Mongolia Naadam Festival & Gobi Desert Tour 2026

Meet our travel team at the airport and transfer to the hotel. After a short rest, begin a guided city tour of Ulaanbaatar. Visit Gandan Monastery, the spiritual center of Mongolian Buddhism and a must-visit site in Ulaanbaatar, where you can observe local prayers, monks, and the largest indoor standing Buddha statue. Continue to the National Museum of Mongolia, which presents the country’s history and culture from the Stone Age to the present day. The tour also includes Sukhbaatar Square (also known as Chinggis Khaan Square), the main square of the capital city. 

Accommodation: 4-star Hotel. Meals: Lunch, Dinner 

Happy Naadam Holiday! Today you will experience Mongolia’s most important national celebration at the State Naadam Festival in Ulaanbaatar. The festival brings together athletes and spectators from all regions of the country, creating a vibrant atmosphere filled with traditional costumes, music, and celebration.

Attend the official Naadam Opening Ceremony at the central stadium, beginning at 11:00 AM, featuring cultural performances and ceremonial rituals. After the ceremony, enjoy time around the festival grounds before returning to the stadium to watch Mongolia’s traditional sports, including wrestling, archery, and anklebone games. This day offers an authentic insight into Mongolia’s living traditions and national identity.

Accommodation: 4-star Hotel. Meals: Full board

After breakfast, we drive to Khui Doloon Khudag, the famous horse-racing venue just outside Ulaanbaatar. The Naadam spirit is already in full swing—traditional music, local families in deels, and a lively festival atmosphere. Horse racing is one of the most iconic events of Naadam, and unlike short-track races, Mongolian racing is a true test of endurance across the open steppe. 

The highlight of the day is the thrilling race finishes. Horses compete over long distances depending on their age category: Azarga (stallions) 28 km, Ikh Nas (6+ years) 30 km, Soyolon (5-year-olds) 25 km, Khyazaalan (4-year-olds) 22 km, Shudlen (3-year-olds) 20 km, and Daaga (2-year-old colts) 15 km. There is no limit on participants, and it’s common to see 200–600 horses in a single race. The winning horses are celebrated in a traditional ceremony, honored with airag (fermented mare’s milk), a khadag (blue ceremonial scarf), and a medal.

After the races, we will head to Terelj National Park, one of the most beautiful destinations close to Ulaanbaatar. Travelers can take a leisurely stroll on meadows carpeted with a variety of wildflowers, view fascinating rock formations against a backdrop of pine-covered mountains, and wander along the wooded banks of a mountain stream.

Accommodation: Tourist ger camp. Meals: Full board

We head early to the Gobi Desert and arrive at Tsagaan Suvarga, the remarkable white cliffs formed by ancient sea-bottom erosion, resembling stupas or a weathered city ruin from a distance. Enjoy a scenic hike around these enchanting cliffs, soaking in the boundless beauty of the vast steppes.

Accommodation: Tourist ger camp. Meals: Full board

Drive to Yoliin Am or Yol valley, also known as Vulture valley in the Gobi Gurvan Saikhan Mountain (28km) - this sunless canyon located in the middle of Gobi Gurvan Saikhan Mountain National Park has a particular beauty with narrow paths broadening in places between rocks, while buzzards and eagles wheel and glide in the blue skies above. The cliffs of the canyon block the sunlight from the rivers below so that they remain frozen until the end of June.

Accommodation: Tourist ger camp. Meals: Full board

Drive to Khongor Sand Dunes (195km) - the largest and most spectacular dunes in Mongolia. The Dunes of Khongor are known as the «Singing dunes» and rise from the plain, reaching a height of 80m and extending for about 180km. The spectacular dunes are bordered by lush green vegetation supported by the small Khongoriin gol River. Hiking and sliding through the dunes. Visit the camel breeding family and experience short camel riding.

Accommodation: Tourist ger camp. Meals: Full board

Drive towards Bayanzag (140 km) - the classic desert of rock, red sands, scrub, sun, and unbelievable emptiness has become known to the world as "Cemetery of Dinosaurs”. The red sandstone cliffs and canyons of Bayanzag are where the American paleontologist Roy Chapman Andrews first discovered fossil beds of dinosaur bones and the first-ever recorded dinosaur eggs in 1922 - discoveries which made world headlines. The best time to photograph is before sunset, when the cliffs look like flames.

Accommodation: Tourist ger camp. Meals: Full board

Head north towards the Ongi monastery ruins, a small mountainous area with the remains of ruined old monasteries. Once, the monastery served as a midway point for Buddhist pilgrims bound for holy Tibet. After lunch, free time to rest or walk around the area. Before dinner, visit the monastery ruins and enjoy the sunset.

Accommodation: Tourist ger camp. Meals: Full board

Drive to Kharkhorin (130 km) – ruins of the ancient capital of the Mongol Empire built by the king Ugudei in 1235. The city was strategically located at the crossroads of traditional routes, creating a staging post for migrating nomads and merchants’ caravans. Foreign envoys and prominent clerics traveled to this city for an audience with the king of the Mongol Empire. Far after the Khubilai Khaan (King) moved the capital to Beijing in 1264, Kharkhorin was leveled to the ground by Manchu soldiers. However, bricks and stones from the ruins of this ancient city were used to build the nearby Erdene Zuu Monastery. Visit the Erdene Zuu monastery and the Karakorum Museum in Kharkhorin and the local market for interesting souvenirs and artworks.

Accommodation: Tourist ger camp. Meals: Full board

Head to Khustai National Park to see a wild horse- takhi, widely known as “Przewalski horse”. Those are the only wild horses that have survived to this day. The species were returned to Mongolia from zoos and reserves around the world and to Hustai National Park, 100 km west of Ulaanbaatar, in 1992. Khustain Nuruu has good vegetation, springs, birch forests, and rocks that support many wild animals, including 46 mammal species and 172 bird species.
Head back to Ulaanbaatar in the evening and have a farewell dinner.

Accommodation: 4-star Hotel. Meals: Full board

Transfer to the Chingis Khaan International Airport to depart from Mongolia with full memories.

Meals: Breakfast