NATIONAL NAADAM FESTIVAL WITH GREAT GOBI TOUR OVERVIEW

This week-long escape with Naadam Festival covers all the desert highlights of the spectacular sunny South Gobi of Mongolia.

Naadam is the biggest festival of the year for Mongolians and is held in the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar during the National Holiday from July 11-13. It begins with an elaborate introduction ceremony featuring dancers, athletes, horse riders, and musicians. After the opening ceremony, the competitions begin. As usual, it runs for three days in all parts of the country and consists of horse racing, archery, and wrestling. These competitions are called the manly games.

Stunning natural landscapes and friendly nomadic people - this really is the essence of Mongolia.

BRIEF ITINERARY
Day 01: (July 10) Arrive in UB, Mongolia
Day 02: (July 11) Opening Ceremony of Naadam Festival
Day 03: (July 12) Fly to Dalanzadgad, South Gobi-Yoliin Am (Eagle's Valley)-Khongor sand dunes
Day 04: Khongor sand dunes
Day 05: Bayanzag (Flaming Cliffs)
Day 06: Fly to Ulaanbaatar-Terelj National Park
Day 07: Ulaanbaatar
Day 08: Departure
DATE: 10-17 July, 2020
Please note that this may run in reverse, so please ask us about this before booking if this is important to you.

DURATION: 8 days

ACCOMMODATION: 3 night 4 Star hotel, 4 nights Ger Camp

TRANSPORTATION: All transportations by private vehicle. (4 WD, Minivan or Minibus). This destination is required domestic flight between UB and Dalanzadgad, South Gobi.

ADVENTURE LEVEL RATE: Comfortable & Active

PRIVATE TOUR: Book this trip as a private departure just for you on your selected date.
SINGLE SUPPLEMENT OPTION: We offer the opportunity to pay a supplement to pre-book a single room.

TAILOR MADE TOUR

As this is your holiday, please feel free to discuss your preferences with us and we will cover or cut a tour according to your wishes.

Tour Details

Duration: 8 days
Price from: $2090
Private Tour:
You can book this trip as a private departure just for you on your selected date.
Optional Single Supplement:
We offer the opportunity to pay a supplement to pre-book a single room.
Accommodation & Meal Plan:
3 nights 4 Star hotel, 4 nights Ger Camp.
21 meals-7 breakfasts, 7 lunches, 7 dinners.
Health:
For some countries you will undoubtedly require vaccinations for your visit. But Mongolia is generally safe place to travel and no specific vaccination is required.

BOOK CONFIDENTLY

You will be met by your guide at the international airport of UB and transferred to UB Hotel. In the afternoon, after a lunch, you will enjoy a leisurely time of sightseeing around UB and visit to the Gandan Monastery and the National History Museum where presents our history and culture from prehistoric to the present day. Early evening after sightseeing program, we invite you a welcome dinner at a restaurant.

Accommodation: Hotel. Meals: D

Day 1. ULAANBAATAR

Day 2. OPENING CEREMONY OF NAADAM FESTIVAL

Today is the real highlight for us - the day you witness for our national holiday. After a breakfast, we will be attending the opening ceremony of the Naadam Festival in Ulaanbaatar. Undoubtedly, Naadam is the most colourful and most important annual cultural event. It begins with an elaborate introduction ceremony featuring dancers, athletes, horse riders, and musicians. After the opening ceremony, the competitions begin. As usual, it runs for three days in all parts of the country and consists of horse racing, archery, and wrestling. Before leaving the stadium, we will attend archery competition. After lunch, we will drive to horse racing field of Naadam festival with Mongolian racers from all over Mongolia.

Accommodation: Hotel. Meals: BLD

Day 3. DALANZADGAD-EAGLE'S VALLEY, SOUTH GOBI

The day begins at sunrise with a breakfast at hotel and you will be transferred to the airport, fly to Dalanzadgad which is a center of the South Gobi Province. Upon the arrival, we will drive to Eagle's Valley which is deep and narrow gorge in the Gurvan Saikhan National Park. Although this area is considered as hot and dry desert, the Eagle's Valley is notable for a deep ice field remaining frozen for most all around year. By hiking through the valley, you can encounter wild sheep and goat grazing on the cliff walls. We will have a lunch and before driving to the Khongor sand dunes. The sand dunes are vast desert landscape where rise to a staggering 200 metres above the valley floor with razor sharp edges and extend over an area between 2-20 km in width and 180 km in length. Before sun sets, we'll climb up to the highest dunes and see surrounding desert landscape. Back at a ger camp, we'll have a dinner and enjoy listening sound of singing dunes which is generated by Gobi wind before you're sleeping.

Accommodation: Ger Camp. Meals: BLD

Day 4. KHONGOR SAND DUNES

Today is the real highlight for us - the day you witness for our national holiday. After a breakfast, we will be attending the opening ceremony of the Naadam Festival in Ulaanbaatar. Undoubtedly, Naadam is the most colourful and most important annual cultural event. It begins with an elaborate introduction ceremony featuring dancers, athletes, horse riders, and musicians. After the opening ceremony, the competitions begin. As usual, it runs for three days in all parts of the country and consists of horse racing, archery, and wrestling. Before leaving the stadium, we will attend archery competition.

