Nomad homestay Reindeer herders

Nomad Homestay - Reindeer herders

Discover nomadic life with Tsaatans
In the north of Mongolia, close to the Russian and Mongolian border, there is a big valley called ‘the blue basin of Darkhad’. In this valley, two big ethnic groups of people are living for a long time; the Darkhad and Tsaatan nomads, they are 1100 km from Ulaanbaatar. Darkhad nomads are Mongolian nomads and they herd horses, sheep, goats, cows, yak, and camel. They speak their own dialect of Darkhad which is a little bit different from the main Khalkha dialect of the Mongolian language. Tsaatans are herding animals too but especially herding Reindeer and live in the big mountain area.
From this trip, you will know about Mongolian nomads and about Tsaatans. You will live with two nomadic families for two weeks. The first nomad family will be a Darkhad family and the second one is a Tsaatan family. We are sure you will have many highlights, herding the reindeer and helping the nomad families, etc... horse riding or hiking around the mountain is always possible for your trip. You will go without a translation guide but if you need you can call the agency about what you want to know.

PRINT

WORD

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 - Murun800km

DAY:2 Our driver will take you from your hotel at 1 pm and you will go to the local bus terminal. At 3 pm you will board the local bus for the drive to northern Mongolia. This is 12 hours of driving for 800 km to Murun, the capital of Huwsgul province. Before you leave Ulaanbaatar you should be taken your lunch in Ulaanbaatar at any restaurant, and dinner will be at a local restaurant the bus will stop there in the middle of the road.

Murun to Tsagaannuur 280km

DAY:3 You will reach early in the morning in Murun town, you will meet with your next driver who will bring you to the place of your trip. If you have enough time you can leave your luggage in the car and walk around Murun town to see the container markets. Also, you can go to a restaurant for lunch. Later, you will drive to the village of Darkhad and Tsaatans. This will be 280 km on bumpy roads! In the middle of the road, your car will stop for dinner. This driving takes around 10 hours to the Village of Tsaatan and Darkhad, called Tsagaannuur soum.

Tsagaannuur to Nomad family 25km

DAY:4 Today you will meet with the patriarch of your first nomad family in Tsagaannuur soum. He will come to you with his wife, or alone. You will be able to rest a bit, then you will go to the nomad's home by his car, around 25 km. If you like to ride a horse you can ride a horse to the family with a horseman. We can organize it by horse easily. After you come to the nomad family home, you will meet with their kids and get to know a bit about their life. Your first meal will be dinner with the family! After dinner, you will sleep with this family in the same Ger.

Staying with a nomad for a few days

DAY:5-8 During these few days you will live with the Mongolian Darkhad nomad family, like a real family member. Every day you will help a family herding animals. In the morning you can help the family with cow milking, herding horses, sheep, goats, etc. Then all day you will play with them and hike around that place to take photos and enjoy nature. Also, if you like to ride a horse, of course, you can!

Every day you will have food from the nomad family with them!

Darkhad nomad to Reindeer herders 25km

DAY:9 It is the last morning with the first nomad, you will go meet your next family at Tsaatan's place. You can ride a horse or hike to reindeer herders with a horse guide. He will take all of your luggage on the horse then you will go together to Tsaatan. it takes around a day. On the way, you will have your lunch prepared by your family. You will travel about 25km today. When you are staying with Tsaatans, you will sleep in their teepee! In this family, you can help with everything herd reindeer, herd horses, prepare wood for a fire, etc... Every day you will have breakfast, lunch, and dinner at the same time from family! if you want to have your own separated teepee just tell us it is easy to set up you will be independent in your teepee.

Staying with Reindeer herders for a few days

DAY:10-14 On these days you will stay with our reindeer herders. This ethnic group of people has a very interesting lifestyle. You will have a real adventure on your trip, hiking in the mountains, riding horses, herding, and milking reindeer, You can also spend time with the kids and hunting dogs. Horse riding of course yes if you wanted. This is sure to be a highlight of your trip.

Reindeer family to Tsagaannuur soum 30km

DAY:15 This is your last morning with your reindeer family. You must get up early in the morning to prepare your luggage. After breakfast, you will ride or hike to your first family, and from there, the car will pick up you to village Tsagaannuur. You will meet with them around lunchtime and here you will have lunch. After lunch, you can say to them "Thank you" and Goodbye. When you come to the village you will stay at the guest house for one night.

Tsagaannuur to Murun 280km

DAY:16 Today, you will drive to Murun city after lunch which is about 280 km you did it already. The road is bumpy and you know it already. You will have other passengers from the village and you can play any card game in the car. Your car will stop somewhere for dinner. When you reach Murun city your hotel will be ready and your car will drop off you at your hotel. Cars reach Murun city mostly at midnight.

Murun to Ulaanbaatar 800km

DAY:17 Today you will go to Ulaanbaatar. At 3 pm local bus starts from Moron to Ulaanbaatar. (If you want to change your time to leave from the hotel there is a local bus is going to Ulaanbaatar at 8 am 12 pm 3 pm 5 pm and 8 pm. You can choose when you want to leave.). It is about an 800 km drive to Ulaanbaatar, almost 12 hours. Your food will be the same as before from the local restaurant.

Ulaanbaatar

DAY:18 Last day of your trip. You will arrive in Ulaanbaatar early in the morning. When you come to Ulaanbaatar, you will meet with your driver who will bring you to your hotel. Then you can take a rest in Ulaanbaatar until you are scheduled to leave Mongolia.

Departure

DAY:19 This day is your very 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 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
11 nights in a nomad family (in a guest yurt and tepee)
Food during the trip
Local bus transfer
Horse rental
Local guide 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 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