Riding in Khan Khentii mountains
- DURATION : 14 days
- GROUP SIZE : 2-10
- HIGHLIGHTS : Central Mongolia, Khan Khentii, Terelj NP, Chingis Khan Statue,
- COVERED DISTANCE : Apx:250km
- TRANSPORTATION : Japanese 4WD jeep or Russian mini Van 4x4 UAZ
- HORSE RIDING : 9 days
The Khan Khentii Strictly Protected Area is located in the Khentii Mountains and includes the sacred Burkhan Khaldun mountain. This is considered to be the birthplace of Genghis Khan, as well as one of the rumored locations of his tomb. This is at the end of the Siberian taiga forest to grass steppe. Khan Khentii Mountain National Park is one of the Mongolian natural and historical treasures, declared by UNESCO as a world heritage site.
| Participant | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 - 7 | 8 - 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price per person | 1495$ | 1430$ | 1365$ | 1170$ | 975$ |
It is :
- Rocky formations sculpted by erosion,
- mountains tree-filled with pines and larch
- plains scattered with wildflowers and edelweisses,
- rivers and lakes…
Tour Itinerary
day 1-day 6
Arriving to Ulaanbaatar
You will land in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. At the airport, you will meet your translator who will take you to the city centre, 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 for a city tour on this first day. Your luggage will be dropped at your hotel before 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 centre of Mongolian Buddhism. After that you will be taken back to your hotel where you can relax before the trip, and then see you tomorrow!
Ulaanbaatar to Terelj National Park 85 km
In the morning, you will meet with your guide and driver at your hotel to set off on a drive to Terelj National park, 85 km from Ulaanbaatar city. This park is only an hour away, but you will stop at some places on the way to take a pictures and have a break enjoying the scenery. You will visit the Turtle Rock and Ariyabal meditation temple. At the end of the day you will visit nomad family.
Here you will discover your first nomad. Here our car will leave you, you will be with the nomad family and for the following days you will ride only on a horse! No more cars. We will have an extra horse to load your luggage and everything we have with us; tents, food, water, luggage, kitchen things, etc…
- Breakfast-hotel
- Lunch-your team
- Dinner-nomad family
- Accommodation-yurt /ger/
Start horse riding today
Nomad to Har Usan tohoi 20 km
In the morning, you will start riding and everything will be prepared by your horseman beforehand. The horse trek starts along the banks of the Terelj River to reach the Tuul River. We ride across a large zone of pastures where several breeders have settled with their herd and you may have the luck to share a cup of tea with milk with them. It's also the perfect occasion to gallop for the first time in the Mongolian steppe!
Little by little, the steppe gives way to more mountainous landscapes. We still can gallop but soon, it won't be possible any more. We’ll leave the main path to go deeper in the Khan Khentii mountain area, a wild zone with very few inhabitants buy few yurts still can be seen. We’ll ride across the neighbouring forests and cross some arms of the river. With Mongolian horses being rather small, your boots may get soaked if the water level is high. On this day you will ride around 20 km, which is quite a short riding day because the first day is always a training day in which you will learn about your horse and your horseman and your team. Also, you are in charge of your own pace. Somewhere on the way, your lunch will be prepared by your team and our chef. For the next days always our chef will cook for you. We will camp next to the Tuul River.
- Ride 20 km. 5-6 hours.
- Breakfast-your team
- Lunch-your team
- Dinner-cooking
- Accommodation-TENT
Har Usan Tohoi to Tuul River 25 km
This is the second day of riding. If you happen to be tired from the first ride you can sleep a little bit more than usual; this is a very peaceful place to enjoy a nice rest. When you get up your team and your chef will be preparing everything for breakfast and you will all enjoy it in the fresh and tranquil surroundings.
After breakfast, you will start riding deeper and deeper into Khan Khentii. On similar day to your previous day, you will ride on the steppe for about 25 km. if you feel a bit more confident than yesterday, today you can try a little bit of cantering. From today, as you follow the Tuul river, you will see barely any nomad families or cars along the way. All that will surround you here will be the wilderness -and your team!.
- Ride 25-27 km
- Breakfast-your team
- Lunch-your team
- Dinner-cooking
- Accommodation-TENT
Follow Tuul river 27 km
On the third day of riding, we hope that you guys are already good friends with your horses! After breakfast, you will start riding to the next place. From today you will go deeper into the mountain area of Khan Khentii. Before, you were riding on the steppe and now you will cross rivers and some wet places for a bit of adventure! But it won’t be too difficult and your horseman he will lead you to a good road. In the mountain area you will probably see some snowy mountain peaks.
25-30 km of riding.
- Breakfast-your team
- Lunch-your team
- Dinner-cooking
- Accommodation-TENT
Tuul River to Hagiin Har lake 25 km
We ride towards the Hagiin Har lake, the "black lake". First, we cross plains scattered with heathers and enjoy a beautiful view of the neighbouring snow-covered peaks. Then we ride again among tall grass that sometimes hides the way. The grass is at the same time green and purple, which makes the plain seem tow-coloured. We’ll reach the black lake in the early afternoon.
