Designers of Discerning Holidays
Designers of Discerning Holidays
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Mysterious Mongolia with its glorious ancient history, nomadic culture and arts, indigenous species of wildlife, untouched beautiful landscapes of diverse terrain: forested mountains, hilly steppes, the Gobi Desert and the incredibly hospitable nomadic people. Amazing landscapes and cultural sightseeing blend easily in Mongolia - you will have the chance to visit families of nomads, remote Buddhist monasteries and traditional events and to take part in horse-riding or guided walking if you wish - there are also endless opportunities for photography. This fantastic small group adventure is specially designed to bring you all these unique Mongolian features.
You will be met by the guide and transferred to your hotel. After check in and time to rest take a tour to the Summer Palace including a Boat Ride, Visit the Garden of Virtue and Harmony, an exterior visit of Beijing Olympic Stadiums (Bird's Nest and Water Cube). Return to Hotel.
Visit Tiananmen Square and The Monument to the People's Heroes, Great Hall of the People, Mao Zedong Memorial Hall and perhaps see the national flag raising ceremony. Thousands of people come to the Square every day. Dominating the city’s heart is the Forbidden City called Gu Gong in Chinese and the Temple of Heaven. Formerly the Imperial Palace during the Ming and Qing dynasties, it is now known as the Palace Museum. Rectangular in shape, it is the world's largest palace complex and covers 74 hectares. Surrounded by a six meter deep moat and a ten meter high wall are 9,999 buildings. The Forbidden City is divided into two parts. The southern section, or the Outer Court was where the emperor exercised his supreme power over the nation. The Temple of Heaven is much bigger than the Forbidden City with an area of about 2,700,000 square metres. The Temple was built in 1420 A.D. during the Ming Dynasty to offer a sacrifice to Heaven. Tonight enjoy a welcome dinner of Roasted Peking Duck.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Full day tour to the Great Wall of China at Matianyu. The Mutianyu Great Wall was first built by the Northern Qi Dynasty in (550–577) over 1,400 years ago. It was rebuilt and strengthened under the supervision of famous General Xu Da during the Ming Dynasty on the foundation of the Northern Qi wall around 700 years ago. Mutianyu Pass was fortified in 1404 (the 2nd year of Emperor Yongle's reign) with a rare triangular formation of three interlinked watchtowers.
A 2½-kilometer section was fully restored in 1986. Today’s wall is a replica of the fortifications of 1568 in the Ming Dynasty. We will enjoy a well-deserved local lunch after descending from the wall.
Meals Included: Breakfast and Lunch
Morning transfer to train station for the overnight journey to Ulaanbaatar. Our train journey travels north through China reaching the border at about 8.30pm. Here passports are collected and carriages are shunted into sidings while the bogies are changed to the narrower gauge used in Mongolia and Russia. You can choose to get off and wait or stay on board. The latter option allows you to watch this interesting process as the carriages (and you) are lifted up off the wheels and new wheels rolled in. After all this is completed the carriages are all shunted back together, passports are returned and you proceed through no-mans land and then into Mongolia. Passport control happens again here. It can be 1am or later before you get into bed and the train starts rolling across Mongolia toward Ulaanbaatar. Overnight Train.
Meals Included: Breakfast
Train arrives in Ulaanbaatar transfer to hotel. We will visit the National History Museum and see a Traditional Mongolian show and dinner this evening.
Meals Included: Dinner
In the morning we will drive to the horse racing venue and watch the racing there. Then we will drive back to UB and have lunch. After lunch, we will visit the stadium and see wrestling, archery and ankle bone shooting.
Meals Included: Breakfast and Lunch
Transfer to the airport for your flight to the Southern Gobi. After landing drive to the Yol Valley and the Vulture Canyon, which nestles between the beautiful peaks of Gurvansaikhan - Three Beauties. Take a 2-hour hike through the canyon, here it is possible to see parts of a glacier left over from the winter months. The gorges sheer rock walls rise to over 200m in some places and a mountain stream flows along the floor of the gorge. Above you may be able to spot ibex grazing. On the walls of the canyon, pairs of Lammergeyer nest and it may be possible to see the rare Wallcreeper at close range. The canyon is a great place to spot some of the 200 species of birds such as the Altaic Snowcock, the Mongolian Desert Finch and the Cinereous Vulture. On our way in or out of the park we will visit the local Natural History Museum where dinosaur eggs and bones, petrified trees and a snow leopard are on display. (Drive approx 100 kms)
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Today you will be able to master camel riding as we explore the Khongor Sand Dunes. The two-humped Bactrian camels are very comfortable to ride as they walk slowly and gently, you will be well supported sitting comfortably between the humps.. The camel man will lead you safely through the sand dunes and you choose how far you wish to ride. There may be a possibility to visit a camel herdsman’s family to discover their way of life, culture and traditions. (Drive approx 180 kms)
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Visit to the Bayanzag area. Known as a Flaming Cliffs "Cradle of Dinosaurs" this is where the first nest of dinosaur eggs ever discovered was found in 1922. A site famous for the remains of dinosaur that lived here 60 million years ago. You can walk around where dinosaurs once roamed and see Saksaul trees and other classic desert vegetation. It is still possible to see dinosaur fossils although the area is being excavated. Camel riding is included, but optional, so you can walk if you wish. (Drive approx 150 kms)
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
This monastery, with its temple Damba Darjaalan Sum, was built in the late 18th century to commemorate the first ever visit to Mongolia by a Dalai Lama. The monastery was once the largest monastery in South Mongolia and was used by about 500 monks. It was the only monastery out of nine in the immediate vicinity to survive the Stalinist purges - by becoming a warehouse and shop. The monastery was reopened in 1990 and the current Dalai Lama visited in 1992.
