- A Land of Mystic Serene Steppes
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Type: Classic tour Destination: Tuv, Selenge, Bulgan, Arkhangai and the Gobi Highlights: Amarbayasgalant Monastery, Ugii Lake, Kharkhorin, Ruins of Ongi Monastery, Khongor sand dunes and Flamming Cliffs Lengths: 13 nights/14 days Adventure level: Moderate Total driving km: 2500 km Transportation: drive-fly, (4 wheel driving Japanese jeep) Season: May 15 - September 15
Amarbayasgalant Monastery is a place of bright spirits, religious intelligence and admiration of local architectures. Officially, Amarbayasgalant monastery was the retreat place of the "Dalai Lamas" of the Mongols, the Bogd Khaan Javtsundamba. It is located in the beautiful valley of Iven River at the foot of Burenkhan Mountain in Selenge province. The monastery was established by order of the Manju Emperor Enkh-Amgalan, to cherish and give a respect to Mongol's first Bogd Khaan Undur Gegeen Zanabazar. Its stunning architecture is traditional with a Tibetan style of temple building, curved roofs, mystical gargoyles, mandarin inscriptions and imperial colors. 3730 kg of silver from the state were used to build a magnificently styled place for Buddha worshippers. A huge numbers of rare religious relics, books, sutras, thangkas and Buddhas were destroyed during the communist purge. The monastery underwent restoration by UNESCO from 1975 until it reopened in 1990.
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Day 1. Nation's Capital - Ulaanbaatar. A professional Gucci World Tours team will greet you at the "Chinggis Khan" international airport and transfer to the hotel of Ulaanbaatar. After some relax, we will start our first day tour in Ulaanbaatar starting from Sukhbaatar square. Sukhbaatar square is the public square at the heart of capital. Surrounding buildings include the Parliament House, National Opera Theatre, Cultural Palace and House of City Council. Our next stop is Zaisan Hill. This hill provides a panoramic view of Ulaanbaatar. We will visit the Natural History Museum which is well-known for its precious findings such as dinosaur eggs and bones. We will witness fascinating performance of traditional folk songs, throat singing, beautiful melody of horse-headed fiddle, ethnic dances and artistic contortion. Overnight in the hotel.
Day 2. Amarbayasgalant Monastery. We will start our adventure across Mongolia. We will drive to the Amarbayasgalant Monastery through Darkhan town, the second largest town of Mongolia. The highlight of the day is Amarbayasgalant Monastery-the Monastery of Tranquil Felicity, once one of the three largest Buddhist centers in Mongolia, is located near the Selenge River. The Monastery was built in 1736 by Zanabazar, the first Bogd Undur Gegeen Zanabazar, a religious and cultural leader. Unlike other monasteries Amarbayasgalant shows great class of style. The overall design is Chinese despite some Mongolian and Tibetan influence. Amarbayasgalant monastery is two storey building covering an area of 87 hectares. In the early 1900s, the 8000 monks practiced Buddhist philosophy, astrology and medicine. In 1937, all high ranked monks, religious leaders and intellectuals were executed and holy monastery Amarbayasgalant was abandoned for 50 sad years. Overnight in the ger camp.
Day 3. Bulgan province. We will continue our journey to Bulgan province. The most of the province is green with thick forests and magnificent pastures. Agriculture is facilitated by the presence of fertile soils, wide valleys and low mountains and gentle slops. Bulgan province is famous for its horsemanship and taste of Mongolian traditional drink airag, fermented mare's milk. Overnight in the ger camp.
Day 4. Ogii Lake. We will continue our drive to the Ugii Lake located at the edge of Bulgan province. This amazing lake is 27km sq with average depth of 7m. Delicate sand, white stone shore and soft wave offer a fantastic opportunity for bird watching, boating, kayaking, swimming, fishing and sunbathing. There are 150 species of rare migrated birds and 14 species of fish from the Atlantic Ocean. Overnight in the ger camp.
Day 5. Kharkhorin/Erdenezuu Monastery. We will drive to the Turkish stone site of Khushuu Tsaidam. Khushuu Tsaidam are consisted of four memorial complexes including those erected in honor of Bilge Khan, a famous leader of Turkic Empire (d.734) and Kul Tegin, a general of Turkish army (d. 731). These memorials are the most important known archeological remains of the Turkic Empire which extend across Central Asia in the 6-8 centuries AD. We will visit to the Shankh Monastery, the oldest monastery in Mongolia, founded in 1647 by Zanabazar, a revered sculptor, politician, religious teacher, diplomat and living Buddha. Shankh Monastery consisted of several schools specialized in Tantric rituals, philosophy and astrology. In 1937, the monastery was closed, its temples burned and monks were executed or sent to labor camps in Siberia. Overnight in the ger camp.
