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NAADAM FESTIVAL, discover Mongolia tour (12 days)

Naadam festival

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12 days Naadam festival cultural tour will offer you change to explore Chinggis khaan’s fable city and famous great Gobi. After exploring those attractions you will watch Naadam which is the probably the most fascinating widely celebrated festival among Mongolians. Ceremony combines sports, traditions, customs, and arts. There are three main components of the Naadam: horse race, wrestling and archery.

During the trip you visit several nomadic family to have tea which would be good chance to exchange some culture experience with them.

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Tour Info

Food & Drinks

Attractions

Itinerary

Land & People

Price

Tour Info

Region:	Gobi, Khan Khentii wilderness, Terelj Valleys, Rock Formation, Central Mongolia
Activity:	Classic and Vacation, Cultural and Historical Heritage, Nomad Lodging
Travel length:	12 days
Season starts:	2012-07-05
Season ends:	2012-07-16
Travelers:	4 (max)
Child age:	8 ages (min)
Price:	3180$

-Ulaanbaatar city tour
-Naadam festival 3 manly games
-Visit Biggest monastery of Mongolia Erdene-Zuu
-Explore Eagle valley
-Explore Bayanzag, Flaming cliffs
-Three Beauties of the Gobi National Park
-Princess temple horse riding trip

Food & Drinks

We are proud to announce that starting this year of 2012 we are started to make our own organic vegetarian meals, serving in our 'Princes' tourist camp.

Meals in Ulaanbaatar: You may choose from a variety of food supplies in Mongolia. There is a wide variety of restaurants in Ulaanbaatar serving Mongolian, Chinese, Russian, European, Japanese, Korean, Indian and Latin American foods.

Meals in tent accommodation: Our guide will cook breakfast and dinner when you are camping out. Dinners are three course meals plus drinks.

Tourist Ger camp restaurant: Tourist Ger camp restaurant serve Mongolian and European dishes in Traditional Ger Restaurants.

Attractions

Nadaam Festival

The Nadaam festival is the biggest event of the country. People from all over the country are coming to the capital to enjoy this three days event. The festival starts on the 11^th of July and ends on the 13^th of July. These days are national celebration days.

On the first day of the festival a very colourful openings ceremony takes place in the stadion. This is the highlight of the festival. Performances of traditional dance groups can be seen, all dressed-up traditionally. Acrobats and other performers can also be seen. Too many things at the same time, makes it impossible to see everything clearly. Nevertheless do all the performances at the same time, give an outstanding colourful effect.

The traditional sports are wrestling, archery and horse racing, which of wrestling is the most popular one. Before starting the wrestling duel, the wrestlers traditionally greet. After the duel, the winner runs to the worshiped flags and kind of dances around it, with open arms and big steps.

Archery is a remaining of the warriors from earlier centuries, as well as horse racing is. The men archers stand 75 meters from the target, while women archers stand 60 meters from the target.

Horse racing takes place 30 km outside the capital. The jockeys are kids from the age of 5 till 13. This is to have as less weight as possible for the horse to carry. The distances for the races depend on the age of he horse. For example, two-year-old horses race 15 km and seven-year-old horses 30 km.

The participating men and women, competing in the different sports, are all traditional dressed in their best suites, as well as most of the audience, which makes this event a nice and colourful happening for foreigners and locals.

Itinerary (12 days)

05th July, Day 1: Arrive Ulaanbaatar, city tour
Tour begins: Transfer to hotel. City orientations tour and visit the national museum of Mongolian history. Dinner at the MODERN NOMADS restaurant. Overnight in***hotel. (D)

06th July, Day 2: Kharakhorum and Erdenezuu
After breakfast drive to Kharakhorum (about 5 hours). Mongolia’s ancient capital KHARAKHORUM, Chinggis Khaan´s fabled city, was founded in 1220 in the ORKHON Valley, at the crossroads of “The Silk Road”. Visit the Erdenezuu monastery. This Monastery was built in 1586. Not a single nail was used in the construction of the ornate temples, only a few of which remain standing after the communist purges. Dinner and overnight will be at a comfortable Ger camp. (B/L/D)

