8-Day Hot Springs to Sand Dunes, Fly Back
Day-by-Day Itinerary
Ulaanbaatar β Khustai National Park β Elsen Tasarkhai Sands
We pick you up from your accommodation at 08:00 and drive about 100 km (2 hours on a paved road) to 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 later died out in the wild and survived only in zoos until breeding programs returned it to the steppe. Spend time hiking in the surrounding hills to find the horses, and with luck you may also spot maral (red deer) and other wildlife. Then drive about 225 km (4 hours on a paved road) to Elsen Tasarkhai, whose name means 'a piece of sand.' This 80 km strip of small dunes, considered the northern edge of the Gobi, lies in the lowland below the legendary Khugnu Khan and Bat Khan mountains. On arrival, have dinner in a nomad family's ger, join in their daily activities, and learn their clever way of life. Then ride two-humped camels for an hour: they walk slowly and gently, and you sit comfortably supported between the humps.
Elsen Tasarkhai β Karakorum β Tsenkher Hot Springs
After breakfast, drive about 75 km (1 hour on a paved road) to Karakorum, the capital of the Great Mongol Empire, where a small township stands today. Around two centuries after the city was sacked by Chinese armies, builders reused materials from its ruins to found Erdene Zuu Monastery in 1586, the first Buddhist monastery in Mongolia, enclosed by a wall topped with 108 white stupas. Visit Erdene Zuu, the Karakorum Museum, and the other historical sights around the town, including the stone turtle that once marked the boundary of the old capital. Then drive about 125 km (2 hours on a paved road) to Tsenkher Hot Springs, the most famous hot spring in Mongolia and one of Central Mongolia's most popular attractions. Its mineral-rich water comes out of the ground at a perfect 36β40Β°C. Tsenkher has become so popular that it can be crowded, but tonight you stay at a tourist ger camp with its own open-air hot spring pool, so you can soak through the evening under the stars.
Tuvkhun Temple β Orkhon Waterfall
After breakfast, drive about 120 km (3 hours on dirt roads) to Tuvkhun Temple, perched at about 2,000 m on the peak of densely forested Mount Shiveet. Followers of Zanabazar, the first Bogd (head of Mongolian Buddhism) and a celebrated sculptor, built the temple in 1653 as a place for meditation and a workshop for his art. Hike from the foot of the mountain up to the monastery and look for its meditation caves, Zanabazar's footprint pressed into the rock, and the first drawn version of the Soyombo, the symbol of Mongolian independence that still appears on the national flag. After lunch, drive about 60 km (2 hours on dirt roads) to Orkhon Waterfall. More than 25 m high and 10 m wide, it is the biggest waterfall in the country and one of the most beautiful sights of the Orkhon Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The land around it was shaped by volcanic eruptions about 20,000 years ago and lies under a lava layer more than 10 m thick, through which the river has cut a deep, narrow canyon. Spend the night near the falls.
Orkhon Waterfall β Ongi Monastery Ruins
Today is the longest drive of the trip, about 305 km and 8 hours on dirt roads, as the green hills and river valleys of Central Mongolia slowly give way to the dry steppe of the Gobi. Your destination is the ruins of Ongi Monastery on the banks of the Ongi River. Founded in 1760, it was once one of the largest monasteries in the Gobi, home to hundreds of monks and several temple complexes on both sides of the river, until it was destroyed in the communist purges of 1937. The raw violence of that destruction is still visible across the site today. Hike among the ruins, visit the small local ger museum displaying objects that survived the destruction, and step inside the small, lovely, and active Buddhist temple that has been rebuilt here. Spend the night nearby.
Ongi β Bayanzag (Flaming Cliffs)
After breakfast, drive about 155 km (4 hours on dirt roads) south to Bayanzag. American explorer and zoologist Roy Chapman Andrews named this place the 'Flaming Cliffs' during his Central Asiatic Expeditions of the 1920s, and many important dinosaur finds were made here, including Protoceratops skeletons and the first dinosaur eggs ever discovered by science. The eroded red sandstone cliffs are imposing from a distance, and they glow especially fiery in the light of the setting sun, while the surrounding plain is dotted with hardy saxaul shrubs. Walk around the site and along the cliff edge in the evening light, then spend the night nearby.
Bayanzag β Khongor Sand Dunes: Camel Ride & Dune Climb
After breakfast, drive about 150 km (5 hours on dirt roads) to Khongor, the largest sand dune field in the Gobi Desert. The dunes stretch nearly 100 km long and 5 to 10 km wide, with crests rising 80 to 300 m above the surrounding land. On windy days, the moving sand produces a deep booming sound that carries a long way, which is why locals call them the 'Singing Sands.' A green oasis fed by the Khongor River lines their northern edge, a striking contrast to the pale golden sand behind it. Today you ride Bactrian camels to explore the base of these massive dunes, and the energetic can climb one of the crests for an unforgettable view across an endless sea of sand. Spend the night near the dunes.
Khongor β Yol Gorge: Hike & Natural History Museum
After breakfast, drive about 190 km (5 hours on dirt roads) to Yol Gorge in the Gurvan Saikhan mountain range. 'Yol' means bearded vulture in Mongolian, and the gorge stretches for more than 10 km. At its narrowest point only three or four people can walk side by side, and the high rock walls shade the valley floor from direct sun, so ice formed by its small stream in winter often survives until mid-July. Enjoy an hour's hike through the gorge, keep watch for ibex and vultures on the cliffs, and visit the small natural history museum at the park entrance, with its displays of local wildlife and dinosaur finds. An optional horse ride is possible here. Spend your last night in the Gobi nearby.
Gurvan Saikhan Airfield β Flight to Ulaanbaatar
After breakfast, drive about 50 km (1 hour on a paved road) to the Gurvan Saikhan airfield near Dalanzadgad and catch the flight back to Ulaanbaatar, about 1 hour in the air. From the window, watch the desert give way to the steppe that you crossed by road at the start of the trip. When you land in the city, our driver picks you up and transfers you to your accommodation. The finishing time depends on the domestic flight schedule, but it is usually in the morning.