Steppe to Gobi
Slow it down. Twelve days from the green steppe and a family ger to the deep Gobi and back.
- Length
- 12 days
- Price
- from ~$2,950 pp
- Best months
- June to September
- Shape
- Overland loop
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
We leave UB after breakfast and drive west, not south. The first stop is only a couple of hours out, so day one is easy.
- Day 1 · 1 night
Khustai National Park
Khustai is where the takhi, the wild Przewalski's horse, was brought back from near extinction. Dusk is the time to see them come down to graze. Don't expect a zoo, you scan the hills and wait.
- Day 2 · 1 night
Kharkhorin / Erdene Zuu
The old imperial capital. We walk Erdene Zuu inside its wall of 108 stupas, then see the stone turtle and the museum. A real history day.
- Days 3-5 · 3 nights
Orkhon Valley
This is the slow heart of the trip. You stay with a herding family, help with the animals if you want, drink fresh airag, and ride to the Orkhon waterfall. Three nights so it doesn't feel rushed. The toilet is a long-drop and there's no shower, just so you know.
- Day 6 · 1 night
Ongi Monastery
Back south now. Ongi's ruined monastery sits by a river that's sometimes dry by late summer. Quiet, with good stars if the sky is clear.
- Day 7 · 1 night
Bayanzag (Flaming Cliffs)
The Flaming Cliffs. Red sandstone, dinosaur fossil country, best in the last hour of light. We camp nearby so you get both sunset and sunrise.
- Days 8-9 · 2 nights
Khongoryn Els (Singing Dunes)
Two nights at the big dunes. Climb them once, that's usually enough. Camels in the morning, and time to just sit and watch the sand change colour. The wind picks up most afternoons.
- Day 10 · 1 night
Tsagaan Suvraga (White Stupa)
The white cliffs of an old seabed. We're heading home now but this one's worth the stop. Sunrise over the edge is the shot.
- Day 11 · 1 night
Baga Gazriin Chuluu
Last night out, among the granite. An easy walk to the spring, a fire if the wind allows. Day 12 is the paved run back into UB, about four hours.
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 ~$2,950 pp figure is a starting point, not a quote.