Gobi Desert to Khangai Mountains Cycling Tour

Itinerary

• Arrival in Mongolia

  Arriving in Ulaanbaatar, meet your guide and transfer to a 3-star hotel in the center of the Mongolian capital. Depending on your arrival time, you may have an opportunity to explore the capital city, where nearly half of Mongolia’s 3 million inhabitants reside today. You will certainly feel the vibrancy of its recent shift toward modernity. At the welcome dinner, you will be given an introduction to the exciting cycling tour ahead of you.

  • Dinner
  • Hotel

• Overland journey to the Gobi Desert

  We journey toward the Gobi Desert. As we travel south, the vegetation thins out, replaced by vast, arid plains. The immensity and stark beauty of the desert landscape are stunning. Our destination is Tsagaan Suvarga, a series of massive sedimentary rock formations that once formed an ancient seabed. Its distinct geological layers are spectacular, as is the view from the top: boundless desert expanses, dancing mirages, and a sense of time standing still. We will watch the cliffs glow at dusk before taking a well-deserved rest in the comfort of a local ger camp. You will experience sleeping in a ger—a traditional felt-covered Mongolian dwelling.

  • Breakfast, lunch, dinner
  • Ger camp

• Continue driving, visit Flaming Cliffs

  Drive further south into the desert. Occasionally, you will see the white tents of local herders, their winter sheds, and large flocks of sheep and goats—and more rarely, horses and camels. After lunch, we head to Bayanzag, also known as the Flaming Cliffs. It was here in the 1920s that American paleontologists discovered the first intact dinosaur egg nests, along with hundreds of fossils of dinosaurs and prehistoric mammals. You’ll have the chance to hike through the red sandstone ravines and perhaps stumble upon a discovery of your own. We then continue to the Gobi Mirage Lodge, an island of luxury amidst the vast desert plain. The cycling tour will start the next morning.

  • Breakfast, lunch, dinner
  • Ger camp

• Cycling to Dundas Valley

  With our bikes assembled and tuned, we begin the cycling journey. The trail runs through the heart of the Gurvan Saikhan mountain range. We cycle across undulating terrain on a high plateau where local herders graze their flocks during the summertime for centuries. Along the way, we’ll pass herds of goats, sheep, and horses, with views of nomads' gers dotted across the wide landscape. (In Mongolia, sheep outnumber humans 35 to 1, and horses 13 to 1!) We ride mainly on well-surfaced tracks with occasional sandy sections. Tonight, we pitch our tents in a spectacular location, surrounded by dramatic rock formations under a brilliant starlit sky.

  • Breakfast, lunch, dinner
  • Tent camping
  • 69km

• Cycling to Khongoryn Els Sand Dunes

  A short sandy section along a dry riverbed is followed by a smooth-surfaced road that continues for the rest of the ride. By lunchtime, we emerge out of the Gurvan Saikhan range into the open plain. In the distance, stretching for almost 100km, lie the Khongoryn Els, one of the largest sand masses in the country. With the tallest dune reaching 200m, it is a dramatic scene. Local people refer to them as the “Singing Dunes,” due to the distinct propeller hum heard on windy days. We have lunch with the majestic dunes as the backdrop and drive to a tourist camp by the dunes. In the evening, when the heat subsides, take an excursion to the dunes. Climbing the highest dune is a “ritual” that will allow you to feel the immensity of the desert, with spectacular views of its rugged ridges and vast plains. Desert landscapes are especially beautiful in the evening light. At night, you can enjoy myriads of stars that illuminate the dome of the Gobi sky.

  • Breakfast, lunch, dinner
  • Ger camp
  • 35km

• Cycling to Arts Bogd Mountain Range

  This morning we have another 45km (2 hours) vehicle transfer across the sands before our cycling begins. Once on the bikes we begin riding to the Arts Bogd mountain range that divides the Gobi Desert from the arid grasslands of central Mongolia. We will see the change in our surroundings as soon as we cross our high point of the day at 2,000m. Tonight we set up camp, pitching our tents near an extinct volcano. You will see ancient petroglyphs and burial mounds in the rock.

  • Breakfast, lunch, dinner
  • Tent camping
  • 49km

• Transfer to Khangai Mountain Range

  Today we transfer by vehicle travelling north to the Khangai Mountain Range. During our 7 hour drive we will see the vast scope and variety of Mongolia and its landscapes as we travel away from dry grasslands to more humid mountain terrain. We reach the foothills of the Khangai Mountain Range early this evening and set up camp in a dry grassy valley.