07th July, Day 3: Ongi temple
Today we drive to Middle Gobi (about 240km). Next Stop is the Ongi Cloister ruin. Our camel riding trips are led by experienced guides. Overnight in the comfortable “Ongi” Ger camp. Gobi camp service: sauna, shower and bar. (B/L/D)

08th July, Day 4: Flaming cliffs “Bayanzag”
After breakfast drive to South Gobi (250km). On the way visit the Flaming cliffs (dinosaur excavation site). Bayanzag is an area of red cliffs, which formed from the erosion of sand and rock over many thousands of years. It also the site of several successful dinosaur excavations. And visit Moltsog Els (sand dune). Overnight in Ger camp. (B/L/D)

09th July, Day 5: Eagly Valley, Gobi National Park
After breakfast visit the beautiful Eagle Valley, Gurvan Saikhan Uul (about 40km). The valley is about 10km long and is completely shaded from the sun in some parts due to the high cliff walls. There you can walk and photograph spectacular local landscapes (Gobi Mountains). At the opening of the valley is a Local Natural History Museum displaying interesting information about the animals of the area. You will return to the Ger camp in the evening for dinner and overnight in Ger. (B/L/D)

10th July, Days 6: Arrive Ulaanbaatar, city tour
After breakfast fly to Ulaanbaatar (550km) and in Ulaanbaatar you will be met by our vehicle and transferred to your hotel. After lunch visit Gandan Closter, and Choichin Lama Museum. Dinner at the Ger Restaurant with traditional Mongolian food and entertainment. Overnight in ***Hotel. (B/L/D)

11-12th July, Days 7-8: NAADAM festival
After Breakfast, participate in the Naadam festival opening ceremony and enjoy wrestling and archery contests. The sports most popular with the Mongols since ancient times are wrestling, horse racing and archery. At present it is a national holiday held 11-13th July each year to commemorate the Mongol People's Revolution. The traditional style of wrestling has its own long-standing ritual. The second element of the Three Manly Sports is horse racing. The third element of the national competitions is archery, which has been perfected over centuries.

Next day, after breakfast drive to the horse race course about 36 km and see the daaga (2-year-old horse) race of 10km and the soyolon (5-year-old horse) race of 25km. After breakfast depart for the Khan Khentii Protected Area (60km). Turtle Rock and the dinosaur statues are the main attractions. After a field lunch the journey continues to the Princess ger camp(26km). Relax in a national Ger in the beautiful Khan Khentii Landscape. Bonfire and overnight in ger camp. (B/L/D)

13-14th July, Days 9-10: Khan Khentii Protected Area, Princess temple
During the day there will be horse riding, or yak cart riding in the mountains and valleys, hiking and visiting the ruins of the Princess temple and visit to a nomadic Family. Dinner and overnight in ger camp. (B/L/D)

"Woodland-Blue sky-Princess Temple" OX CART AND HORSE RIDING JOURNEY.

The Princess Temple is an impressive natural and historical place of Mongolia. Our summertime tour features the remarkable scenery of the Khan Khentii and Asralt mountain ranges, one of the world's last large wildernesses. The Khan Khentii includes a Strictly Protected Area over a peak worshipped by Mongolians. We travel by Mongolian ox-cart through a spectacular valley, picturesque place of high cliffs on the Baruunbayan River to visit The Princess Temple. Experience the feelings of peace and tranquillity that leisurely travelling by ox-cart in the wild brings.

15th July, Day 11: Ulaanbaatar
After breakfast drive back to Ulaanbaatar (95km). Today will be a day of guided sightseeing in UB, including the Fine Arts Museum, shopping and free time. Dinner and overnight in ***Hotel. (B/L/D)

16th July, Day 12: Journey Home
After breakfast at the hotel you will be taken to the airport for departure. (B)

Land & People

"In today's troubled times, however, the world desperately needs what Mongolia has to offer: an uncrowded and wide-open landsscape populated by friendly people where you can be totally cut off from the frustrations, depressions and annoyances of modern life."- said Carl Robinson in his "Mongolia Nomad Empire of Eternal Blue Sky" book. Truly, Mongolia is one of the places that you can enjoy and relax with the nature's sound, its beauty and steppes. Sensational sightseeing of flower-covered steppe, sandy dunes and bare hills, badlands and gorges rise from flat desert floors. Also, you will be welcomed with the warmth of Mongolian people and will be pleased by their kindness.