Thursday 9th July – Ulan Bator

• Arrival in Ulan Bator at your leisure. YPT can organise airport pickups
• We will meet at 6 PM in our centrally located accommodation.
• Late lunch in Ulan Bator
• Dinner where we will get to know our new members of the group and have our first look at the nightlife of Ulan Bator
• Overnight in Ulan Bator

Friday 10^th July – Ulan Bator

• Up early for our city tour of Ulan Bator
• After breakfast, we’ll head slightly out of town to visit the enormous Zaisan Memorial which will not only offer the best view of the city but also an enormous fresco commemorating the sacrifices of the Red Army which came to liberate the Mongolians from the Japanese. On our way down, we will see a tank memorial.
• We head back into town to visit the Memorial Museum of Victims of Political Persecution. Here, we will learn more about the dark side of the Soviet rule of Mongolia and the impact its omnipresent secret police had on the locals.
• Lunch at the nearby Chojin Temple Restaurant.
• We head to the Gandantegchinlen Monastery, one of the most important site of Mongolian buddhism. During the communist reign, it was the only monastery allowed to function even though it only did so as a token homage to Mongolian culture while most others religious sites were destroyed and their lamas executed.
• We head slightly north to the Sukhbaatar Square, place where the very iconic statue of Genghis Khan, most famous Mongol of all history and terror of the western world, is located.
• We go to the outskirts of town to visit the Military Museum of Mongolia. Warning: Soviet tanks galore!
• Dinner in a restaurant nearby our hostel.
• Overnight in Ulan Bator

Saturday 11th July – Ulan Bator

• TRIP HIGHLIGHT We partake in the first day of the Naadam Festival. Spirits will be high all across town as Mongolians reunite for the event of the year, showcasing their culture through a competition involving the three main sports: wrestling, archery and horse racing.
• We attend the opening festival ceremony. The nine tribes of Mongolia are escorting a horse tail of Genghis Khan to the stadium, accompanied by horsemen, monks and dancers.
• We will attend the first rounds of the horse racing competition. Races can include thousands of horses with child riders and span over more than 10 kilometres.
• Head back to our hostel to try a traditional meal of Khuushuur, a deep fried meat pie which we will rinse down with fermented mare’s milk, like the true Mongolian warriors we’ll be by then.

Sunday 12^th July – Ulan Bator

• Wake up nice and early for breakfast
• We go and spectate the second day, this time watching wrestling in the stadium. Mongolian wrestling is unique in that the wrestlers are not divided by weight and compete all together. We will get the opportunity to familiarize ourselves with the special costumes the wrestlers wear.
• Lunch on site
• We head outside the stadium to see the archery competition. Here, we’ll witness archers shooting arrows over a distance of 75m using the infamous Mongolian Compound Bow which was instrumental in Genghis Khan’s conquest of the world.
• For dinner, we’ll head to a Mongolian hotpot restaurant to gorge on delicious lamb meat and then head out to check out Ulan Bator’s night life.
• Overnight in Ulan Bator

Monday 13^th July – Mount Khogno Khan Natural Reserve

• Up early as we have to drive to Mount Khogno Khan Natural Reserve, 250km away from the capital. This park contains a bit of all landscapes iconic of Mongolia, with sand dunes, the steppes and the taiga. Its ecosystem is extremely varied, with birds, gazelles and deer.
• Our cook will prepare us a delicious lunch in the park.
• In the afternoon, we’ll get the opportunity to do some more hiking or go camel riding in the nearby dunes.
• Dinner and overnight in a traditional Mongolian family Ger, where we will sample Mongolia`s legendary nomadic hospitality.

Tuesday 14th July – Terelj National Park

• Up early again. Today, our day is dedicated to driving to the Terelj National park. On the way, we’ll stop by Turtle Rock or Melkhii Khad, a rock formation that bears a striking resemblance to its namesake animal.
• Lunch prepared by our cook
• We start exploring the National Park trekking around accompanied by our expert guide. The park is famous for Khagiin Khar lake and the Tuul River which flows through it. We will also get the opportunity to visit a traditional Mongolian Buddhist temple.
• Dinner and overnight once more in a traditional Mongolian family Ger,

Wednesday 15^th July – Terelj National Park

• It wouldn’t be a Mongolian adventure without a horse ride so we’ll ride around Terelj National Park like the Khan meant it to be.
• Lunch with our personal cook
• We start making our way back to Ulan Bator. On the way back, we’ll stop by the enormous statue of Genghis Khan, which we’ll be able to climb to appreciate the view.
• Arrival in Ulan Bator for dinner and drinks to celebrate the completion of our tour!

Thursday 16^th July – Ulan Bator

• End of tour, YPT can assist with transport to the airport or train station and the city is well connected with international flights, or you can get the train back to Beijing! Those carrying on to our Buryatia & Lake Baikal Tour board train 005 to Ulan-Ude at 15:22 and arriving the next day in the early morning.

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