in the capital. Once you are outside the capital, Ger restaurants in Ger camps, local cafes in the small towns and sometimes nomadic families will be the places where you will be eating most of your meal. Ger restaurants often offer set continental breakfasts, set menu lunches and dinners consisting of salad or soup, main course, and dessert.
While on the tour, during your longer driving days you will take a packed lunch from Ger camps, often vegetable salad, main course such as fried chicken/noodles/dumplings and a small dessert, while hitting the road. Most of the food restrictions and allergies such as vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and many others, can be accommodated with easy on your Mongolia adventure.
LUGGAGE ALLOWANCE ON SELENA TRAVEL TOURS:
When you travelling overland in a vehicle (minivan & jeep), it would be suitable if you have 20 kg luggage per person (max). Please kindly note that domestic flight luggage allowance per person is also 20 kg (15 kg for the check in luggage and 5 for the carry-on luggage). For 1kg extra luggage you pay US$2 - 5.
DESTINATION & ATTRACTIONS BRIEF INFO
The Naadam festival is the biggest and most joyful celebration of the Mongols. The national Naadam festival takes place on the 11-12th July annually.
The festival itself originated from the era of Hunnu Empire (209 BD) and was originally organized as a competition to test the skills of Mongol warriors between tribes. The festival comprises the "Three Manly Sports": wrestling, horse racing and archery. A fascinating and interesting event for all is where the 9 White Flags of Chinghis Khan are carried in a ceremonial parade from the State Parliament House to the Central Stadium and many other events to name a few.
512-1024 wrestlers compete on the green field of the State Central Stadium-there is no time limit, no weight category and the arena is not fixed. They have the most number of tricks and the Mongolian national wrestling is the most challenging wrestling in the world. Mongolian wrestlers wear traditional Mongolian boots and special clothes for wrestling, Zodog - a small open-fronted vest.
It's impossible to imagine the Mongols without their horses. Mongol horse is small in body but as strong as rocks! There are 6 different categories of Mongol national horse racing depending on the age of horses. The riders, both boys and girls are aged between 5-12 and the distance of the race ranges from 15-30 km. Horses race on natural track and natural barriers. The racers train their horses for a month on a strict diet and everyday training.
There's no need to argue on that the Mongols are the best archers in the world. Archery, originating from time immemorial, is the oldest sport of the Mongols. Traditionally, this was only men's sport but nowadays both men and women compete in separate divisions. Male archers shoot on a 75m range while female archers shoot on a 60 m range.
Why to take a Naadam festival tour? Naadam festival tour includes the Mongolia Great Naadam Festival Holiday that takes place in mid July once a year. Naadam festival tours are the highlight of Mongolia and the Naadam festival itself is a fantastic event. We invite you to our Naadam festival trips in Mongolia.
Aug 10, 2012. Gobi & Karakorum Explorer tour
Our recent "The Gobi & Karakorum Explorer" tour with you was excellent, everything exceeded our expectations! It was a super trip in our lives and we loved our Mongolia holiday so much. Our guide Joe was kind, well organised, accurate and informative, polite and caring and always provided us with timely information. And our driver Jack is super, very friendly, professional and always on time.
We are wild travelers, having been to many places in the world - but Mongolia is still truly unspoiled and uncontaminated. Selena Travel's services were perfect right from the very first email. We would like to thank Selena Travel, our guide and our driver for having made this Mongolia experience a truly beautiful one with so many wonderful memories.
by Rafaella, Benedetta, Lidia
Sending you some of our nicer pictures. Some are chosen for their beautiful scenery while the rest are just us happily playing and goofing around. There are a couple of shots of us doing some Mongolian wrestling, as suggested by Oyuna since we missed out on the mini-Naadam festival. She said since we missed it, we might as well organise our own festival by playing some Mongolian games. Haha... We had so much fun playing those games!!! :)OK, I hope you like the pictures we send you. Best regards to everyone at Selena Travel and thank you once again for all your assistance.
by Margaret Suganda
Let us design that dream vacation for you
Send us a quick email
Skype us
(+976)-8900-5074
