Mongolia Wilderness Conservation Adventure

Itinerary

Itinerary – Wilderness Conservation Adventure

Day 1 – Pick up at the airport and transport to Springs Hotel in the city center, orientation meeting, overnight at hotel.

Day 2 –  Pick up at Springs Hotel and transfer by van to the Stone Horse Expeditions staging area in the Darkhid Valley NE of Ulaanbaatar city. Meet your trail horse, repack for the horse trek. After an early lunch, we ride over Yoltiin Davaa into the Terelj Valley. Camp for the night.

Day 3 –  Ride over two forest passes, and descend into the valley of the Baruun Bayn Gol (river) close to its confluence with Tuul river. After a picnic lunch, follow the Tuul Valley; camp in the river flats, a park like landscape with stands of Cotton Wood trees.

Day 4 – This day we continue to follow the Tuul Valley upriver, the trail sometimes leading through the riparian areas or the grasslands above the river. The night’s camp is close to the Tuul river.

Day 5 – Soon after leaving camp, we pass the ranger station and now enter the Khan Khentii Strictly Protected Area. Today, we will cross the river numerous times. The day leads through alder brush and at times follows the higher terrasses above the Tuul valley. Campsite for the night is in open grasslands close to the river.

Day 6 – In the morning, we continue up the Tuul valley; eventually, where the river bed is boulder strewn and much of the valley blocked by a glacial moraine, we turn into a side valley, next to a white water creek. Having reached a saddle, a large valley with scenic lakes opens; we make our way further up the valley to set up camp near one of the lakes. This will be camp for two nights.

Day 7 – A day ride up a winding track, reaching beautiful pristine forest of old pine trees before emerging onto a plateau with high alpine lakes against the back drop of high cliffs – a truly breathtaking sight. We spend several hours to explore this magical area, on horseback and foot, enjoy lunch with spectacular views, before making our way back down to camp.

Day 8 – We begin the return journey. Riding through forest, following wildlife trails mostly used by moose, we ascend to a forested saddle and drop down into a valley where we pass three small lakes, their shores covered by reed grasses, below steep forested slopes. This is prime moose habitat where it’s very likely to see moose tracks, and perhaps moose. Eventually the track runs through the grassy slopes of this valley, leading us back to the Tuul Valley. After a short ride through the brushland of the Tuul valley, we turn into a valley to the North, following a well used track now. We camp at a meadow below scree slopes. This is close to the remote Saridgiin Khiid  – the ruins of a temple complex built by Zanabazar upon his return from Tibet in 1654. The temples were the center of Mongolan Buddhism at the time, but were destroyed only 30 years later by Zanabazar’s adversary Galdan Boshogtu. In recent years, the Mongolian Academy of Sciences has undertaken archeological excavations at the site.

Day 9 – Shortly after setting out from camp, we break off the main trail to pay a visit to the archeological site of Saridgiin Khiid. We then continue on the trail, all through dense forest, to an alpine pass with several small lakes where we take a lunch break. Descending from the pass, we reach Hagiin Har Nuur, Black Lichen Lake, after 2 – 3 hours. This lake is hidden among forested mountains, however in recent years has seen much visitation by travelers, on horseback, by helicopter and by vehicles. We spend the night at a forest camp site above the lake. The north shore of the lake is a beautiful, mostly sandy beach. Weather permitting, this is a nice opportunity for a swim in the cool lake.

Day 10 – We leave Hagiin Har Nuur and travel westwards on a forest trail until we reach the Khongor Valley, which we follow for the remainder of the afternoon. From the trail, the Khongor river can be seen as a blue meandering ribbon. We cross the Khongor River where it is broader at a bend, and where the bottom is sandy, after crossing, ascend a small pass, after which we make camp near a small tributary of the Khongor river.

Day 11 – From this camp we make our way to a high pass – Khavirag Davaa, near Altan Ulgii (the Golden Cradle) mountain, one of the higher massifs in this part of the Khentii mountains. It’s a steep trail up to the pass, through windfall and eventually on a rocky trail from where magnificent views back onto the Khentii mountain ranges open for some minutes. It’s also another occasion where our Mongolian trail horses show what they can do. Surefooted and strong, they power up the pass. We take a break just before the steeper section on the way up and then again on top. Descending on the other side, we advise riders to demount and walk down, to make it easier on the horses. However, you can also stay on horseback. Having reached the bottom of the pass, the horses are eager to get out to the grasslands that they know have good night time fodder. The last hour is a great ride out of this valley, both horses and riders looking forward to a scenic campsite after a long day.

Day 12 – The horses will have had a great time, grazing on lush grasses they missed back in the high mountain wilderness. After breaking camp, we make our way down the Baruun Bayn Gol valley. We reach the pastoral landscapes of Gorkhi Terelj National Park again, with herders’ winter camps and at the base of towering rock formations. The horses are noticeably happier back here, enjoying the grasses, wild flowers and the presence of other herds. We take lunch at a high point, or near the river if the weather is hot, before making our way to the Princess Lodge in the Shalzan Gol Valley. This is a small ger camp in a scenic setting. We stay in gers (yurts) for the night, and enjoy hot showers before dinner in the ger restaurant.

Day 13 – After breakfast at the Princess Lodge, we set out for a half day ride down the Baruun Bayngol Valley. At lunch time near the river, we rendezvous with the drivers. Guests leave with vans back to the city. Its about a 45 minute drive to Terelj Village and the river crossing. From there it’s about 2 hours drive on mostly sealed road to Ulaanbaatar. Arrival in Ulaanbaatar is late afternoon/early evening – with time for farewell dinner and drinks or last minute shopping.

Day 14 – Transfer to airport, or for those choosing to stay for another day or two, day tours or city tours can be arranged.