  • Breakfast, lunch, dinner
  • Tent camping

• Cycling in Khangai Mountains

  Khangai is one of the three main mountain ranges in the country. As we make our way up its southern slopes, you will notice a rapid change from arid plains to a mountainous environment with abundant rainfall and rich pastures.

  Faint car tracks wind through a landscape of wooded mountains, rocky outcrops, and small streams. In contrast to the open grasslands, this mountainous environment receives abundant rainfall, supporting rich pastures that sustain numerous herding nomads. Their circular felt-walled tents and large herds of cattle, horses, sheep, and goats are a common sight.

  • Breakfast, lunch, dinner
  • Tent camping
  • 44km

• Cycle to Orkhon River Valley

  Today’s ride takes us deeper into the Khangai Mountains along a remote, little-travelled route, where vast herds of yaks and sheep graze the open pastures. By lunchtime, we arrive in the Orkhon Valley — a UNESCO World Heritage site marked by dramatic volcanic rock formations and ancient burial mounds. We set up camp on the riverbank, surrounded by timeless steppe landscapes.

  • Breakfast, lunch, dinner
  • Tent camping
  • 60km

• Morning cycling to Tuvkhun monastery followed by hiking excursion

  A short morning ride along the Orkhon river brings us to the base of Shiveet Ulaan Mountain. We drop the bikes here and hike to the Tuvkhun Monastery. 

  Constructed in 1653 and known as the Land of Happy Solitude, the monastery served as a meditation retreat and smithy for a prominent Buddhist leader of Mongolia, who dedicated his life to spreading Buddhism in the 17th century. A direct descendant of Chinggis Khaan’s royal bloodline, he played a decisive role in shaping the nation’s fate during a critical period—when Mongolia lost its independence after two centuries of internal turmoil.

  A forested trail leads up to the Monastery, set high on a mountain ridge at 2,300 meters. Here you can enjoy sweeping views, explore meditation caves once used by Zanabazar, visit small temples and sacred rock formations, and soak in the serene spiritual atmosphere that makes this site so memorable. Our camp will be established at the base of the mountain.

  • Breakfast, lunch, dinner
  • Tent camping
  • 25km

• Khangai Hot Spring Valley – Visit Local Nomads

  This morning’s short ride brings you to the Khangai hot springs. Along the way, visit a nomadic camp where herders are milking their mares to prepare airag, Mongolia’s beloved traditional drink. Your journey continues to a welcoming ger camp, where you can relax and soak in the mineral-rich waters — the perfect remedy for tired legs after days of cycling.

  • Breakfast, lunch, dinner
  • Ger camp
  • 30km

• Hot spring valley - Karakorum

  Fast morning riding on well surfaced road. On completing the ride we have lunch, load bikes and take one hour transfer to Karakorum, the ancient 13th century Mongol Empire Capital, a city built by nomads constructed under the direction of the second son of Genghis Khan. Upon arriving to our ger camp take a quick shower before setting off to explore the sights of Karakorum. The ancient city was destroyed in the late 14th C by invading Chinese armies. There is a monastery museum Erdene Zuu established in 16th century by a Mongol khan as part of introduction of Buddhism as the main religion. The monastery was almost completely destroyed during the anti-religion campaign in the 1930s. Just a dozen temples survive. We visit the monastery and museum to see the few surviving artefacts of the old capital. This evening we will mark the end of our cycling adventure with a celebratory meal.

  • Breakfast, lunch, dinner
  • Ger camp
  • 50km

• Travel back to Ulaanbaatar

  This morning, we will drive back to Ulaanbaatar stopping for a picnic lunch at scenic spot along the way.  Be sure to keep a look out for eagles circling above.  The route takes you past roadside shrines called 'ovoos'. The stone shrines are erected by local families and travellers to show gratitude and respect, and to honour the spirits of the surrounding land. It is customary that Ovoos are circled three times in a clockwise direction and a small offering is made in order to ensure the safety of a trip or to ensure good fortune in life. In Ulaanbaatar, having settled in the hotel we gather for a goodbye dinner to celebrate the Mongolian cycling adventure.

  • Breakfast, lunch, dinner
  • Hotel

• Departure

  You will be transferred to the airport for your flight home.

  • Breakfast