Snow and Ice Festival Tour (3 days)
What to expect
The beautiful lake Huvsgul
The festival involves a great variety of activities and competitions, including Ice Sumo, ger building with ice, ice skating and sleigh rides, all on or by the shores of the beautiful Lake Huvsgul.
Feel the winter
Snow & Ice Festival with Discover Mongolia!
Feel the winter
Snow & Ice Festival with Discover Mongolia!
Snow & Ice Festival
Snow & Ice Festival with Discover Mongolia!
- Experience the magic that is found in the famous Khuvsgul Lake Ice Festival, where you get to create your own ice sculpture.
- Come and see the cultural Shaman festival that includes offerings. This is a great way to understand the Tsaatan people.
- Get to stay in a traditional Ger, which is made from ice, unlike that which is made during the warm months.
- Enjoy the day skating on the ice of Lake Khuvsgul. This is definitely an exhilarating experience.
- View and take part in some of the ice competitions held by the locals, including Ice Sumo among many others.
- Shared accommodation at Ger camp
- Private transfers
- Internal air tickets - free luggage allowance is 15 kg
- English speaking guide
- All meals as listed
- All entrance fee
- Horse ride
- Personal expenses
- Optional activities
- Camera fee for museum & monastery
- Travel Insurance www.WorldNomads.com
Overview
Each March, residents of Khuvsgul Lake area celebrate the Festival of Ice. The festival involves a great variety of activities and competitions, including Ice Sumo, ice sculptures, ice skating and sleigh rides, all on or by the shores of the beautiful Lake Khuvsgul. This two-day event is also a shamanist ceremony of offering and provides a fascinating insight into the Tsaatan people's way of life. For a trip with a difference!
The price per person will depend on the size of the group as shown below.
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We Discovered Mongolia - fantastic 14 day trip!! Four of us (all female) experienced the Discover Mongolia 14 day tour with 'Discover Mongolia'. We arrived home last week exhilarated, exhausted and smiling from ear to ear!
The trip was a journey of a lifetime and our fantastic guide, Oyuna and driver, Nandia, made sure it exceeded all expectations. We spent a day in Ulaanbaatar with Hishi, who made sense of the complicated history of Mongolia and its independence for us as well as taking us to a super restaurant before our trip. We flew south, near the border with China, to the Gobi desert where we met our guide and driver and then drove, mostly off road, through the desert and then north through the beautiful steppes and mountains and on to Lake Huvsgul in the north near the Russian border.
It was a huge journey, worth every second Wow - what a way to discover the landscapes, people, religion, culture and even learn some of the language (very slowly, day by day from our patient driver!). We explored Bhuddist monasteries, rode camels and horses, trekked through Eagle Valley, soaked in hot springs, climbed to the edge of a volcano, climbed the highest sand dune (tough but worth every moment sitting on the edge at the top), and the highlight was meeting several nomadic families in their own gers. We felt truly priviledged to meet Nandia's Uncle and be treated as guests, to understand their way of life through the seasons and share in a truly delicious Mongolian BBQ.
Itinerary
In the morning, meet our representative at your hotel lobby. Drive to the airport and we will have a flight to Murun, (Approx. on air 560 km, 1.5 hour & paved road 120 km, 2 hours). Arrival in Murun, our guide and a local driver will take you and drive to Khuvsgul National Park.
Stay overnight in Ger camp. (L+D)
After breakfast, attend Ice festival opening ceremony, Ice carving competition, Ice Sumo wrestling, Ankle bone shooting, and Shaman Ceremony and National Folklore concert. You will watch the bonfire and sacrificing a shamanic ceremony. Free hiking by the lakeshore and horse sledding.
Overnight in Ger camp. (B+L+D)
After breakfast, watch a marathon of skaters and a horse sled racing on the lake. After lunch, you will be driven back to Murun (Approx. on paved road 120 km, 2 hours, on air 560 km, 1.5 hours) You have opportunity to support locals to buy souvenir shopping.
Check in your selected Hotel. (B+L)
Good to know
- Guide:
An English speaking Mongolian guide will accompany the group at all times. The guide will be a native Mongolian person with great local knowledge who can deal with any requests and ensure that your holiday to become one of the most unforgettable experiences of your life.
- 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.
