We begin our westward journey across the endless steppe. As we leave the city’s chaotic traffic behind, the landscape shifts – urban sprawl gives way to boundless green valleys. In Khögnö Tarna National Park, we visit the ruins of an ancient monastery, still watched over by the granddaughter of one of the last monks who protected it during the purges of the 1930s.

Khögnö Tarna brings together much of what defines Mongolia: small sand dunes, an oasis, and striking rock formations that break the monotony of the steppe. Camels are the dominant animals here.

We then continue to Kharkhorin, the ancient Karakorum, founded by Genghis Khan and once the capital of the Great Mongol Empire.

🛏️ Accommodation: ger camp in Kharkhorin
🍽️ Meals: breakfast

We start the day with a visit to the Kharkhorin Museum, which gives us context about the Great Mongol Empire and helps us understand this culture’s resilience. We then visit Erdene Zuu Monastery, one of the most sacred places in Mongolia – a symbol of a spiritual and historical legacy that has withstood the test of time. Afterwards, we stop at the new Museum of Mongolian Calligraphy, where you can have your name written in traditional Mongolian script.

After lunch, we visit the Monument of the Great Empire, overlooking the untouched Orkhon Valley. We then drive north, crossing volcanic valleys and isolated villages, towards Khorgo-Terkhiin Tsagaan Nuur National Park – one of Mongolia’s most stunning places. The freshwater lake, created by ancient eruptions, mirrors the extinct volcanoes and surrounding forests – a reflection of Mongolian serenity.

🛏️ Accommodation: ger camp near Terkhiin Tsagaan Nuur
🍽️ Meals: breakfast and dinner

Today, the pace slows down. We hike up to the Khorgo Volcano crater for sweeping views of the lake and the grey-green forest. On the way back, we can go horse riding or simply relax by the water, watching the calm rhythm of nomadic life.

🛏️ Accommodation: ger camp near Terkhiin Tsagaan Nuur
🍽️ Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner

We continue west towards Zavkhan province – one of the most remote and least explored regions in Mongolia. Telmen Lake appears amidst arid hills and endless plains, an oasis of calm where the wind is your only companion.

It’s a place of silence and introspection, where nature sets the pace. We camp by the lake to watch, at dawn, the animals that roam freely and come here to drink.

🛏️ Accommodation: wild camping near Telmen Lake
🍽️ Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner

Today, we enter an almost dreamlike landscape. The Bor Khyariin dunes rise out of nowhere, forming a golden desert surrounded by mountains. Crossing this terrain feels like walking on a frozen sea of sand.

At the foot of the dunes lies the unexpected Mukhart Oasis – a green thread nourished by an underground spring. The contrast between desert and life is both striking and poetic. Around this time of year, the surrounding mountains may already be dusted with snow.

🛏️ Accommodation: wild camping at the oasis
🍽️ Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner

We travel to Khyargas Lake, a vast saltwater mirror stretching beyond the horizon. Its cliffs and rock formations host bird colonies and form one of western Mongolia’s most fascinating ecosystems.

Here, silence has weight, and the sense of isolation is complete. It’s a place that invites contemplation – the kind of landscape that redefines your sense of scale.

🛏️ Accommodation: ger camp near Khyargas Nuur
🍽️ Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner

We enter Bayan-Ölgii province, home to the legendary Kazakh nomads who live side by side with their eagles. Before meeting them, we stop at Achit Lake – the largest freshwater lake in western Mongolia, surrounded by snow-capped mountains and tall grasslands.

It’s a place of transition, where the blue of the water blends with the white peaks and golden steppe. A serene setting, perfect for rest and reflection.

🛏️ Accommodation: wild camping near Achit Lake
🍽️ Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner

We arrive in Ölgii, capital of Mongolia’s Kazakh minority. Everything changes here: language, music, faces, and even the smell of freshly baked bread. The Kazakhs are Muslim, their features distinct from central Mongolians, and their gers – called yurts here – are supported by a single pillar instead of two, with a more pointed roof.

