Snowy Taiga
- DURATION : 10 days
- GROUP SIZE : 2-10
- HIGHLIGHTS : Central Mongolia, Hovsgol lake, Horidol Saridag Mountains, Darkhad Valley, Tsaatan reindeer herders,
- COVERED DISTANCE : Apx:2000km
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TRANSPORTATION : Japanese 4WD jeep or Russian mini Van 4x4 UAZ
| Participant | 2 pax | 3 pax | 4 pax | 5-7 pax | 8-10 pax |
| Price per person | 1350€ | 1250€ | 1100€ | 1000€ | 600€ |
If you are a fan of white, winter landscapes, this is the perfect trip for you! This is a wonderful and unique winter trip in which you will be taken to the north of Mongolia to experience, first handed, the Tsaatan’s lifestyle and discover the beautiful Mongolian winter landscapes. The Tsaatans are a community of reindeer herders living in the northern Khövsgöl province of Mongolia. The name Tsaatan means ‘those who have reindeer’ in the Mongolian language. This trip offers unique opportunities like visiting Tsaatans, driving on a frozen lake Hovsgol, riding on the snow, herding reindeers and much more!
Tour Itinerary
Day 1-5
Arriving to Ulaanbaatar
At the airport you will meet with your guide. if you land early in Ulaanbaatar we will have a city tour on this day. On the way, you can change your money while you driving to the center of the city. The first you can drop your luggage at your guest house or hotel. Then you can have lunch and a city tour.
On the city tour, you will see the center square of Ulaanbaatar city it is called Chinggis khaan square. Then you go to the Mongolian national historical museum and Gandantegchinlen monastery of Mongolian Buddhist center. Then you will take a rest at your hotel and prepare for tomorrow for the next trip days
Ulaanbaatar to Erdenet 435 km
On this morning you will meet with your driver and guide outside of your hotel just after breakfast (served at your hotel). Then you will start your exciting trip to the countryside. On the way there will be a stop at the biggest supermarket at the edge of the city, where your team will gather groceries and essentials for the trip. Once you hit the road again you will drive for 400 km (5-6 hour drive) to the Orkhon province. We will stop at the Amarabaysgalan monastery. This is one of the oldest monasteries in Mongolia and it is very beautiful place not to be missed. Your guide will fill you in with all the information and history on this ancient place.
After this monatery we will continue driving towards Erdenet city of Orkhon province where we will stay at the hotel for one night. In winter, 435 km of driving is enough for day one! The trip has a 1100 km drive to the tsaatans and the north of Mongolia, so tomorrow we will continue our driving to the next place; Huwsgul lake.
- Breakfast-hotel
- Lunch-local restaurant
- Dinner-restaurant
Erdenet to Huwsgul lake 500 km
We will continue to drive to the north of Mongolia. First, we will cross Bulgan city and continue our journey to Moron city, which is the capital of Khuvsgul province. We will pass many big and small towns on our way to Moron. When you reach the capital you’ll have lunch before your team takes you to the local container market where you can have a look and buy anything if you feel like it. After the market, you will head to Lake Huvsgul, located at about 100 km from Moron city. On the way, you will visit the village Hatgal and from there we will go to the tourist camp which is located next to the lake, a lovely place to take some pictures!
500 km of driving, 6-7 hours
- Breakfast-hotel
- Lunch-local restaurant
- Dinner-tourist camp
- Accommodation-tourist camp yurt /ger/
Tourist camp to Nomad 30-40 km
Today we will have a short drive through the Lake Huwsgul on our way to the nomad herding family who will be waiting for us. If you have never done this before, walking and driving on the frozen lake will be an unforgettable experience! We will even stop to have our lunch on the frozen lake! An, if you are feeling adventurous, this is a lovely place and popular place to go skating.
After that, we will continue our trip to the nomad family and, after meeting them, we will do some horse riding for about 2 hours. In the evening, you will have a taste of real Mongolian traditional food from the hosting nomad family! We will stay with them for all night.
30-40km drive
- Breakfast-tourist camp
- Lunch-lunch box
- Dinner-nomad family
- Accommodation-yurt /ger/
Nomad family to Darkhad Valley 120 km
Today you will say good bye to the nomad family and continue your journey to the Darkhad valley. This is a lovely place to travel to, at this time of the year. You will pass the Horidol Saridag mountains and follow frozen rivers, which we will cross so many times! You will have lunch next to the beautiful rock cliffs.