(Drive approx 150 kms.)
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Drive to Karakorum in the morning and visit Erdenezuu monastery. Karakorum is the ancient capital of Ghengis Khaan’s Mongolia and was established in 1220. It served as the capital for 140 years. The Monastery was built in 1586 and is surrounded by a massive 400m X 400m wall. Only a few temples remain standing after the communist purges of 1930s. In previous times the grounds held over 60 temples with 10,000 monks using them for daily worship. (Drive approx 280 kms)
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Today drive to the Orkhon Waterfall. We drive to the waterfall through good gravel and reasonably difficult dirt roads. Registered as World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO in 2005, this Orkhon River valley is known as the cradle of the Mongolian civilization. Many of Mongolia’s ancient monuments lie within its basin and the Orkhon Waterfall marks the halfway point of the Orkhon River. The Orkhon is Mongolia’s longest river and runs about 1120 kms to the north before it joins the mighty Selenge River. The waterfall, also called UlaanTsutgalan was formed by a series of volcanic eruptions about 20,000 years ago, it cascades from a height of 22 metres and is 10m wide. After lunch we will visit a nomadic family and have a traditional Mongolian BBQ cooked by hot stones. (Drive approx 150 kms)
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Today we have the opportunity for a couple of hours horse riding if you wish. After lunch drive to Tsenkher hot spring, take a relaxing hot spring bath. (Drive approx 130 kms). The next day is a rest day to enjoy the hot springs or to walk in the surrounding steppes, there are plenty of options for independent hikes depending on how energetic you are feeling.
Meals Included: 2 Breakfast, 2 Lunch and 2 Dinner
Travel beside the Chuluut River which has carved a deep canyon into the basalt rocks. This canyon is famous for its rich fishing grounds. Arrive Khorgo Volcano, an extinct volcano, covered with basalt laying to the east of Lake Terkhiin. It is an astonishingly beautiful lake formed by a dam of lava flowing from a volcanic eruption many millennia ago. It is possible to see interesting bubbles of solidified lava named “Basalt ger’. The northernmost slope of the Hangai mountain chain, in the Arhangai Province, is called “the Switzerland of Mongolia” for its forests, rivers and wooded hills. (Drive approx 200 kms)
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Travel to Shine-Ider province across rolling steppes which are covered with wildflowers in spring and early summer. Zuun Nuur a small, beautiful salt water lake and is a haven for birds. Continue another 10kms to the camp Ulziit. (Drive approx 300 kms)
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Today we will drive to lovely Khuvsgul Lake, close to the Siberian border. Here you have the opportunity to truly understand the Mongolian way of life. Lake Khuvsgul is the second largest freshwater lake in the world, after Lake Baikal so be prepared to be impressed.
(Drive approx 350 km).
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Free day to explore the area. Optional horse riding and time to relax in this beautiful setting.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
We will drive to a spectacular area of extinct volcanoes covered in coniferous woods and has spectacular red rock formations. There is an opportunity to hike on the volcano.
(Drive approx 380 kms)
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Travel by road to Amarbayasgalant. Built between 1727 – 1736 this is one of the largest monasteries in Mongolia. The Journey travels across the southern approaches of Siberia. The monastery is located in the beautiful Iven Gol River Valley at the foot of Burenkhan Mountain. It has amazing art and decorations and the incredible architectural construction makes it one of the most magnificent monasteries in Asia. (Drive approx 200 km)
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
After breakfast we drive back to Ulaanbaatar. We will have lunch at a local café along the way. (Drive approx 350 kms)
Meals Included: Breakfast and Lunch
After breakfast we will drive to Genghis Khan Equestrian statue, the highest one in the world (It takes about 4 hours). After lunch visit to the famous Narantuul market.
Meals Included: Breakfast and Lunch
A free day for any last minute shopping, exploring and getting ready for your departure.
Meals Included: Breakfast
Transfer to the airport for your departure
Meals Included: Breakfast
NZD7,990.00 per person based on twin share accommodation
NZD1,600.00 single supplement
Subject to change until confirmed and paid in full.
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