2-Day Terelj & Khustai with a Nomad Family Night
Day-by-Day Itinerary
Chinggis Khaan Statue β Gorkhi-Terelj β Nomadic Family
We pick you up from your accommodation at 08:30 and drive about 55 km (1 hour on a paved road) to the Chinggis Khaan Equestrian Statue at Tsonjin Boldog. Standing 40 m tall and clad in stainless steel, it is believed to be the largest equestrian statue in the world, and an elevator takes you up to a viewing deck on the horse's head for photos over the steppe. Then drive about 40 km (1 hour on a paved road) to Gorkhi-Terelj National Park, about 70 km northeast of Ulaanbaatar, famous for its unusual granite rock formations and pristine alpine scenery and a favorite weekend escape for city residents. First see the giant Turtle Rock, then make a short hike to Aryabal Meditation Temple, a picturesque, modern temple sitting in the middle of rocky mountains. To reach it, you cross a suspension bridge and climb 108 steps, the number of beads on a Buddhist prayer string. Then drive about 140 km (3 hours on a paved road) to a nomadic family. Enjoy their joyful atmosphere and learn the clever ways of nomadic life by joining in with daily activities, then take a 1-hour horse ride through the Tuul River valley and up the hillside for the view; no experience is required. Spend the night in the family's ger.
Khustai National Park β Ulaanbaatar
After breakfast, drive about 25 km (1 hour on dirt roads) to Khustai Mountain in Khustai National Park, where takhi wild horses have been reintroduced since 1992. Known in the West as Przewalski's horse, the takhi is the last wild horse subspecies to survive into the 21st century. Russian explorer N. M. Przhevalsky first described it in western Mongolia in the late 1870s, but it died out in the wild and survived only in zoos, until breeding programs brought it back to the Mongolian steppe. Spend time hiking at leisure in the surrounding hills to find the wild horses, ideally with binoculars, and with luck you may also see maral deer and other wildlife. Then drive about 105 km (2 hours on a paved road) back to Ulaanbaatar, arriving at your accommodation at around 13:00.