Day 6. Kharkhorin/Tsenkher hot spring. We will have a full day tour around Kharkhorin; an ancient Capital of Great Mongolian Empire and Erdenezuu Monastery main treasure of Mongolian Buddhism. Kharkhorin was established in the valley of Orkhon river in 1220. It was one of the stops along the legendary Silk Road for 140 years. Kharkhorin was a capital city of Mongolian Great Empire until Khubilai Khaan, a grandson of Chinggis Khaan moved the capital to Beijing during the Yuan Dynasty. For almost 800 years, people worship the Turtle Rock near the temple. Erdenezuu Monastery, the first Buddhist monastery in Mongolia was founded by Avtai Sain Khaan, a descendant of Chinggis Khaan, on the ruins of Kharkhorin in 1586. We will drive to Tsenkher hot spring, a sulphur spring that emerges from the ground at 85 Celsius degree. Overnight in the ger.
Day 7. Orkhon Waterfall. We will drive to Orkhon River and its valley. There are many sites of ancient mysteries and centuries. We will visit the picturesque Orkhon waterfall which is situated in the Orkhon River, Mongolia's longest river at 1120km. The local name of the waterfall is Ulaan Tsutgalan and the height is 24m. The waterfall was formed by a unique combination of volcanic eruptions and earthquakes about 20 000 years ago. The water level of the waterfall fluctuates with the rainfall. Overnight in the ger camp.
Day 8. Khujirt hot spring/Ruins of the Ongi Monastery. We will start our ride to Khujirt resort which is situated on the bank of Khujirt river at 1758m above the sea level. The Khujirt resort is famous for its therapeutic magic for kidneys, joints and various traumas among Mongols. The temperature varies from +40 to 55 degrees Celsius. We continue our drive to the ruins of Ongiin Khiid Monastery. We will visit the ruins of monastery and a small local ger museum and experience a stunning sunset from the top of a nearby hill. Overnight in the ger camp.
Day 9. Bayanzag/Flamming Cliffs. Today is a day to explore the place called Bayanzag commonly known as the "Flamming Cliffs" In the afternoon, we will arrive at the ancient red rock creation, Bayanzag, formed 60-70 million years ago. The famous "Flamming Cliffs" were named by Roy Andrew Chapman, an American explorer who visited Mongolia in 1920s. The striking red Bayanzag cliffs have dinosaur fossils, eggs and bones all over the place and are neighbored by Saxual tree forests. We will trek around the surrounding areas and overnight in the ger camp.
Day 10. Khongoriin Els Sand Dunes/Khongor River. We will drive to the sand dunes. We will see magnificent Khongoriin Els sand dunes that stretch for an extraordinary 180 km, are sometimes as wide as 7-20km. The dunes lie on the northern slopes of Servei and Zuulun mountain range. The intense sound of wind-blown sand can be heard from long distances. This sound is so melodic that 200m high sand dunes are called "Singing Dunes". There is an oasis called Khongor with stunning greenery in the summer. Here you will have an opportunity to ride two humped Bacterian camels referred to by locals "Living Dinosaurs". Overnight at the ger camp.
Day 11. Yol Valley/Gobi Gurvan Saikhan National Park. We will drive to the Gobi Gurvan Saikhan National Park where we will enjoy the incredible "Yol Valley". In the afternoon we will explore the valley. The valley is an unusual narrow canyon with a river that flows through the Zuun Saikhan Mountain. The sheer rock walls stand 200m and the canyon has stunning green meadows with a thick glacier layer that is deeply set between the walls. During the summer rainfall, water runs from the top of the walls forming waterfalls. We will trek along the canyon and may get a glimpse of rarely seen Argali wild sheep, Ibex mountain goat and Yol Lammergeier. Overnight in the ger camp.
Day 12. South Gobi/Ulaanbaatar. After breakfast we will relax and enjoy the Gobi sun shine then transfer to airport to catch our return flight to Ulaanbaatar. Relaxing dinner and overnight in the hotel.
Day 13. Ulaanbaatar. We will start our tour from the Gandan Monastery a heart of Mongolian yellow head Buddhism. We will experience the influence of Buddhism in Mongolia and see the outstanding and impressive 24m golden plated statue of Buddha; Megjid Janraiseg. This monastery is the largest and most important monastery in Mongolia with 500 monks. We will visit to the Choijin Lama Museum. This attractive monastery was built in 1908 for Choijin Lama, Luvsankhaidav, the state oracle and younger brother of the eighth Bogd Gegeen. The temple is now a museum preserving the elaborately decorated interiors and containing a rich collection of Mongolian Buddhist sculptures and paintings. It has several gilded bronze statues, impressive sculptures of the major Mongolian and Tibetan incarnations of the Buddhist deities, and a striking array of papier-mache masks used for the Tsam dance ceremonies. Overnight and relax in the hotel.
Day 14. Departure. Our crossing adventure in Mongolia is now complete and we will end our tour by transferring to the "Chinggis Khan" International Airport with Gucci World Tours Team.
Tour includes. 3 nights in 4 star hotel, 10 nights in ger camps, 3 meals per day, English, French, Italian, German, Japanese speaking guides, Domestic transportation, Local entry fees Tour excludes. Personal use, International travel, Travel insurance, Alcoholic drinks
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