Mongolian Altai Adventure

Day 2

Fly to Ulgii, Western Mongolia

This morning fly to Ulgii (Time TBC) It is a 3 hour flight and you will need to put your clocks back an hour. There will be time today to look around the museum and perhaps visit the local mosque. A walk through the town and in the local market will give you a real flavour of the region and its people. Stock up on any snacks and drinks at the local supermarket for your upcoming trek. Dinner tonight in a local restaurant.

Day 3

Drive to Tavanbogd National Park

Drive 180km westwards, for a spectacular drive through high desert mountain landscapes to the Altai Tavan Bogd National Park. Set up camp and meet your horse and camel guides at the trek start point

Day 4

Trek or Camel ride to Potanin glacier base camp

After breakfast, the camels will be loaded and you begin the trek to the base camp (3095m) of the snow-capped Tavan Bogd massif. The hike rises steadily and takes you over lush alpine tundra with views directly across the glacier with the peaks in the distance. This is a good acclimatisation hike for tomorrow. You will find yourself crossing glacial run offs and sometimes it can be very muddy. Set up camp for two nights next to the 20km long Potanin glacier which is the largest and most imposing of the twenty glaciers in Mongolian Altai. Tavan Bogd means “the Holy Five” referring to the five highest peaks – of which Khuiten Uul (mountain) towers above them all at 4,374m and is the highest mountain in Mongolia.The other four are Nairamdal (4,082m), Burged (4,071m), Ulgii (4,113m), and Malchin (4050m). which you will climb tomorrow. Enjoy time taking in the awe inspiring landscape and snow capped peaks above.

Day 5

Summit Mt.Malchin

Today you will climb to the highest altitude reached throughout the entire trek to summit Malchin Peak (4050m) which rises directly from the camp to the Russian border. Start early, as it is a full day’s trekking, there can be sudden weather changes and the altitude will impact on your usual performance. It is a long climb, mostly on unstable scree. Although the terrain is rocky with some loose rocks but it is nontechnical and the peak can be summited without any climbing equipment and you will see a wonderful view of all the glaciated peaks of the Alai Tavan Bogd, and Potanin glacier as well as Russia and Kazakhsthan to the North and Mount Khuiten to the South.

Day 6

Camel ride to Tsagaan Gol Valley

Most of the morning will be spent trekking up the valley toward the head of Tsagaan Gol valley. This grassland is where Tuvan people spend their summer and there may be still some families here in early September. Tuvan are shaman, and although rare nowadays, some do still practice in the valleys where the presence of spirits is most strongly felt, in order to help the sick and as part of traditional ceremonies. Here you will meet back with your vehicles.

Day 7

Drive to Khuitas Valley to meet your Eagle Hunter Hosts

A beautiful drive today through wide high desert and steppe, across mountain passes and through ancient burial sites to Khuitas valley (5hrs) near the Snake river. Meet your Eagle Hunter family, your hosts for the next 3 nights, where you will stay in gers set up next to them. The facilities are comfortable but basic - the gers are equipped with beds and a stove, but washing facilities will be limited to a bowl of water and the toilet is a hole in the ground.

Day 8

Eagle training

Experience first hand Kazakh hospitality and the nomadic lifestyle. Your is an experienced eagle hunter. He will be happy to talk to you about Kazakh eagle hunting skills and history. Before going to the festival, hunters do some final training with their birds, head up into the mountains to help with the final preparations.

Day 9

Exploring the Region or Nomadic life

Today will be spent with our Kazakh eagle hunting friends, learning about their way of life.  It is a beautiful area, with some good day rides or hikes if you fancy an adventure.

Day 10

Ride to the eagle festival site (approx. 95km over 2 days) through the Khovd River Valley

There may be a chance to hunt with the eagle on the ride today or tomorrow. There will be a support vehicle carrying tents and other equipment which will meet you in tonight’s camping spot. Anyone who needs to can travel in the support vehicle. Help set up camp and settle down for a hot cooked meal.

Day 11

Ride to the Eagle Festival

Continue your ride to Sagsai or Altantsogts (the festival sites), stopping by some deer stones and balbals (Turkic stone man) enroute. Today is the final day that the eagle hunters can train their birds. Travel alongside the hunters as they ride towards the festival ground to practice the hunting. Whilst dragging prey behind them, the hunters will call their eagles for the bird to catch it at pace. Enjoy a picnic lunch and stunning scenery enroute to the festival site and your Festival Camp set up which will be home for the duration of the Golden Eagle Festival. Settle in to your camp which may be shared with other PJ festival guests over these next couple of nights.

Day 12-13

The Eagle Festival

If you are keen, you may like to join some of the hunters this morning as they ride, eagles in hand, to the festival. Day one of the Eagle Festival, a two day festival which shows off the skills of eagle and hunter/trainer. Dressed in full regalia and mounted on groomed and decorated horses, the eagle hunters compete for various awards including 'Best Eagle at Hunting Prey'. Other 'manly' sporting activities you'll watch include horse racing, camel racing, and the highly entertaining 'Bushkashi' - goat skin tug-o-war on horseback. 

Day two of the festival; return to the site for today’s events, which, altogether, play a major role in preserving traditional Kazakh culture. After the festivities each day, head back to your ger at the PJ camp which is not too far from the festival site. On one of the nights you may enjoy a traditional performance from local musicians.

Day 14

Return to Ulaanbaatar

Fly back to the capital. Afternoon at your leisure in the capital to shop for souvenirs. In the evening enjoy a traditional Mongolian music and dance including throat singing followed by dinner.

Day 15

Chinggis Monument and Terelj National Park

Today, head east out of the city to visit the giant Chinggis Khan Equestrian Monument at Tsonjin Boldog. At the base of the statue, you can try on traditional Mongolian costumes, tour the numerous portraits of the Khan lineage and climb to the horse’s head for a panoramic view over the surrounding landscape towards Chinggis' birth place. Continue northwards to the Gorkhi-Terelj National Park to see Turtle Rock and visit a local temple built on a hill. Alternatively, you are free to have a day in UB on your own. Enjoy a farewell dinner at another of our favourite restaurants in the city. 

Day 16

Depart

Transfer to the airport approximately 3.5hrs before your flight departure home