This lovely lake formed in a period of glaciation thousands of years ago. It's located at the hilltop and is surrounded with odoriferous herbs. Many perches live in its waters. You can fish and the bravest can swim. This is also a very good place for fishing. Today you will camp next to lake Hagiin Har. We’ll enjoy lunch at the sandy bank of the lake before riding all around the lake. We will take camp on the north of the lake.
- Breakfast-your team
- Lunch-your team
- Dinner-cooking
- Accommodation-TENT
Day 7-day 14
Hagiin Har Lake to Hag River 20 km
We will stay here one more day and rest needs for horses too! So today you can enjoy your surroundings and explore the nature. After lunch if you want we can swim in the lake or we can do fishing.
- Breakfast-your team
- Lunch-your team
- Dinner-cooking
- Accommodation-TENT
Hagiin Har Lake to Hag River 20 km
This day we will leave the lake. We have riding about 15-20 km to the next place to camp by a river called The Hag river.
- Ride 15-20 km
- Breakfast-your team
- Lunch-your team
- Dinner-cooking
- Accommodation-TENT
Hag River to Hawirga Mountain 25 km
This is a long riding day. After breakfast, we start our ride across the mountains and encounter an important difference in height. We must also climb on stony, unstable ground. Today we will cross HAWIRGA mountain. After this, we stop a few moments in a pasture where multicolored flowers abound and take advantage of the break to pray near the local OVOO. The slope is hard, so you can walk instead of riding, holding your horse with the lead. The path is in a shady forest and will be also very pleasant if crossed on foot. We have lunch in a clearing forest, where cool springs gush. Then we'll have only a little way left to ride before reaching the place of our camp, by the river. We get back to vast expanses where we can ride full tilt.
- Ride 25 km
- Breakfast-your team
- Lunch-your team
- Dinner-cooking
- Accommodation-TENT
Hawirga Mountain to Gunj Temple 26-28 km
We ride towards the ruins of Gunj Temple. We get back to the steppe and discover strange rock formations where some rocks seem to be balancing on the hilltop. We can see the winter houses of the Mongolian breeders, small wooden houses where they can spend the winter and shelter herds and hay stocks. Then we arrive at the monastery named temple of the Princess. Our camping will be next to the river or next forest.
Here is little bit of about this temple: During the 17th century, the Mongolian Khan Dondovdorj and a Manchu princess fell in love with each other and got married. When the princess was killed, Khan Dondovdorj and the Manchus decide to build a temple and a marble funeral monument in her honour. The Mongolians sent 200 lamas to officiate in the temple. As the time went by, the temple hosted more and more pilgrims and was extended. Unlike most monasteries in Mongolia, the temple of Gunj was not destroyed by Soviets, but fell in ruins because of negligence and vandalism. Today, there is only the main temple and a few walls left, sadly all in ruins.
- Ride 25-28 km of riding
- Breakfast-your team
- Lunch-your team
- Dinner-cooking
- Accommodation-TENT
Back to the steppe 25 km
Today we will be on our way back to the steppe after breakfast. We will reach the Baruunbayan River, and will ride along it all day long, before setting up our camp by its banks. We will take a hard path between the mountains, then a stony slope where we'll walk. Little by little, the mountain landscapes will give way to the steppe, and we can ride full tilt across these postcard landscapes. Most of the day we can have cantering on this day as we’ll be on a good road. The campsite will be next to the small river.
- Breakfast-your team
- Lunch-your team
- Dinner-cooking
- Accommodation-TENT
Steppe to Nomad 15 km
This is the last of riding. Today we will ride back to our hosting nomad family which is where we started our riding journey. We follow the Terelj river during our riding. Most of the road it will be on the steppe. When you arrive to the nomad family you will see your driver he will be there already. Here you will stay for one night. Tomorrow morning we will go to Ulaanbaatar. After dinner, your horseman will release all of the horses and you can say goodbye and thank you.
- Breakfast- by your team
- Lunch- by your team
- Dinner-cooking
- Accommodation-TENT
Terelj Village - Ulan Bator 85 km
This morning we will go back to Ulaanbaatar. On the way, we will stop at the Statue of Chinggis Khaan. it is the biggest horse statue in the world. This place is called Tsonijn Boldog.
When you arrive to Ulaanbaatar you can go shopping for souvenirs with your team, and at 6 pm you will watch a Mongolian traditional dancing, singing and khoomii /throat singing/ concert. After that, you will be taken to your hotel where you can say goodbye and thank you to your team.
Drive 85 km 1:30h
Breakfast- by your team
Lunch-last lunch with your team in the countryside
Dinner----------------------
Accommodation-HOTEL
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 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
- 2 nights in a nomad family, in guest yurt
- Food during the trip
- Chef for more than 3 travelers
- 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 tents, 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