Meet after lunch for your half day guided tour. Explore the city by bike, walking or car depending on your preference. In the evening we’ll have a welcome dinner together at our favourite Mongolian restaurant, where you can ask any questions to us in person.

Meals: Dinner

Accommodation:

• Our Standard Price: 4* Hotel

An early morning transfer to the beautiful Terelj National Park. Visit the unusual Turtle rock formation, and hike through the forest to the Aryabal Buddhist Meditation Temple for panoramic views over the stunning National Park. You could also hike up to the hidden “camel rock” if you’re feeling energetic. Meet your local host, who is also an excellent horse wrangler. Mount up to horseback ride for 2-3 hours deeper into the National Park, stopping for a break to enjoy a warming BBQ lunch around a campfire. Arrive at your host family, who have been welcoming our guests for many years. Your guide and Naraa, the family's mother, will teach you how to make steamed dumplings, a favourite traditional Mongolian food. Learn more about the family as you cook together in their home. This will give you a wonderful introduction to the lifestyle and ancient culture of nomadic people. Spend your night in a Mongolian Ger, a traditional dwelling made from a wooden structure and felt covering. Once inside you’ll be amazed at how cosy and warm it feels.

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Snacks

Accommodation:

• Our Standard Price: Rustic Lux Homestay

Transfer to Ulaanbaatar Airport for a flight to Western Mongolia. Fly over the foot-hills of the Altai Mountains, spotting many lakes and awe-inspiring wide open steppes. Bayan-Ulgii feels like somewhere very special and completely different from Central Mongolia. This province is the home of Mongolia’s greatest golden eagle trainers, and is the last home of the Kazakh Eagle Hunting tradition. Meet your local team and start by exploring the town of Ulgii. Here you can see a mix of cultures, Kazakh and Mongolian. Tour the local Mosque and pick up some last minute supplies in the bustling local outdoor market.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation:

• Our Standard Price: Nice ‘n’ simple Hotel

Today travel through magnificent landscapes along the river valley towards Sagsai to meet young eagle training champion Arman and his family. Receive a warm welcome and enjoy a deliciously warming cup of milk tea. Spend the afternoon with the ambitious Arman, who took on the mantle of eagle trainer to keep the tradition alive. This hardworking young man will take you to the nearby mountain to demonstrate new and traditional techniques for building a partnership with his eagle. Before going on your first expedition, complete a short training session on how to work with the eagle. Like all animals, these birds have their own individual personalities. They are alert, intelligent and very capable. Each eagle recognises its trainer's voice and appearance. Eagles will hold a grudge against anyone who mistreats them, so the trainer and their family must treat the eagle with much care, and will expect you to have the same level of respect towards the eagle. Tonight will be your first night in a Kazakh ger. The peaceful evening, cosy crackling fire, colourful decorations and warm beds after a day of fresh air lend themselves to a very good night's sleep.

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation:

• Our Standard Price: Real + Rustic Homestay

Today you will have a full day to test out the techniques you have learnt. Mount-up on horseback and ride up again into the mountains with Arman. This time you will have a chance to participate in a real hunt. Your guide will help you and explain all the equipment and the traditions behind the hunt. When you are ready, mount up on horseback and head out to the mountains to experience a real hunt using eagles. Eagle hunting is not a simple technique, but has many roles, including chasers, who flush the wild animal, usually fox or wolf, into the open. The trainer and eagle will climb high into the mountains on horseback to watch for the prey, before releasing the eagle. Spend the evening getting to know your hosts and learn to play some traditional games.

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation:

• Our Standard Price: Real + Rustic homestay

Say farewell to Arman and your host family. Enjoy a scenic transfer to Altantsogts. Welcome to your home for the next few nights. Depending on the dates of your trip, you may be staying with the famous female eagle huntress Aishophan’s family, or with the region’s top Eagle Trainer, Shaimurat. Feel welcome and enjoy a cup of milk tea with the family. Tonight have a traditional dinner, and you may be treated to a dulmur performance, a traditional instrument.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Today spend a full day with eagle trainers who have a long tradition in following this ancient practice. Ride out with them up into the mountains and once again participate in a hunt. Hunting real animals requires patience, and can take days for a successful catch. Tonight, if you were successful, celebrate your good fortune with the local families. If the hunt was not successful, pass the time by exchanging stories with your host family.

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation:

• Our Standard Price: Real + Rustic homestay

Hiking to Tsambagarav Mountain Depart Bayan-Ulgii and travel south towards the permanently snow-capped Tsambagarav Mountain. Hike to enjoy the stunning National Park and seek out the elusive wild Argali sheep with their iconic curled horns. Breathe in the fresh air, wide vistas and wild landscapes. Once again enjoy a warm welcome from your next hosts, a herder family who still follow the nomadic way of life, moving their animals 3 or 4 times a year to fresh pastures. Participate in the lifestyles of authentic nomads, perhaps help to round up the horses or herd in the cows. Spend the evening getting to know your hosts and learn to make traditional steamed dumplings. Yummy!

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Help the host family with their morning chores. Learn how to make milk tea or take the opportunity for an early morning hike. Say goodbye and drive to Khovd town, located in a beautiful valley, where the ash, willow and birch bordered Buyant river winds through the mountains. Khovd is the most multi-cultural town in Mongolia, home to Khalkh Mongols, Kazakh, Byuriads, Tuvan and many more ethnicities. Enjoy a traditional concert with a mix of different music and singing styles found nowhere else in Mongolia. Have exclusive access to the musicians and a chance to visit their home for a glance into their lives. Khovd is actually the home of throat singing, and you are sure to hear some spectacular examples of Khoomii. Enjoy a farewell dinner. Tomorrow you will say goodbye to your local team and head back to Ulaanbaatar.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation:

• Our Standard Price: Nice ‘n’ simple Hotel

Head out in the late morning, leave the city behind and marvel at the rolling steppes, so different from Western Mongolia. Stop in a unique area of sand dunes to have a warming lunch and a bit of an exploring. Arrive at the world-famous Khustai National Park. Take a safari, led by a park ranger, to see the Przewalski’s horse, the world’s only remaining truly wild horses. These are thought to be the ancestors of the modern day horse and were once extinct in the wild, before being successfully reintroduced to three protected zones in Mongolia. Khustai is the largest and most successful of the protected zones, boasting a population of around 300 Przewalski’s horses and many red deer, marmots and other flora and fauna. Once the safari has finished, you’re welcome to set out on foot to explore the mountains and valleys to get a close look at some of the wildlife. Arrive back into Ulaanbaatar in the late afternoon.

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation:

• Our Standard Price: 4* Hotel