Cycling in Mongolia - Naadam Festival

Mongolia remains a mysterious presence in the heart of Central Asia, a traditional country where visitors are still an unusual sight. Nomads wander the grasslands, setting up their white gers (tents) where the pasture is lush for their horses. On our bikes, we follow good trails across wide, open steppe, into expansive mountain scenery and through larch and pine forests. Camping wild under the wide skies adds an adventurous edge to what is certainly one of our most intrepid cycle tours. Adding to the experience this special departure spends two days taking in traditional wrestling, archery, horse-riding, bone flicking and Mongolians dressed in their best clothes at the Naadam Festival in Ulaan Baatar.

Most of the trip is spent wild participatory camping and you will be asked to put up and take down your own tents. A toilet tent is put up at lunch and in the evening and a shower tent is put up when not camping near a stream (you should bring bio-soap for washing in streams and wet wipes). Ger camps are comfortable yurt-type felt tents with beds inside and shared bathrooms. The hotel in Ulaanbaatar is comfortable with private bathrooms. The sleeper trains have four berths per compartment. There may be occasions when we replace a night camping with a ger stay should local circumstances, such as the weather, dictate it. Single supplement If you prefer to have your own room, please request a single supplement at the time of booking. Availability is limited and these cannot be guaranteed; however, when available a single supplement covers all nights of the tour with the exception of the sleeper train, which is shared with four berths per cabin.