In the Realm of Genghis Khan

We explore the sites of the capital, including the thriving Gandan Monastery, home to several hundred monks, and the National History Museum, which offers utterly fascinating insights into Mongolian history with its displays of traditional implements of daily nomadic life. Each departure of our journey will feature a day at a Naadam Festival (the actual day varies with each trip), where we watch traditional Mongolian sports dating back to Genghis Khan’s time.

We head out across the grasslands to Khustain Nuruu National Park, established for the takhi, the last remaining species of wild horse. Extinct in the wild in the 1970s, this sturdy native is making a comeback here through international conservation efforts. One of our hikes brings us to the great standing stones at Ongot, a site that dates back to 500 AD. In the Orkhon Valley, the cradle of Mongolian civilization, we are welcomed into the home of a nomad family, and we visit the chanting halls at 16th century Erdene Zuu Monastery, the “Jewel Temple,” built over the ruins of Karakorum, capital of the Mongol Empire in the 13th century. This has been a place of Buddhist worship for over 500 years.

In the vast Gobi Desert, we walk the trails of Yol Valley National Park and visit the renowned site of the “Fighting Dinosaurs,” where fossils of a Protoceratops and Velociraptor locked in combat were discovered. We can ride a Bactrian camel in this dramatic desert, and explore the legendary fossil site of the Flaming Cliffs—stunning when illuminated by the oranges and golds of sunset. Flying back to the capital, we overnight in a traditional ger camp amid the rock formations and alpine mountains of Gorkhi-Terelj National Park, a wonderful chance to experience local nomad hospitality on the steppes. Depart on Day 13 via Ulaanbaatar.