Gobi to Altai Traverse
One way across the whole country. Gobi dunes to the glaciers and eagle hunters of the Kazakh Altai.
- Length
- 12 days
- Price
- from ~$6,000 pp (solo)
- Best months
- June to September (eagle hunters train in autumn)
- Shape
- One way
A signature journey, and a starting point. Every trip is designed personally around you.
The route
Hover a marker for the day. Click it to jump to that day below. The full day-by-day is written out under the map.
Day by day
- Day 1 - Start
Ulaanbaatar
This one's a commitment. Twelve days, one way, right across the country. We start in UB and drive south into the Gobi, same as the classic trips, but this time we won't be turning back.
- Day 1 · 1 night
Baga Gazriin Chuluu
First night among the granite. We go over the plan for the western legs, because the second half of this trip is real backcountry driving with few towns and fewer petrol stops.
- Day 2 · 1 night
Tsagaan Suvraga (White Stupa)
The white cliffs, a good warm-up for the scale of what's coming. Sunrise here, then we keep moving west.
- Day 3 · 1 night
Bayanzag (Flaming Cliffs)
The Flaming Cliffs, red in the late light. The last easy day before the dunes.
- Days 4-5 · 2 nights
Khongoryn Els (Singing Dunes)
The biggest dunes in the country and the last proper Gobi stop. Two nights. Climb them, ride a camel, then we turn the wheels west for the long haul.
- Day 6 · 1 night
Altai (Govi-Altai)
The drive west starts in earnest. Long hours, big empty country, mountains building on the horizon. We overnight in the aimag town to refuel everything, including ourselves.
- Day 7 · 1 night
Khovd
A western hub town with a mix of Kazakh, Mongol and other peoples. Decent food and a real bed for a night. The roads out here are rough and the distances are long, so we take it as it comes.
- Days 8 & 11 · 2 nights
Olgii
Olgii is Kazakh Mongolia. Different language, different food, mosques instead of monasteries. We base here, meet eagle hunting families, and come back through at the end to catch the flight home.
- Days 9-10 · 2 nights
Altai Tavan Bogd National Park
The high Altai. Glaciers, the five sacred peaks, and trekking if the weather holds. It's cold up here even in summer and the camps are basic. This is the wild end of the country and the payoff for the long drive.
Day 12 you fly Olgii back to UB, about two and a half hours instead of four days of driving back.
Enquire about this journey
A signature journey, and a starting point. Every trip is designed personally around you. Tell us your dates and group size and we'll shape this route around you, then put honest numbers to it. The from ~$6,000 pp (solo) figure is a starting point, not a quote.