Ölgii is a small city, but it buzzes with activity in the days leading up to the Eagle Festival. Tents are set up, costumes prepared, and hunters train their golden eagles – proud symbols of heritage and identity. The streets fill with people from all over the world coming to witness this ancient tradition.

🛏️ Accommodation: guesthouse in Ölgii
🍽️ Meals: breakfast

The big day has arrived. The Altai Eagle Festival is one of Central Asia’s most impressive events – a celebration of courage, heritage, and harmony between humans and animals. Men and women display their birds’ skill in competitions that mix precision and tradition.

The sound of horses, the cries of encouragement, and the flapping of wings fill the valley with energy. It’s impossible not to get goosebumps.

There are also other traditional activities, such as archery – where women often shine.

🛏️ Accommodation: guesthouse in Ölgii
🍽️ Meals: breakfast

The second day of the festival brings the finals and a peak of emotion. Amid laughter and applause, there’s a deep sense of pride – of a people living in harmony with nature for generations.

After the celebration, we head to Tolbo Lake, a mountain mirror where silence returns. It’s also a historic site: in 1921, the Mongolian army, allied with the Bolsheviks, defeated the White Army here during the Russian Civil War, helping secure Mongolia’s independence, which China had yet to recognise.

🛏️ Accommodation: family ger camp near Tolbo Lake
🍽️ Meals: breakfast and dinner

We continue to Khövdi province, one of the most culturally diverse regions and the main city in western Mongolia. The road winds through green valleys and Altai mountains. Here, Kazakhs, Uriankhai and Tuvans live side by side, preserving unique traditions of music, shamanism, and nomadic life.

It’s a less-visited area, full of authenticity – a place where time feels suspended.

🛏️ Accommodation: guesthouse in Khövd
🍽️ Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner

Today, we explore the Tsenkher Caves, home to petroglyphs nearly 11,000 years old. The carvings of hunters and animals tell prehistoric stories of survival and spirituality.

Walking among these engravings feels like stepping into an open-air museum, far from the modern world. There’s a sense of discovery and reverence for these historical records, referenced in the oldest Mongolian text, The Secret History of the Mongols (written in 1240 after Genghis Khan’s death). Despite two attempts, the site is still not UNESCO-listed and remains largely unprotected.

🛏️ Accommodation: ger camp near Tsenkher Caves
🍽️ Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner

The last wild push.

We cross rivers and valleys to the village of Altai Sum, surrounded by arid mountains and endless horizons. Another remote town, marking our slow return to civilisation. It’s a long travel day, and a night in a hotel is well deserved.

🛏️ Accommodation: hotel in Altai Sum
🍽️ Meals: breakfast and lunch

From Altai Sum, we return to the capital, either by plane (subject to availability) or by road via Arvaikheer. It’s a long journey, but a perfect moment to reflect on everything we’ve experienced – the families, the landscapes, the silences, and the encounters.

🛏️ Accommodation: hotel in Arvaikheer
🍽️ Meals: breakfast

Back in the capital, we dedicate the day to visiting one of the local projects supported by this journey – Green Lake, a reforestation initiative in the infamous ger district. It’s a chance to understand the positive impact your trip creates and to meet Ulzii, its visionary founder, who managed to transform a landfill into the only urban park in this part of the city – now a gathering place for culture and creativity.

In the evening, we come together for a final dinner – a farewell among friends, now connected by a shared experience across Mongolia’s vast lands.

🛏️ Accommodation: hotel in UlaanBaatar
🍽️ Meals: breakfast

Time to say see you soon. After days spent among nomads, endless landscapes and moments turned into living memories, you leave Mongolia with more than just photographs.

This journey and its culture stay with you – in gestures, in stories, and in the silence you’ve learned to listen to.

Transfer to the airport according to your flight schedule.

If you ever miss it… you know where to find us.

🛏️ Accommodation: –
🍽️ Meals: breakfast