Discover Mongolia

Begin your adventure in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia’s capital, where Soviet-era architecture, Buddhist monasteries and glass towers stand side by side on the high-altitude steppe. Around 6pm, say sain baina uu (hello) to your tour leader and fellow travellers, when we gather as a group for the first time to get to know each other and learn more about the adventures ahead. Your tour leader then ensures a big Mongolian welcome by arranging a group dinner. Want more time in Ulaanbaatar? Secure pre-tour hotel nights through your sales representative.

Leave the capital and head into the wide-open landscapes of Terelj National Park, where forested mountains, granite rock formations, and flower-filled meadows reveal a very different side of Mongolia. Before departing Ulaanbaatar, we visit Gandan Monastery, the largest functioning Buddhist monastery in the country and an important centre of Mongolian religious life. Among the highlights is the gold-and-bronze Migjid Janraisig statue, standing 65ft (20m) high inside the main temple hall. If we’re lucky, we may hear the deep chanting of monks during morning prayers. The drive (approximately two hours) to Terelj National Park takes us east into rolling grasslands and alpine scenery. In the afternoon, we walk up to the Aryabala Meditation Temple, a Tibetan-style monastery built into the hillside. Along the path, wooden plaques display Buddhist teachings and reflections, while the temple itself overlooks the valleys and rock formations of the park. The climb involves several steps but rewards us with far-reaching views over the surrounding wilderness. Tonight, we experience our first stay in a traditional Mongolian ger, the circular felt homes still used by nomadic families across the country. Total drive time: 2hr 30min

Today we head to the Mongol Els (Little Gobi Desert), where grassland gives way to dunes and semi-desert landscapes. En route, we detour to Khustain Nuruu National Park, one of Mongolia’s great conservation success stories. The park is best known for the reintroduction of the takhi (Przewalski’s horse). Once extinct in the wild, the species now roams freely here again thanks to decades of conservation work led by Mongolian and international organisations. After visiting the information centre, we take a guided hike through the steppe in search of the horses. The contrast of Bactrian camels crossing the dunes while horses graze nearby captures the unique geography of central Mongolia, where desert and grassland meet. Continue to the Mongol Els for another night in a ger camp beneath expansive desert skies. Total drive time: five hours

Travel deeper into Mongolia’s history, travelling (hours?) to Karakorum, the 13th-century capital of the Mongol Empire founded by Ogedei Khan, son of Genghis Khan. First, however, we head to the nearby Khogno Khan Mountain, an isolated granite massif known for its birdlife, including steppe eagles and vultures. At the foot of the mountain sits a small monastery, quietly positioned between the rocks and sand dunes. Continue to Karakorum, once the political heart of the largest land empire in history. Though little remains of the original city, the surrounding landscape still carries enormous historical significance. After lunch, we visit Erdene Zuu Monastery, established in 1586 using stones from the ruins of ancient Karakorum. Although much of the complex was destroyed during the Stalinist purges of the 1930s, the monastery walls, lined with 108 stupas, remain one of the most important religious monuments in Mongolia. Later, we visit the Karakorum Museum, where artefacts recovered from the area help piece together the story of the Mongol Empire and Silk Road trade routes that once passed through here. Total drive time: 1hr 30min

Follow the northern fringe of the Gobi Desert to Arvaikheer, the capital of the Ovorkhangai Province Along the way, we stop at Shankh Monastery, one of the oldest monasteries in Mongolia and once associated with Zanabazar, the revered Buddhist scholar, artist and spiritual leader often considered the father of Mongolian Buddhism. The monastery remains an active religious site, and our tour leader helps bring its history and symbolism into context. Arriving in Arvaikheer in the afternoon, we visit the local museum, where exhibits include ancient stone figures, archaeological finds and Turkic inscriptions that trace the deep human history of the Mongolian steppe. Depending on timing, we may also stop at the local market for a glimpse into everyday provincial life. Total drive time: three hours

Today is the longest drive of the trip, but also one of the most rewarding as we leave the main tourist route behind and enter the more remote reaches of the Gobi. After breakfast, the paved road soon disappears and the scenery steadily changes. Vast gravel plains, dry riverbeds and distant mountain ranges dominate the horizon as we travel deeper into the desert. In the distance, the Ikh Bogd Mountain rises above the landscape, the highest peak in the Gobi Altai range and an important landmark for local herding communities. The journey takes approximately nine hours including stops, giving us time to appreciate the sheer scale and isolation of Mongolia’s southern wilderness. Encounters with other vehicles are rare, and the silence of the open steppe becomes part of the experience itself. Arrive at our remote ger camp by evening for a night surrounded by desert landscapes and uninterrupted skies. Total drive time: six to seven hours

Continue through classic Gobi scenery, where rocky plains, isolated outcrops and pockets of sand stretch across the Khatan Suudal Steppe. After crossing a desert pass, we visit the White Cave, known for its pale quartz-rich rock formations and archaeological significance. The surrounding landscape feels increasingly remote, with little beyond open steppe and distant mountain silhouettes. We stop for a picnic lunch overlooking Arts Bogd Mountain before continuing towards the Khongoriin Els dunes. The gradual arrival of the dunes is particularly memorable, their vast ridges rising unexpectedly from the flat desert terrain. Reach our ger camp in the late afternoon. Total drive time: four hours