Best of Altai Mountain Tour (6 days)
What to expect
Best of Altai Mountain
For those who dream of exploring Altai Mountain, this is the trip to take. It’s 6 full days of exploring the mountain and area’s beauty.
Nomads in Western Mountain
Learn more about the nomadic lifestyle and the people who live in the area by interacting with them in this part of the tour.
Potanin Glacier Experience
Explore a breathtakingly beautiful piece of nature when we join up with locals and ride pack camels to the Potanin Glacier.
Many Photo Opportunities
This is one tour during which you will want to have your camera ready, because you never know what you will see.
- Get to explore the highest and longest mountain ranges in Mongolia, straddling the Chinese and Russian borders to the West.
- Get to know and experience the lives of the Kazakhs who are Muslim and speak ancient Kazakh.
- Meet the Buddhist and Shamanistic Tuvan people, who live mainly on the mountain ranges where silence is golden.
- Trek across the Potanin Glacier with local herdsmen, carrying Golden Eagles tied to their Yurts and riding atop camels.
- Get to know more about the ethnic minority nomads who live in this remote mountain range.
- Shared accommodation at a local hotel
- 2 person per tent, camping equipment
- Private transfers
- Internal air tickets - free luggage allowance is 15 kg
- English speaking guide
- All meals as listed
- All entrance fee
- Camel support Horse ride
- Sleeping bag
- Personal expenses
- Optional activities
- Camera fee for museum & monastery
- Travel Insurance www.WorldNomads.com
Overview
Discover the ancient Altai Mountains!
There are thousands of mountains in the world but none is like Altai. This super gigantic mountain has a rough and void face, but when you get closer, when you start climbing, you will find out how rich and alive this mountain is. The Altai Mountains is the highest of three major mountain ranges in Mongolia, straddling the Russian and Chinese frontiers in the Far West.
We praise The Altai Mountain as father, because it’s home to thousands of animals, as well as nomadic people. More than 14 different ethnic groups live in this area.
The majority are Kazakhs, muslims who speak an ancient Kazakh language. Mongols and Tuvan people are very similar, Buddhist and shamanistic. This spectacular journey will bring you to the heart of Altai mountain and enormous Potanin’s glacier.
Get ready to experience true wild nature and meet with exotic nomads with golden eagles next to their yurts.
The price per person will depend on the size of the group as shown below.
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We went to the Golden Eagle as a family of 4 (including a 7 year old and a nearly 3 year old). We asked for a private tour as we imagined we'd be the only people with two young kids and this allowed us to be very flexible.
Bat was the person we dealt with by email in advance and he was very helpful (including liaising with the Ulgii hotel to buy a cot for our son to sleep in!)
We had a great time. This was largely due to our wonderful guide Serikgul and equally wonderful driver Birlik. They were always very happy to be flexible around our needs and were great with the kids. Birlik was like a new grand-dad for our kids (our 2 year started asking to sit with them instead of us for his meals!).
The festival itself was great, but so was going to the cultural concert and the countryside visit to a family in a ger for lunch was probably the best of all. While we were reasonably careful around hygiene, we weren't fanatical about it, and I'm pleased to say nobody had an upset stomach at any stage.
Many thanks to Discover Mongolia for a well-organised, smooth-running, authentic and very interesting experience.
The tour was fantastic, well organized and great people involved. From visits to little known waterfalls to impromptu stays with families in gers the program provided something new every day. Comments on the support; The vehicle might not look much but it was incredibly capable, getting us in and most importantly, out of some very rough terrain. Our driver Honai was dedicated and always safe. Our cook Sairan was so hard working, first up in the morning and often one of the last to turn in, we never went hungry and the food overall was great. Lastly our guide Ebo looked after us every step of the way, sharing knowledge of the places and people to answer our many questions.
First day was a visit to an eagle hunter and his family, staying in a ger and partaking of milk tea, arul and arig and then meeting the magnificent eagle. From there we were into camping, spending the next 3 nights moving toward the Potanni glacier and what was the highlight of the tour. The horse ride through magnificent countryside and then views of the mountains and glacier were breathtaking.
We would reccomend this to anyone seeking some authentic experiences and a great trip.
As a single vegetarian traveler I could join a small international group for a 10 days visit to Ulaanbataar , the Eagle festival and The Altai mountains . I had an excellent contact via mail with Oyuna . Once in Momngolia all was perfect.
