The great ride

Arrival at the airport, meeting with our driver. Transfer to your hotel, settling in, and rest.

Appointment at 12 o'clock at your hotel with your guide. He will take you to the restaurant of your choice.

Let's immerse ourselves in the heart of the Mongolian history, in the wonderful National History Museum. Three floors of a rich, glorious, violent and noble past, from prehistory to Soviet period, including the creation of the great Mongolian Empire by Genghis Khan.

Walk in the centre of Ulan-Bator. Discovery of Gengis Khan Square and the House of Parliament.

At 18 o' clock, Mongolian traditional show at Tumen Ekh: folkloric dances, contortion, and of course khoomi, the overtone singing.

Visit of Gandantegchinlen Monastery. In the morning, lamas get together to pray. They will answer your questions at the Mongolian Buddhist Centre.

We arrive at the splendid rocky formations of Khogno Khan. Discovery of the park : semidesert steppes, taiga, stunning rocky formations, 80-kilometre (49,71 miles) long sand dunes, are characteristic of this arid area nicknamed "Mini-Gobi".

Pony trek until Erdene Khambiin Monastery. "Monk Erdene's Monastery" dates from 17th century and was built in the mountain. Zanabazar built it in honour of his teacher, monk Erdene.

Visit of the sand dunes of Elsen Tasarkhai.

Journey to Kharkhorin, the former capital of Mongolia. The legendary city of Genghis Khan was founded in 1220 and was one of the stages of the silk road. The Mongolian Empire was governed from this city until Kubilai Khan set up the capital in Beijing. Today, there are only a few vestiges left of the former capital.

Visit of Erdene Zuu Monastery, built in 1586 by a nomad prince. The Chinese and Tibetan-inspired buildings are surrounded with 108 sacred stupas. Visit of the Museum of Kharkhorin.

We definitely leave the tarred road to taste the joys of the track. We drive along the splendid landscapes formed by the canyons and the green steppe, then we arrive at the home of breeders who will host us in the heart of Orkhon Valley.

Stay at herders' from the valley. During your stay, you will discover their way of life and you will be proposed many activities, such as milking, making traditional dairy products, or rounding up the animals with a horse.

You will also attend the preparation of a Mongolian barbecue that you will enjoy with yours hosts.

If some people wish, we will go for a pony trek until Mogoit hot springs.

Bath in the fitted out pools of Mogoit hot springs. The temperature of the springs is contained between 48 and 75°C (118 - 167°F), and they are perfect to recover from the tiredness of the travel.

Those who wish will go pony trekking along Orkhon Valley, from the camp until Orkhon waterfalls.

For the others, it will be possible to go to the falls by making a 6 km walk, or with the vehicle.

Visit of Ulan Tsutgalaan falls, white flood flowing on the black stone, transformed in rainbow by a short sunray… These 16-metres (52,49 feet) falls are just magic ! They were formed 20.000 years ago, as a result of a unique combination of earthquakes and volcano eruptions.

At the end of the day, you will attend the preparation of a Mongolian barbecue which you will enjoy with your hosts.

Visit of Tovkhon Monastery. Vehicles can't go until the top of Öndör Ulaan Hill and we will walk until there to discover Tovkhon Ermitage, where Zanabazar, the first religious leader of Mongolia, created the Soyombo alphabet. The monastery is located 2312 metres (1,44 mile) above the sea level and from that place we'll have a wonderful view on the whole Khangai range. We'll picnic in exceptional surroundings, facing Orkhon Valley.

In the late afternoon, arrival at Dembee's home near the village of Battsengel. In the yurt, we share a Mongolian meal with his family. He will talk about his horses and show you how proud of them he is. He will also give us advices about the pony trek.

8-days ride in Arkhangai with the assistance of the logistics vehicle.

Saddle up ! First, we walk our horses to acquaint ourselves with our new companions. After a few kilometers we reach the Tamir River, we ride along then cross it on horseback.

The banks are very green and the nomads are many. We see several riders who often join our group for a few minutes, curious to see us riding.

We lunch along the Tamir, where we can swim before riding again.

In the late afternoon, we set up our camp on the banks of the river in order to water the horses and cool off.

In the evening, we have dinner and then pick up some wood to light a big fire in front of which we spend the evening.

After a few miles alternating walking and trotting, we leave the Tamir and its quite populated plain to go deeper into the steppe, where yurts are rarer and the grass is higher and more abundant. Gradually, we gain altitude and go through the Mount Argalant behind which we can see in the distance, sometimes even snowy peaks, then we pass Ulaan Khad the "roche rouge."

After lunch, we hit the road one step faster. We enter a forest of larches perched on the hill called "the rich". Climbing is quite difficult and our pace is slowing due to the high altitude. But we quickly regain the plain and not go down to the hillside before reaching a small river beside which we set up our camp.

