After meeting your guide at 09:00 am in your hotel or another Ulaanbaatar location of your choice board the vehicle for a morning visit to the Gandan Monastery in the western part of the city. Take a guided tour of the temples and see the monks chanting. Then head west to the northern part of Gobi onto Gurvanbulag, where you will be staying at a guest ger alongside a nomadic family. The drive is mostly on paved roads and should take 4 hours (280km). On arrival, enter the family ger and experience nomadic hospitality – sample milk tea, homemade yoghurts and curds, learning about the nomadic way of life and your hosts’ traditions. In the afternoon, if you are up for it, ride a horse to the nearby sand dunes – or you can walk if you prefer. The distance is not long, just 3km each way. In the evening enjoy a traditional nomadic meal of Buuz (steamed dumplings) or khorkhog (mutton seared with hot stones) – you can also help with cooking if you want. Overnight stay at a guest ger next to a nomadic family. Lunch and dinner are included.

After an early breakfast drive to the ancient Mongol capital of Karakorum. Upon arrival, enter the Erdene Zuu Monastery, the most important monastery complex in the country, built-in 1586 by Altai Khan. Take a guided tour of the temples and hear the monks chanting, which takes place from 10 am. After that have lunch at the ger camp where you will be staying tonight (summer) or at a local eatery (winter), and visit an interesting local museum that showcases the Mongolian past. In the afternoon take a stroll along the Orkhon river or explore the local market. There will also be time to visit the Monument of the 3 Kings on top of a hill.

After a home-cooked breakfast says goodbye to your hosts and drive for 1.5 hours (100km) to Khogno Khaan nature reserve – the site of the Uvguun temple complex. Khogno Khan is an area where taiga meets rolling steppes and north Gobi’s sand dunes. Hike a short distance to the Ungun temples which were built in the 17th century by Zanabazar. After coming down to the vehicle drive 25km to the Elsen Tasarkhai sand dunes, where you will stay next to a family of camel herders. Settle into your ger and once your camels are ready, mount up for a 1-hour Bactrian ride into the dunes, taking time for photographs from the camel back. In the evening return to your hosts and enjoy a home-cooked dinner, socializing in the evening over fermented mare’s milk with the family.

After leisurely breakfast board the vehicle for the journey back east to Hustai. The drive will take 3 hours (190km) and on arrival visit first the park’s information centre where you will learn about the plethora of wildlife roaming the National Park. Have lunch in the ger camp where you will be staying tonight, located right at the park’s entrance, then venture into the park to see the wild Takhi horses. Your guide will be in contact with the park rangers who will relay the animals’ location, and you have a high chance of seeing them close. You can also venture deeper into the park on foot if you wish, perhaps to track wild deer or foxes – Hustai offers wonderful wilderness hiking opportunities. In the late afternoon return by vehicle to the camp, take a hot shower and enjoy a hearty dinner.

After breakfast set off for the remarkable Chinggis Khaan Statue complex near Erdene soum for 200km. Once you arrive, climb up inside until you reach the exterior staircase which runs up the mane of the horse to a viewpoint overlooking the Tuul River, Terelj & the hills of the Khan Khentii. Then have lunch in the complex’s restaurant. After lunch, come back down to the vehicle and return to Ulaanbaatar (2hrs/120km), where you will be dropped at a location of your choice.