Naadam Festival -7 Days Mongolia Festival Trip

On your arrival at Chinggis Khaan International Airport or railway station, you will assistance by a Himalayan Wander Walkers’ representative. Our Guide and driver will help you to arrange your luggage in the vehicle and drive to the Hotel. Later you will have some rest at the hotel to recover from the jet lag and tour briefing.

Overnight accommodation is set with BB Plan at 3* hotel.

Today you will have sightseeing around Ulaanbaatar city.  You will visit Gandan Monastery, Mongolia’s largest functioning Buddhist monastery. Listen to the horns calling lamas and monks to the temple, and capture the monks’ daily rituals. Megjid Janraisig Temples is a significant site where you will see a 26-meter-high majestic gilded statue of Migjid Janraisig. Next, visit Sukhbaatar square and Parliament House displayed with Great Khans memorial statue lies at the heart of the city surrounded by theaters, government buildings. Then visit the National Museum of Mongolia to get an overview of Mongolia’s history and culture including nomadic life, traditional costumes of ethnic groups, sacred religious relics, and Stone & Bronze Age artifacts. After lunch at “Modern Nomads” restaurant served with national foods, we will visit Zanabazar and Zaisan Memorial; it was built to honors fallen soldiers of the Soviet Union in World War II. From there you will experience the best view of Ulaanbaatar and surrounding hills.

Overnight accommodation is set with MAP Plan at 3* hotel.

After your breakfast, your tour guide will pick you up from your hotel and joining in Naadam's small tour group. Today you will be attending the opening ceremony of the Festival of Naadam in Ulaanbaatar national stadium. It’s Mongolia’s biggest, most colorful, and most important annual cultural event, focusing on three sports: horse racing, Mongolian-style wrestling, and archery. It’s no coincidence that all three skills derive from the capabilities of Genghis Khan’s legendary military – a force that conquered and controlled the largest empire the world has ever known.

After lunch, return to the Naadam stadium and visit the Naadam archery field beside the central stadium. The archery field will be filled with men and women archers in colorful ethnic national costumes who shooting arrows from their bows. This kind of contest was in existence in the 13th century and was in use until recently. We reenter into the Naadam stadium watching for Mongolian national wrestling, you’ll see many wrestlers wrestling onto the green field. In the usual 512 wrestler tournament, there will be nine elimination rounds of wrestling over two days. There is no weight category in Mongolian wrestling.

Also, we will visit the stadium of the ankle-bone shooting competition. Even though Naadam’s original nickname is “three manly games” meaning wrestling, horse racing, and archery, a fourth game came into the Naadam’s official agenda in 1998, Mongolian ankle-bone shooting (shagain harvaa), and another UNESCO registered world heritage. Ankle-bone shooting by the middle finger is a team game, a sort of miniature version of bowling. We will wander around outside of Naadam stadium to watch locals who dressed their national costumes, food and trade corners, etc.

Overnight accommodation is set with MAP Plan at 3* hotel.

Today you will wake earlier than normal days and your guide will pick around 7:30 am. Be picked up from the hotel at 07:30-8 am. You will drive to Hui Doloon hug (horse racing field of Naadam festival) to witness the Naadam horse races, featuring children riding bareback across the steppe which takes 1 to 1 & half. All of these racers from each corner of Mongolia. You will experience the brilliant madness of the horse race field and the unsurpassed cultural opportunity to watch the “Soyolon” (5-year-old horse) race will start at 25km – Soyolon horse is the fastest and most powerful. Mongolians often say that the one who stands in the dust of the Soyolon race will be blessed till the next Naadam. So don’t be surprised if you see many businessmen, crowds of people wearing fancy traditional garments, as well as Mongolia ‘strong-men’ that will wait for Mongolian fastest of the Soyolon horses. While you are waiting for the next race, you will have a great opportunity to take photography local horse trainers, peoples with traditional garments and so more.

After explore Hui Doloon Khud, 1.5hrs drive to the Hustai National Park. The park is home to the last wild horses in their natural environment in the world, known as Perzevalski horse (Takhi). The National park has over 450 species of vascular plants, 200 of which are medicinal. Check-in and lunch at Ger camp, rest, and relaxing. There is you can visit a small Ger museum about the national park, wild horses and how they were reintroduced into the wild some years ago now for European zoos. The best time to observe these wild horses in their natural habitat is around 2-3hrs earlier than sunset, during they come down from mountains for water to the stream. We will take a short drive and hiking to see the horses.

There is a great opportunity to take a photo of these endangered horses. If you are lucky, you can see fox, deer, marmot, eagle, and more wild animals. Besides the wild animals, you can find here beautiful sceneries of Mongolian nature that features mountains and steppes.

Overnight accommodation is set with AP Plan at nomadic family yurt (Ger Camp).

After breakfast, we will drive to Terelj National Park – is one of the most visited national parks in Mongolia. You can see the extraordinary formation of rocks and stones; some of them look quite similar to turtles. We will arrive around 1 pm at Ger camp, which is located in the most spectacular spots in the National park. In the afternoon is rest and relaxation time at the camp. You can hike around the camp; explore the national parks, take photos, and watching wildflowers.

Before dinner time, we will visit local nomadic families to experience firsthand how people live in the countryside, a lifestyle that has not changed for centuries. Here you can help the herders with their daily tasks to get an idea of how nomadic people alongside their livestock.

Overnight accommodation is set with AP Plan at nomadic family yurt (Ger Camp).

In the morning, we will explore the national park and take a short drive to see Turtle Rock – an interesting rock formation looking like a turtle and visit the Ariyabal meditation temple – surrounded by scenic mountains with massive rock formations and sits at top of the mountain. The distance between the gate and the actual temple is about 1 km and it is only accessible by walking. To get to the top, you would cross the suspension bridge and climb up on 108 stairs, according to Buddhist prayer beads. This small hike is seen as a ritual to cleanse one’s sins. From the top, you can enjoy the breathtaking view overlooking the Terelj National Park.

After lunch, we will drive to visit Genghis Khan Statue Complex, which is currently the biggest (40m high) equestrian statue in the world. There is a recreation area, restaurants, and souvenir shops that occupy the base structure. From here, we use an elevator or walk to the head of the horse through the chest and back neck of the horse, where we can have a farseeing and a good panorama view over the complex area.

If time permits upon arrival to Ulaanbaatar, we will visit the “Wonders of Mongolia” folklore show by the famous Tumen-Ekh ensemble – is one of the most successful folk art groups to share traditional Mongolian music with the world, having traveled to over 40 countries.

Overnight accommodation is set with BB Plan at 3* hotel.

Our team is saying goodbye as your journey to Mongolia comes to an end today. If you have more time you can do some shopping or sightseeing. Approximately 2 hours before your scheduled flight guide from Himalayan Wander walkers will take you to the airport. On your way home you'll have plenty of time to plan your next adventure with Himalayan Wander Walkers.

*AP (American plan) = Meal includes breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

*BB (Bed and Breakfast) = Meal includes only breakfast.

* MAP (Modified American Plan) = Meal includes Breakfast with only one meal either lunch or dinner.