Mongolia + the Gobi, Naadam Festival

On arrival, you’ll be warmly greeted and escorted to the 5-star Shangri-La Hotel.

After breakfast, you’ll be escorted to the airport for your included flight to Dalanzadgad in the South Gobi, where our fleet of comfortable 4x4 jeeps await. With only 2 to 3 guests in each jeep with our professional driver and a guide, we promise intimate, personalized exploration over the next 3 days. The adventure begins in Yolyn Am, also known as Eagle Valley. Explore the rugged terrain, including areas with cliffs and canyons so deeply shaded that ice can endure well into summer. Along the way, keep your eyes peeled for soaring eagles and the wild sheep and goats that graze high up the steep canyon walls. A small natural history museum at the entrance to the valley provides more information about the flora, fauna and geology of the valley. Enjoy an al fresco lunch freshly prepared by your private chef and continue to the Three Camel Lodge. Meals B+L+D

This morning is yours to enjoy the singular setting of our Lodge, surrounded by the vast sweep of the Gobi. If you wish, you can enjoy a screening of Bayanzag, The Story of the Weeping Camel. Released in 2004, this well-reviewed German-made docudrama tells the story of a nomadic family of camel herders living in the Gobi Desert. After early lunch drive to the sand dunes at Moltsog Els, visit a local camel-breeder’s family, taste milk products made from camel milk. You will have the opportunity to go camel riding along the base of the dunes and later to walk through the sand dunes. Continue to Bayanzag, you’ll follow in the footsteps of Roy Chapman Andrews. Fondly known as the “Original Indiana Jones,” Mr. Andrews was a storied adventurer and naturalist who went on to become one of the most respected directors of the American Museum of Natural History. It was here amidst this stark expanse of desert sands and towering red sandstone cliffs where he found the first-known nest of fossilized dinosaur eggs in 1922. Petrified forests and the remains of numerous animals including the skeleton of the hornless rhinoceros, the largest known mammal, have also been recovered in the same area. Enjoy a freshly prepared dinner atop the Flaming Cliffs as the sun sets over these desert landscapes. This evening, local children will perform the National Dance, a traditional Mongolian favorite.  Delight in another restful overnight in your private Ger at the Three Camel Lodge.  Meals B+L+D

After a hearty breakfast, travel back to Dalanzadgad and bid farewell to your Gobi guide and driver as you board the flight back to the capital. On arrival, meet our resident guide and visit 976, the most important contemporary art gallery in Mongolia. The exhibits change regularly, but 976 is known for finding talented artists who use a variety of traditional techniques like Tibetan Thangka painting and Chinese calligraphy to create new and vibrant works that are distinctly Mongolian.   After lunch in the city, we’ll take you overland to the evocative Tuul Riverside Lodge, our authentic Mongolian style encampment. Settle in to your private Ger and then join an afternoon archery lesson; it’s a fun way to learn about this revered national sport where bows are still crafted from wood, sinew, horn and tendon. Meals B+L+D

Today offers a unique opportunity to enjoy and experience hands-on some of Mongolia’s very unique cultural traditions. The Mongolian Ger is constructed with a wooden lattice frame and sturdy roof poles that are then covered with multiple layers of felt. Here amidst these scenic rolling hills on the gentle Tuul River, you’ll spend some time this morning learning to construct a real Ger – just like the one you slept in last night!   After lunch, our private concert showcases a variety of Mongolian art forms including Shaman dancing, throat singing, and Uran Nugaralt - an acrobatic form that stresses balance and flexibility. Tonight, gather with your fellow travelers around the campfire for a traditional Mongolian barbecue prepared by the Lodge’s chefs. Meals B+L+D

After leisurely breakfast, we will travel back to Ulaanbaatar by car and attend the National Flag Raising Ceremony at the main square. During the ceremony, a military parade will hold at the square with military officers of the Mongolian Armed Forces, emergency management, and policy officers paying tribute to the State Flag. After lunch we will drive to Hui Doloon Khudag, to the outskirts of Ulaanbaatar, to watch horse race competition. This horse-racing tradition is said to date back to the Bronze Age. It’s considered to be one of the three traditional skills of Mongolian young men. Horse-racing is of course cherished by the herdsmen in Mongolia and is a favorite among the sports. The horses are categorized according to age; the distance of the race is determined by the age of the horse and may range between 15 and 35 kilometers. Then drive back to Shangri-La Hotel. Meals B+L+D

We will head to the central stadium to attend the Naadam Festival opening ceremony. Naadam is the biggest and the most widely watched traditional festival in Mongolia, locally also named the "Eriin Gurvan Naadam" – “the three games of men". Wrestling, horse racing, and archery are practiced during this National Holiday from July 11th to 13th. Women have started to participate in the archery and horse-racing games, but not in the wrestling. Naadam is a formal celebration of the 1921 revolution, when Mongolia declared itself a free country. The Naadam celebration was accredited by the representative list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity of UNESCO in 2010. Afternoon attends the opening ceremony of the National Archery tournament followed by a unique ankle bone shooting competition in anklebone shooting tents or fields at the Naadam arena. The ankle bone shooting is a UNESCO-registered World Heritage game and was officially added to the Naadam Games in 1998.  Overnight at the 5-star Shangri-La Hotel. Meals B+L+D

After breakfast, we’ll take you back to the capital for your onward flight.  Meals B