After lunch, you will drive to the next village located in the Darkhad valley. From this village you will go to a very beautiful place which is named Jargant river, about 10 km away. Here the landscape is covered by thick velvety snow and the river is unfrozen, it almost feels like autumn in the middle of wintertime. Then, you and your team drive 50km to the next village Tsagaannuur, this is the area of Tsaatans. It takes 1 hour 40 min drive. Here you will take a rest for one night at a guest house or family.
120 km of drive
- Breakfast-by your team with nomad
- Lunch-lunch box
- Dinner-family or guesthouse
Day 6-10
Tsagaannuur to Tsaatan 20 km
In the morning, you will drive to the Taiga and the tsaatan’s area who live in teepees and herd reindeers. From the village, you will drive on the frozen lake and go deeper into the mountains. Around lunch time, you will arrive to the tsaatan where everything will be ready for us; lunch, our teepee etc. First, we can have lunch with the tsaatan family in their traditional teepee and then, we can have a look around for scenic photo taking and go to meet the reindeers. They love salt and you can feed them some!
Here we will stay for two nights and discover their real lifestyle and your guide will tell you all the history and facts you need to know about these wonderful people and their habits. You can climb on a reindeer to see what it feel like and you will sleep in the Tsaatan’s traditional teepee in the Siberian winter! It is a nice chance for adventure, to say the least, and a snowy one at that, since all around you will be covered in snow.
- Breakfast-family or guesthouse
- Lunch-tsaatan family
- Dinner-tsaatan family
- Accommodation-teepee
ride or hike
This morning you will wake up in the teepee like a real Tsaatan reindeer herder! Breakfast will be prepared by your team with the Tsaatan family. After breakfast, we will hike and ride a bit. Today we have two options; we will ride reindeer belonging to the Tsaatan family and either go to the top of the mountain or herd the reindeers. The family will prepare everything for us to ride and we can ride in the forest and, if you want, we can do a bit of hiking.
not drive this day
- Breakfast-family or guesthouse
- Lunch-tsaatan family
- Dinner-tsaatan family
- Accommodation-teepee
Tsaatan to Moron 310 km
This is the last day of the trip around the Darkhad valley. There will be an early raise to prepare your luggage and, after breakfast, you will drive to the village Tsagaannuur and continue to Moron city. On the way, we will pass some villages and some nomad families. We will have lunch somewhere on the road next to the forest; this will be a nice break in the peaceful and snowy wilderness where you can feel the fresh air, feel good and take some stunning pictures to remember forever.
- Breakfast-family or guesthouse
- Lunch-in the box
- Dinner-local restaurant
- Accommodation-hotel
Moron to Ulaanbaatar
The last day of your trip. This morning we need to start early from Moron city as we have a long day ahead of us (670 km of driving). We will not pass Erdenet city, but go on a different road and our lunch will be from a local restaurant in Dashinchilen soum of Bulgan province. You will arrive to Ulaanbaatar around dinner time.
- Breakfast-hotel
- Lunch-local restaurant
- Dinner------------------------
- Accommodation-hotel
The last day in mongolia
Breakfast at the hotel and transfer to the airport. The transfer can be organized at whatever time you want, according to the schedule of your flight. Thank you for travelling with us, creating an experience you will never forget!
What's included?
Included
- Transfers airport / hotel / airport
- 2 nights in 3* hotel in Ulan Bator, breakfast included
- Full pension during the tour
- Water
- 1 night in comfortable Tourist camp
- 3 nights in a nomad family, in guest yurt
- 2 nights hotel, 1 night guest house during the trip
- Food during the whole trip
- Chef more than 4 travelers
- Japanese 4WD jeep or Russian mini Van UAZ 4x4 with driver
- Petrol
- English or French speaking guide
- Horse riding
- Local guides for the treks
- Entrance fees for the parks and museums indicated in the program
- City tour tickets
- Equipments for meals (camping tables and chairs)
- Equipments for horse riding (saddles, bridles etc…)
Not included
International flightPassport and visa feesTravel insuranceExtra drinks / alcohols/ some special coffee etc…Meals in Ulan BatorPhone callsAny excursion that is not indicated in the program