After breakfast along the river, we leave for a difficult ascent in a very thick forest. After climbing, we reach the summit located almost 2500 meters (1,55 mile) above the sea level. We have lunch and let the horses rest for a while.

Early in the afternoon, we start to go down to the heart of a large lush plain. Field allows us a faster pace. We set up our camp a few kilometres after the small village of Bugat.

Ride on a flat ground that allows us to make long distances trotting and galloping. Mongolian breeders often have friends in the area, and we can stop in yurts that are on our way to share a bowl of nomadic airag, few biscuits, or tairag, the yoghurt made with dri's milk.

Early in the afternoon, we have lunch on the banks of a river, and then we go back to horses and cross several hills where we meet many herds of yaks, yet without seeing a single yurt.

By mid-afternoon, we stop on the side of a mountain, about 2000 metres (1,24 mile) above the sea level, where we set up our camp.

We ride alternating trot and gallop. We reach a valley where the grass is getting shorter and shorter and where yurts are increasingly numerous. We follow a track and meet a few vehicles.

Picnic near the small village of Ondor-Ulaan where we buy fresh supplies.

Early in the afternoon, we leave Ondor-Ulaan trotting. Nomads are many in this area. We pass close to many yurts and see several herds of goats and yaks. After a few kilometers, we reach and drive along the road under construction connecting Moron to Ulan Bator, at the foot of Mount Zuun Mod. The vegetation is scarce and the soil, dry. Gradually, we leave the road to get closer to the banks of the Chuluut River and cross it.

We set up our camp a few miles away, in a plain where the yurts are numerous.

In the early morning, we ride at a leisurely pace along the banks of the enclosed canyons of the Chuluut.

Stop outside a ovoo, place of offering, around which we can turn three times throwing three stones, by way of respect. Then we leave the track and ride faster to go deeper into a grassy steppe.

We have lunch near the gorges of the Suman River and go down to the bed of the river where we see rocky paintings of ibex, horses and other animals.

Finally, we ride along the gorges. We move slowly on a floor scattered with volcanic stones. Here, we don't see any yurts and herds get rarer and rarer. Sometimes, we can see marmots. We set up our camp on a large plateau that offers a breathtaking view on the gorges.

In the morning, we still ride along the beautiful gorges of the Suman River. We pass several hills where we meet several nomads tending their herds.

After crossing a bridge, we reach the other bank of the Suman River and follow it quietly, because of rocks on the ground.

The water of this river is very clear and we set up our camp on its banks, in the late afternoon, a few miles from the village of Tariat where we buy fresh supplies.

We wake up early for our last day horse riding in Arkhangai. We start riding along the track. The landscape changes as quickly as we approach the Khorgo Volcano. We ride on a very black and very difficult soil, made of dry lava. The landscape is original and doesn't look like anything we've seen so far. The vegetation around us is essentially made of high larches ; it formed on the lava rejected here more than 8000 years ago.

In the morning we reach the Khorgo volcano where we dismount and tie our horses to make the ascent of the summit, 2210 metres (1,37 mile) above the sea level.

After a few minutes of ascent, the view is wonderful. We can already see the white lake. Here, the region is more touristic and back down, we can taste local fruit juices sold in small stands. Around noon, we ride again following the track at a slow pace. We go to the cave of Zaluus and visit it before reaching Terkhiin Tsagaan Nuur, the "White Lake of the Terkh River", located 2060 meters (1,28 mile) above the sea level. It's the jewel of Arkhangai and one of the most beautiful lakes of the country.

We start the most difficult day of your stay. We are in the hell of the track : mountain passes, flooded passages … We must deserve Khövsgöl.

Fortunately, the area is superb, hilly and scattered with yurts. The slow pace of our vehicle gives us time to enjoy the landscape. We stop on the banks of the Ider River, where we set up our camp.

Stop in Mörön to buy fresh supplies at the market.

Visit of the site containing several deer stones at Uushigiin Övör.

We arrive at Lake Khövsgöl, one of the natural wonders of the world. This mountain covers an area of 2760 square kilometres, and its water is so pure that we can drink it! It's surrounded with many peaks culminating at more than 2000 metres and covered with forests of pines and lush meadows where yaks and horses graze!

We go towards East and the green small valleys of Alag Sar, and spend the night in a small yurts camp.

Let's start a beautiful story… With local breeders and their yaks, we leave for our 2-days hike or pony-trek in the tree-filled valleys of Alag Tsar. Following the peaceful tempo of the cart, we discover this land of nomadism. In the heart of summer, the area is flowered and we will move literally on a carpet of edelweiss, while at West, we will see on the opposite bank the peaks culminating at 3000 metres that bathe in the crystal water of the lake.

In the evening, with the breeders, we will put up the yurt that we carried, in which we will spend the night.

We reach Mörön, the capital of province, and embark for our back flight to Ulan-Bator.

Arrival in town and transfer to your hotel where you can rest a few moments.

Rest of the day free. With our guide, you can go shopping in the centre of the city.