Accommodation: Ger Camp. Meals: BLD

Day 5. BAYANZAG, FLAMING CLIFFS

Today after a breakfast our drive will take you to the Bayanzag province which is named as a birthplace of dinosaurs. It takes over 4 hours driving. Bayanzag is known as a Flaming Cliffs where the first nest of dinosaur eggs found in 1922 by an American expedition of Roy Chapman Andrews. The place is named as Flaming Cliffs red coloured cliffs themselves are very imposing from a distance, and are particularly fiery in the light of the setting sun. Today you have great chance to explore through one of the world’s most famous paleontological sites. We return to the site just in time for dinner, and our third overnight in the South Gobi.

Accommodation: Ger Camp. Meals: BLD

Day 6. FLY TO UB- TERELJ NATIONAL PARK

Morning check out from the Ger camp and airplane transfer to UB. Upon arrival in UB we transfer you to Terelj National Park where you'll spend another night. The park is located right in the middle of the Khentii Mountain Range. Settle into your room at a traditional Ger (yurt) tourist camp in Terelj. After a lunch, we'll visit to a local nomadic family and experience traditional dairy products and horse ride (optional) to interesting natural rock formulation named as a Turtle Rock. Family style dinner served in the evening.

Accommodation: Ger Camp. Meals: BLD

DAY 8. DEPARTURE

Day 7. ULAANBAATAR

This morning you'll head to UB and on the way you'll visit the statue of Genghis Khan which is currently the biggest equestrian statue in the world. Here we may spend approx 2 hours after that toward to the capital city. After a lunch, you should also have time to visit the “Gobi” cashmere factory store and antique shop (optional). Before a farewell dinner, in the early evening, you'll attend traditional folk art performance.

Accommodation: Hotel. Meals: BLD

After breakfast you will be transferred to the airport for your onward flight and our service ends.

Departing

Tour Name

Code

Duration

Price

10-17 July, 2020

NATIONAL NAADAM FESTIVAL WITH GREAT GOBI

NFG-01

8 days

From $2090

What's included
Full services of both guide and driver

* 7 breakfasts, 7 lunches, 7 dinners

* Drinking water throughout tour

* All transport ( domestic flight, minibus or 4WD)

* National park/reserves entrance fees

* All nights' accommodation including hotel in UB

* All others indicated in program

What's not included

* Visa

* Hotel refreshments

* Travel insurance

* Airplane ticket and taxes

* Excess baggage charges

* Daily personal expenses

Accommodation

3 night 4 Star hotel, 4 nights Ger Camp

The accommodation we offer on our adventure holidays is as varied as the specific destinations themselves. On some adventure holidays can vary from the most basic camping to comfortable 5 stars hotel.

Price based on Standard accommodation in UB. Ask us for details of the different option offering upgraded accommodation.

Ger Camp is the same as hotel outside of the UB that serves customers with gers instead of hotel rooms and always located at the best viewing spot. Ger Camps have ger restaurants, common washing facilities such as shower and sauna. Ger camp restaurant serves both Mongolian and Western dishes. Based on twin occupancy, the gers provide an authentic style of Mongolian culture and allow you to travel the remote wilderness in comfort. All camps have fully equipped sanitary facilities in conformity with the foreign guest’s service standard such as hot and cold showers, sauna and comfortable rest room separate building.

Transportation

All transportations by private vehicle. (4 WD, Minivan or Minibus). This destination is required domestic flight.

Meal plan

All our tours include full board, but other meals are often not included especially in UB. This allows you to try the cuisine in local restaurants and also to choose what and where to eat and how much to spend. Please ask us before booking if you have any specific requirements.

Adventure level rate

Comfortable & Active- Relatively physical and active days that return to cozy accommodations at night.

Private tour

Book this trip as a private departure just for you on your selected date.

Single supplement option

We offer the opportunity to pay a supplement to pre-book a single room.

Tailor made tours

As this is your holiday, please feel free to discuss your preferences with us and we will cover or cut a tour according to your wishes.

Holiday Status

You no longer need to worry about cancellations due to low numbers as most of our departures in Mongolia, whether joining shared services for excursions or completely going solo, are guaranteed to depart.

Family Rooming

We will room your family in the most appropriate way using a mixture of twin, triple, double and single rooms as necessary. Please note that sometimes a triple room may be a twin room with an additional bed added. We will leave it to you to decide who shares with whom in your family group.

Passport

A full passport is required for all of our holidays and this should be valid for at least six months after the completion of your trip. To secure your booking and avoid incurring additional charges, you must provide information on your booking form precisely as it is shown on your passport.

Visa

You may require a visa to enter Mongolia. Your consultant will be happy to advise you on visa requirements.

Booking

Only once you are completely happy with any holiday itinerary we create for you will we ask for a payment. In order that we can secure availability for your booking we would typically require a deposit of 15%.

Vaccinations

For some countries you will undoubtedly require vaccinations for your visit. But Mongolia is generally safe place to travel in terms of health and no specific vaccinations are required.

Website Information

All information on this website is correct at the time of completion. Subsequently, this information can become outdated and inaccurate. We reserve the right, therefore, to change any of the information included on our website and this amended information will then form part of your booking contract with ourselves.

HOLIDAY INFORMATION