14 Days / 13 Nights Nature · Culture · History · Nomadic Life

Gobi & Golden Eagle Odyssey

Overview

This extraordinary 14-day journey combines two of Mongolia's most iconic experiences: the vast and diverse Gobi Desert, and the legendary Golden Eagle Festival of the Altai.

The first part of the journey reveals the Mongolian Gobi in all its diversity — from singing sand dunes and flaming cliffs to ancient monasteries and the world's oldest wild horse. The second part takes you west to Bayan-Ulgii Province, where Kazakhstan's eagle hunters have preserved their ancient hunting traditions for centuries.

This refined journey blends heritage, exclusivity, and authenticity, offering discerning travelers an intimate glimpse into two very different but equally profound faces of Mongolia.

Brief Itinerary

Day 1Arrival in Ulaanbaatar
Day 2Ulaanbaatar → Tsagaan Suvarga
Day 3Tsagaan Suvarga → Yol Valley
Day 4Yol Valley → Khongor Sand Dunes
Day 5Khongor Dunes → Havtsgait → Flaming Cliffs
Day 6Flaming Cliffs → Ongi Monastery
Day 7Ongi Monastery → Karakorum
Day 8Karakorum → Hustai National Park
Day 9Hustai → Ulaanbaatar
Day 10Flight to Bayan-Ulgii
Day 11–12Golden Eagle Festival
Day 13Bayan-Ulgii → Ulaanbaatar
Day 14Departure

Detailed Itinerary

Day 1
Arrival in Ulaanbaatar

Meet your guide at Chinggis Khaan International Airport. Half-day city tour including National History Museum, Sukhbaatar Square, and Zaisan Memorial Hill.

🏨 4★ Hotel🍽️ Dinner
Day 2
Ulaanbaatar → Tsagaan Suvarga

Drive south into the Gobi to Tsagaan Suvarga (White Stupa). These dramatic white and pastel-colored cliffs glow gold, pink, and orange at sunrise and sunset.

🏕️ Ger camp🍽️ Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 3
Tsagaan Suvarga → Yol Valley

Drive to Yol Valley in Gurvansaikhan National Park — a cool canyon in the heart of the desert where ice remains until late summer. Observe wildlife including ibex and bearded vultures.

🏕️ Ger camp🍽️ Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 4
Yol Valley → Khongor Sand Dunes

Continue to the Khongor Sand Dunes, the largest in Mongolia. Experience camel riding, explore the oasis at the base, and listen for the 'singing sands.'

🏕️ Ger camp🍽️ Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 5
Khongor Dunes → Havtsgait → Flaming Cliffs

Visit Havtsgait Bronze Age petroglyphs, then continue to Flaming Cliffs (Bayanzag) — one of the world's most important dinosaur fossil sites. Sunset at the cliffs.

🏕️ Ger camp🍽️ Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 6
Flaming Cliffs → Ongi Monastery

Drive north toward the ruins of Ongi Monastery, once one of Mongolia's greatest Buddhist centers, destroyed in the 1930s.

🏕️ Ger camp🍽️ Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 7
Ongi Monastery → Karakorum

Continue to Karakorum, the 13th-century capital of the Mongol Empire. Visit Erdene Zuu Monastery, Mongolia's oldest surviving Buddhist monastery.

🏕️ Ger camp🍽️ Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 8
Karakorum → Hustai National Park

Drive to Hustai National Park, home to the Przewalski's horse (Takhi), the world's only truly wild horse.

🏕️ Ger camp🍽️ Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 9
Hustai → Ulaanbaatar

Return to Ulaanbaatar. Visit Gandan Monastery for morning prayers. Free afternoon. Dinner at own arrangement.

🏨 4★ Hotel🍽️ Breakfast, Lunch
Day 10
Flight to Bayan-Ulgii

Fly to Ulgii, capital of Bayan-Ulgii Province. Visit local market with Kazakh handicrafts. Afternoon scenic drive to Tolbo Lake and visit to a Kazakh nomadic family.

🏨 Local hotel🍽️ Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 11–12
Golden Eagle Festival

Two full days at the Golden Eagle Festival. Spectacular procession of eagle hunters on horseback, competitions testing eagle speed and precision, Kokpar horseback games, archery, and evening Kazakh cultural performances.

🏨 Local hotel🍽️ Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 13
Bayan-Ulgii → Ulaanbaatar

Fly back to Ulaanbaatar. Visit Gobi Cashmere store. Traditional cultural performance and farewell dinner.

🏨 4★ Hotel🍽️ Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 14
Departure

Transfer to Chinggis Khaan International Airport.

🍽️ Breakfast