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Nomad Homestay Hovd province

In the western part of Mongolia, there are many ethnic groups of people who have lived there for a very long time. During this trip, you will have the amazing opportunity to stay with Zakhchin families, which are located 1300 km from Ulaanbaatar. Zakhchin families are Mongolian nomads and they traditionally herd horses, sheep, goats, cows, yaks, and camel. They speak their own dialect of Zakhchin which is a little bit different from the main Khalkha dialect of Mongolia. Zakhchin families usually herd their animals in the big mountain area and most of the time of the year they live up there too. Since western Mongolia is very high from the sea level, you can see snow there in July too!


On this trip, you will get to know the famous Mongolian nomads, and learn about the Zakhchin people. You will have the unique opportunity of living with two different nomad families for two weeks and get a first-hand insight into their lifestyles. Both of the families are Zakhchin families who herd their own animals; this will provide you with many highlights, herding animals and helping the nomad families with their everyday life. Also, this is an astonishing area where you can hike around the mountain area and befriend all the baby animals you meet around the place!

Ulaanbaatar

DAY: 1 Arriving in Ulaanbaatar You will land in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. At the airport, you will meet your translator who will take you to the city center, and on the way there you will be shown where to change currency if you wish to. If your flight arrives early, you will be taken on a city tour on this first day. Your luggage will be dropped off at your hotel before you enjoy the city tour. During the city tour, you will see the central square of Ulaanbaatar city, called Chinggis Khaan square. Then you will visit the Mongolian national historical museum and the Gandantegchinlen Monastery, the center of Mongolian Buddhism. At 6 pm there is a concert played by the Mongolian Tumen Ekh Ensemble. it takes 1 hour. After that, you will be taken back to your hotel where you can relax before the trip, and then see you tomorrow!


Ulaanbaatar - Zereg 1350km

DAY: 2 On this day, you will start your trip. At 11 am, our driver will take you from your guest house to the local bus terminal. At 1 pm you will board the local bus for the long drive to the west of Mongolia. This is almost a 24-hour drive of 1300 km to the Zereg town of Hovd aimag. Before you leave Ulaanbaatar you can have lunch, dinner which will be from a local restaurant and the bus will stop at a restaurant area on the way, all your meals for the journey will also be provided by a local restaurant


Zereg to Nomadic family 15km

DAY: 3 You will arrive in Zereg town in the afternoon. A member of the nomad will be staying with will pick you up there. You will have lunch together and travel to the mountain to meet his family. To get there, you will travel by car or motorcycle to the skirts of the mountain and then hike or ride a horse the rest of the way to where the family lives, about 4-6 kilometers away. if you are wondering why you should walk or hike because during the summertime nomads stay at top of Baatar khairkhan mountain. it is impossible to use the car for their summer camping spot. You are going to live with this nomadic family for a week at the top of a snowy mountain. In this area, most of the families are living high up in the mountain since the lower area is too warm for the animals. This mountain area is called Baatar khairkhan mountain which is a praying place for locals. All those nomads stay in that mountain area.


Staying with the family for a week

DAY: 4-9  You will stay with this wonderful nomad family for a week and get familiar with them and their way of life. The husband of the family is Munkhbaatar BATKHUYAG, he lives with his wife and 2 children. You will be given the chance to participate in a lot of nomadic activities such as milking cows and goats, making dairy products and fetching water, and looking after the cattle where you will go out to the cattle pasture with the children to monitor and count the herd. All of the meals will be prepared by the family and you will eat with them and, help with the nomad's activities sometimes you can take a rest enjoy yourself, write about daily life and shoot good photos.


Nomad to Nomad change 10km

DAY: 10  Today you will depart from Munkhbaatar’s family and travel to meet the next family. After having breakfast, the husband of the family will accompany you to your destination where you will spend another week. There will be a 10km hike from mountain to mountain and will arrive at Bayanmunkh's home after lunch. He lives with his wife and 4 children. Bayanmunkh is one of the best breeders in the village and he keeps race horses that are known to often win the horse racing of the Mongolian traditional festival, Naadam.


Staying with the second nomad family for a week

DAY: 11-16 During these days you will submerge into the nomadic life with them, participating in nomadic activities such as milking cows and goats, looking after cattle, and making dairy products. The nomads do a lot of activities without predicting the date, they follow the climate and the Buddhist calendar. You could also assist in shearing sheep, training horses, making yurts, and tanning lamb skins. You will have the opportunity to visit places around this wonderful place. Around this area, between the mountains, lay not to be missed lakes which you can access with a hike. Every day you will have food with the nomad family and enjoy their company.

 


Nomad to Zereg and to Ulaanbaatar 1350km

DAY: 17 This day is your last day with your nomadic family and you will probably get up early in the morning and prepare your luggage and have a last look at the amazing scenery. After breakfast and after saying goodbye to the family you will go to Zereg town, about 15km from their home. The husband of the family will accompany you to the center of the village around lunchtime. You will take the bus in the afternoon at around 4 pm from Zereg town and set off for the long drive back to Ulaanbaatar for the next 24 hours.

 


Ulaanbaatar

DAY: 18  You will arrive in Ulaanbaatar after lunch, there will be a driver ready to pick you up and take you to your hotel. If you still have the energy to go shopping for souvenirs this is an option and our driver will gladly go with you.


Ulaanbaatar

DAY: 19 This day is your last day in Mongolia. Breakfast at your guest house and the transfer to the airport, which can be organized at the time you want, according to the schedule of your flight. Thank you for traveling with us, creating an experience you will never forget!

 

Map

INCLUDED

  • Transfers airport/hotel/airport
  • 2 nights in 3* hotel in Ulan Bator, breakfast included
  • Water for drink
  • 14 nights with a nomad family
  • Food during the trip
  • Local bus for transfer
  • Horse rental 
  • Local guides for the treks
  • Entrance fees for the parks and museums indicated in the program
  • City tour tickets
  • Equipment for horse riding (saddles, bridles, etc…)

EXCLUDED

  • International flight
  • Passport and visa fees
  • Travel Insurance
  • Translation guide
  • Extra drinks/alcohol/ some special type of coffee etc…
  • Meals in Ulan Bator
  • Phone calls
  • Any excursion that is not indicated in the program

PACKING LIST

These days we think we know a little bit about Mongolia, but the truth is much more interesting. This enormous country is confident, resource-rich, extraordinarily beautiful and deeply rooted in Nomadic culture. The country hosts an interesting but strange culture mixture of Buddhism, Shamanism, Communism and Democracy. None of the countries from Central Asian region can boast with such abundance of unusual picturesque natural places as Mongolia. Eye-pleasing succulent green plains, which, for centuries, have been serving as live-stock pastures to local nomads offer a tired traveler a rest where one can admire picturesque lakes, crystal clear torrents, glacier-topped high mountains, singing sand dunes, charming mysterious gorges and caves, quaintly cut by time and foul weather.

DOCUMENTS

☑ Passport details – Passport should be valid for at least 6 months after your arrival time.

☑ Visa and Permission

☑ Travel Insurance

☑ Scanned and Signed “Terms and Conditions Form”. When you meet with us we will give you this paper

Nomad Homestay

DURATION: 19 days

GROUP SIZE: 2-10

HIGHLIGHTS: West of Mongolia, Nomad family, Herd animals, High altitude place, 

COVERED DISTANCE: Apx:2800km

TRANSPORTATION:  Japanese 4WD jeep or Russian mini Van 4x4 UAZ or local bus

 

Participant
Price per person
2 pax 1,140€
3 pax 8,00€
4 pax 7,00€
5 pax 6,00€

 

 

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