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Trip Information - Camel Trekking in the Gobi

Day 1. Arrival (D)
Arrival to Ulaanbaatar and transfer to hotel. Depending on time of arrival, you may have a short city sight-seeing tour. Evening welcome dinner. Overnight in hotel.

Day 2. Ulaanbaatar/South Gobi (B,L,D)
After breakfast, we will catch the morning flight to the South Gobi. On arrival we check into our ger camp, and then go to Yolin Am canyon. Yolin Am is part of the Great Gobi National Park. The area is an oasis, attracting wildlife from the area all around with water, good grazing, and sheltered canyons. The wonder of this beautiful valley is the river of ice stretching across the canyon floor, which survives the desert heat well into the month of August every year, better known as the Gobi Glacier. A hike down the valley offers us a great opportunity to observe wildlife, and enjoy the cool waters of the stream that emerges from under the glacier.. Overnight in ger camp.

Day 3. Ger Camp/Gurvan Saikhan National Park (B,L,D)
Today we drive to the camp of the nomadic family where we meet our camels and local guides. The park itself is home to many rare wild animals, including the snow leopard and the world’s only wild Bactrian camels. The area is characterized by its vast sandstone formations, sand dunes, and oases. Camping overnight with nomadic family.

Day 4 – 10. Gurvan Saikhan/Khongoryn Els (B,L,D)
For the next few days we will be riding the desert ship - the two humped Bactrian camel, as we make our way to the Khongoryn Els. The trek starts off in a wide valley, and we will pass by Zagyn Hudag, the saxaul tree spring, and continue to Tsagaan Chuluu, a great sandstone formation that rises from the desert floor. Over the next several days, we proceed slowly through the desert steppe, where we are very likely to see steppe wildlife and large birds of prey. The landscapes will change from great rock formations to oases and finally the dramatic sand dunes of the Khongorin Els. This huge sand dune, spread over a length of180 km and rising to up to 320 m high, is also known as the Singing Sands. Extraordinary desert plants bloom here, and the dunes shift constantly, forming sculptural shapes. Camping each night, overnight in a ger camp when we reach the Khongoryn Els.

Day 11. Khongoryn Els/ Bayan Zag (B,L,D)
We say goodbye to our camels and our desert guides, driving to Bayan Zag. Known to westerners as The Flaming Cliffs, Bayan Zag (Rich with Saxaul) is famed for its’ red sandstone cliffs which take on beautiful red and orange hues during sunset. Sculptural Saxaul trees grow in the arid rocky soil. The area is also recognized as one of the world’s largest dinosaur graveyards. In 1921, the American Roy Chapman Andrews discovered here some of the most important Paleontological findings of the last century. Since then, hundreds of archeological expeditions have come to this remote desert location, and even today with the assistance of local people dinosaur fossils continue to be found in the area. Overnight in a ger camp.

Day 12. South Gobi/Ulaanbaatar (B,L,D)
Today we catch the first flight to Ulaanbaatar. After checking in at the hotel, you will go on a sightseeing tour of the city which will include a visit to the National History Museum, which holds a permanent exhibition on the different civilizations that have inhabited the territory of Mongolia from prehistoric times to the present, including a significant display of objects from the era of the Great Mongol Empire. Afterwards, we will take a stroll across the main square. Overnight in hotel.

Day 13. Ulaanbaatar (B,L,D)
In the morning we will visit Gandan Monastery, the center of Buddhism in Mongolia. After lunch, we visit the Natural History Museum, where a permanent exhibition of the flora and fauna of Mongolia is displayed, including excellent examples of dinosaur skeletons excavated from the Gobi Desert. Free shopping time in the afternoon. Mongolia is world renowned for its fine cashmere and you will find this and many other souvenir items in the city. Farewell dinner. Overnight in hotel.

Day 14. Departure (B)
Transfer to the airport for departing flight.

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