Pick up from and to the airport , the tours; guides and drivers and cook were very good ! We had very good ( vegetarian (for me )) meals during and after the tour in local restaurants .
I can recommend Discover Mongolia to every one. It is advised to take a travel agent because the Mongolian language is impossible to read ( streetnames ) and understand . Driving in Mongolia 's nature is without gps signal or streetsigns so you do need an experienced driver. I can say it is so beautiful and great that I would love to go again !!!! Discover Mongolia definitely deserves a 5 star review *****
Itinerary
Ulgii’s population is mostly Kazakhs (93%), descendants of kok-turk nomads of central asia. We differ a lot even though Mongols and Kazakhs stand united under Mongolian flag. Upon arrival in Ulgii, our driver and guide will pick you up and start the tour to lake Hoton and Hurgan.
During the drive, Altai mountain will never make you bored of it’s magnificent and enormous view.
While you drive through Ulaankhus village, you will have a chance to visit Kazakh Eagle hunter’s family and feel their grade hospitalities.
Overnight in Kazakh Ger L+D) (200km; 7hours)
The lakes are situated in the heart of Altai mountains, near the borders between China and Mongolia. Even though the Lakes are super isolated from any human civilization, many Nomadic Kazakh families still spend their summer here. Along the lakes, we see the beautiful waterfall, rock paintings, and some ancient Turkic stone figures of humans.
On the right side of the lake, we see the snow capped mountains with forests, standing like a wall between China and Mongolia.
Overnight in a tent. (B+L+D) (60km)
Today we will have a full day drive following Tsagaan Gol Valley (White River) to Altai Tavan Bogd National Park (a.k.a The Holy Five). Altai Mountain range is Mongolia’s largest and highest mountain range with high peaks over 4000 meters above sea level.
“Shiveet Hairhan” Sacred Mountain is a famous spot, where you will see the largest petroglyph galleries date back from the period of bronze age to Huns (approx. 200-1000 B.C.).
Overnight in local ger. (B+L+D)
Take a horseback trek to the Altai Tavan Bogd referring to the peak “Huiten '', the highest- 4374m. Enjoy this stunning setting with the awe-inspiring massif snow capped peaks. You will reach out the 30km long enormous Potanin’s glacier, 2 million years old, an ancient ice river that was discovered in the 19th century by explorer Potanin.
Back to camp and overnight in local ger. (B+L+D)
After early breakfast, drive via Ulaankhus soum through desert-mountain plateau. Meanwhile, snow-capped beautiful Sogoog Mountain will make your eyes happy. Enjoy photographing the charming landscape.
Overnight in tourist camp. (B+L+D) (200km, 7hr)
Fly back to Ulaanbaatar. (B)
Good to know
- The best time to make this trip
May to September is the best season, with the peak season in July for the Naadam Festival. July and August are also the wettest months of the year but be assured, our climate is such that you will still have many sunny days at this time. The best time to visit the Gobi is June or September.
- Accommodation:
We believe that comfortable, welcoming accommodation is vital to the enjoyment of your trip. You will be staying in a standard 3-4 star hotel in Ulaanbaatar and a tourist ger camp (traditional dwelling) with currency (220V), shower and other useful services (2 to 4 people per ger) in the countryside. All accommodation offered by Discover Mongolia is personally checked by our staff to ensure high standards.
- Meals:
In Ulaanbaatar, you will be dining at fine European and Asian cuisine restaurants. Mutton, beef, rice, and noodles form the basis of the Mongolian diet, so your meals will be based around this. However, the trail rations may include vegetables, eggs, peanut butter, cheese and sometimes yak! On some days there will be lunchboxes from tourist camps. It is good food and our experience has been that guests are happy with this arrangement. Please let us know in advance if you are a vegetarian. Alcohol is not provided on the trip but tourists are free to bring their own.
- Transport:
Discover Mongolia use the highest level, latest model, air-conditioned private vans or 4WD vehicles for the maximum comfort on your touring days. A day's drive in the countryside will be approx 200-250km.
- Personal things to bring with you:
Warm thin layers of clothing are the best such as bring a waterproof jacket, and a hat and headscarf to protect you from the sun and winds. Don't forget insect repellent, sun cream, lip-gloss, water purifying tablets and first aid kit (medicine for headache, cold, diarrhea, runny nose; bandages; any medicine prescribed for you ). All your camera equipment.
