:: Blue Bandana Expeditions :: Active Adventures in Mongolia ::

Archangai - Central Mongolia by jeep and horse
Our most flexible itinerary - build your own!
Departures at any time; 8 days; 1590 US $
Minimum of 2 clients!

Day 1: You will be picked up at your accommodation in UB in the morning. A long drive with a break for lunch on the road will bring you to Karakorum, site of the ancient capital of the Mongolian empire, now site of Erdenne Zuu, Mongolia’s largest monastery build from the rubble of the capital. Visit the large monastery complex and wonder through the archaeological digs behind the complex. Overnight in a comfortable ger camp nearby.

Day 2: The sealed road ends at Karakorum (although it didn’t always feel like a sealed road). First break will be in Tsetserleg, perceived as Mongolia’s prettiest town for a “must stop” at Fairfields, best café outside UB. Drive on to Terchin Tsagan Nuur (The Great White Lake) with a break at the impressive gorge of the Chulut river and the “Tree with the 1000 branches”. The Great White Lake, located in the national park of the same name is a beautiful lake on the foothills of the Khangai Mountains. Overnight in a ger camp right beside the lake.

Day 3: Start your horseback expedition into the hills surrounding the lake. You support vehicle will follow you with all your luggage and can be utilized for a lift if your bottom is to sore to keep on riding. All food will be prepared by your cook which will travel in your vehicle. Stop off along the way at herder’s ger for a chat and to taste some home made airag, (fermented mares milk) Mongolia’s national beverage. Camp out every night in the steppes or hills.

Day 4 and 5: Continue your horse trek.

Day 6: Finish your horse trek in the late afternoon for a last night out in the steppe and a farewell party for your Mongolian wranglers.

Day 7: Drive via Tsetserleg (another stop at Fairfield’s café for a cinnamon bun?) to Tsenkher hot springs. Rest your tired limbs in the hot pools and spend the night in the adjacent ger camp.

Day 8: Finish you Archangai itinerary with the drive back to UB, where you will be dropped off at your accommodation.

Click here to see a detailed gear list for this trip.

This is our most flexible itinerary. Over the years, we have built up great contacts along the way and can offer you various alterations of this itinerary. Possibilities might include:

--Break your journey at Hustai Nuruu. Hustai is the nature reserve where the once in Mongolia extinct wild Takhi horse is now being re-introduced into the wild. You can explore the reserve to watch the Takhi in their natural environment, or try to spot the other wildlife present. A nice ger camp provides accommodation.

--Stop the first night near the Mongol Els, a belt of sand dunes stretching for hundreds of kilometres through central Mongolia. Visit the renovated Ovgon Khiid Monastery and take a short hike to the destroyed monastery higher up on the mountain. Camp out near the sand dunes or stay in a ger camp nearby.

--Break your journey again a short drive out of Tsetserleg over the White Pass at the Tamir River. There, visit Tariat Chulut, literally the “Giant Rock”, where a local hero used the rock to squash a huge serpent under it, or so the local say... (Hopefully you have taken the time to visit the statue of the hero in a park in Tsetserleg next door to Fairfields) Camp out beside the river or stay in the ger camp next to the rock.

--Spend another day or two at the Great White Lake, camping or in a ger camp. Relax by the lake, challenge the ger camp staff for a game of volleyball, swim in the lake or walk up to the top of the now extinct Khorgo Volcano that created the lake with its lava outflow.

--A longer ride? A shorter ride? No ride at all but a hike? Only camping and no nights in ger camps? All is possible with this itinerary.

--Take the ultimate cross country trip in Mongolia and continue from the lake over one of Mongolia’s most scenic roads to Lake Khovsgol, the Blue Pearl of the North for horse riding, hiking or just relaxing.

For any of these options, please contact us and let us put together the itinerary of your choice. We can also arrange airport pick ups, accommodation bookings in UB, city tours and any other service that might complement your Archangai adventure.