Gobi & Orkhon Valley Tour 9 Days
The Gobi from the White Stupa to Ongi, two days in the Orkhon valley with one on horseback, then Kharakhorum and a nomadic family.
Desert and valley
This tour takes nine days to cover the Gobi and the Orkhon valley. The Gobi is a great combination of high mountains, sand dunes, vast steppe and spectacular valleys, and at the Flaming Cliffs the American explorer Roy Chapman Andrews found the first dinosaur eggs and nests known to science. The Orkhon valley was formed by a combination of volcanic eruptions and earthquakes about 20,000 years ago, and you will see volcanic rock everywhere. The valley is historically very important to Mongolians: for centuries the Mongolian states were centred there, and Chinggis Khaan ordered the capital to be built there in 1220. You also ride a horse for a day.
Day by Day
The scarp of Tsagaan Suvarga is in Ulziit soum of Dundgovi province. Its sheer east-facing slope looks like the ruins of an ancient city from a distance. The cliff is 30 metres high and 100 metres wide, and the wind has shaped it over thousands of years. It was once the floor of a sea, and the different colours in the rock are layers of sediment laid down over millions of years.
Yol valley lies in the north-east of the Zuun Saikhan mountains and has been one of the main attractions of the Gobi for decades. Very wide at the entrance, it gradually narrows into a remarkable gorge. In spring a thick corridor of ice two or three kilometres long winds through the gorge, and it often lasts into July. We also walk into Mukhar Shivert canyon, where a frozen waterfall stands for most of the year.
The Khongor sand dunes in Sevrei soum are the largest and most spectacular dunes in Mongolia. Known as the "singing dunes", they are up to 300 metres high, 20 kilometres wide and about 100 kilometres long. They are bordered by lush green vegetation along the small Khongor river, which is fed by underground springs from the surrounding mountains.
The Flaming Cliffs are in Umnugovi, the South Gobi province. Their Mongolian name, Bayanzag, means "rich in saxaul", an endangered Central Asian tree 2 to 9 metres tall whose roots protect the soil from erosion. Important palaeontological discoveries have been made here, above all by the American Roy Chapman Andrews in the 1920s: fossilised dinosaur eggs and specimens of Velociraptor. The nickname "Flaming Cliffs" comes from the orange-red rock of the cliffs.
Ongi monastery is the ruin of a large monastery on the bank of the Ongi river, in Saikhan Ovoo soum of Dundgovi province. It had 28 temples and other buildings, and about 1,000 lamas lived there before it was destroyed in the Stalinist purges of the 1930s. Some of its stupas are still standing.
The Orkhon valley is one of the most visited places in central Mongolia. It was formed by a unique combination of volcanic eruptions and earthquakes, and its volcanic landscape is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its links to the history of the Mongol Empire. The Ulaantsutgalan waterfall, about 20 metres high, falls over the volcanic rock of the valley. There is also a chance to see the nomadic way of life, its culture and its traditions. The next day we ride horses through the valley and see deer stone monuments.
We ride horses in the Orkhon valley, a place of great historical importance for Mongolians. Along the way we see the highlights of the valley, such as deer stone monuments, rock paintings and volcanic rock.
Kharakhorum was one of the most important cities in the history of the Silk Road. It was founded by Chinggis Khaan in 1220, but it grew into the capital of the Mongol Empire in the 1230s under his son Ogedei. The Mongols had a profound impact on trade across Central Asia, as their vast empire connected east and west. We explore the highlights of the city and visit Erdene Zuu monastery. Afterwards we head to the Khugnu Tarna nature reserve.
Mongolia is one of the last places in the world where nomadic herding is still a common way of life. We visit a nomadic family to experience the real culture of Mongolian nomads, and see how they herd their livestock and make dairy products and traditional clothes. Afterwards we drive back to Ulaanbaatar.
