GOBI & SHARGALJUUT — Wilderness & Healing

🧭 Trip Overview

Mongolia's south is a land of extremes — flaming red cliffs, singing sand dunes, and dinosaur graveyards frozen in time. Its center is something different entirely: ancient monasteries, volcanic valleys, and hot springs that have been healing people since the 7th century. This fourteen-day journey moves through both worlds — from the raw, elemental landscape of the Gobi Desert to the quiet, restorative valley of Shargaljuut — before returning north through the heart of the Mongol Empire. It is a journey designed for those who want to see Mongolia whole.

✨ Trip Highlights

Explore Baga Gazriin Chuluu — a dramatic granite rock formation rising from the steppe, rich in wildlife and ancient petroglyphs
Stand at the edge of Tsagaan Suvarga — an ancient seabed of layered colored rock rising 30 meters from the Gobi floor
Walk the ice gorge at Yol Valley — where ice formations persist deep into summer in the shadow of towering canyon walls
Ride a Bactrian camel through Khongoryn Els — the Singing Dunes, rising 300 meters from the desert floor
Explore Bayanzag — the Flaming Cliffs, where Roy Chapman Andrews discovered the world's first dinosaur eggs in 1922
Visit Ongiin Khiid — the ruins of one of Mongolia's largest monastery complexes, destroyed in the 1930s purges
Three full days of hot spring therapy at Shargaljuut — 300+ springs at 2,150 meters elevation
Watch Przewalski's wild horses at dusk in Khustai National Park on the return to Ulaanbaatar

Detailed Itinerary

Day 1: Ulaanbaatar → Baga Gazriin Chuluu Middle Gobi

Day 2: Baga Gazriin Chuluu → Tsagaan Suvarga → Yol Valley

Day 3: Yol Valley → Khongoryn Els

Day 4: Khongoryn Els — Dunes & Camels

Day 5: Khongoryn Els → Bayanzag

Day 6: Bayanzag → Ongiin Khiid

Day 7: Ongiin Khiid → Shargaljuut Bayankhongor Province

Day 8: Shargaljuut — Healing Day I

Day 9: Shargaljuut — Healing Day II

Day 10: Shargaljuut — Healing Day III

Day 11: Shargaljuut → Kharkhorin

Day 12: Kharkhorin — A Full Day

Day 13: Kharkhorin → Khustai National Park

Day 14: Khustai → Ulaanbaatar

Practical Information

About Pricing

✅ What’s Included

Inclusions

Private 4WD vehicle and experienced driver for all transfers
English-speaking guide throughout
All accommodation: ger camps throughout, Shargaljuut Resort (Days 7–11), hotel or ger camp in Kharkhorin (Days 11–12)
All meals: breakfast, lunch, and dinner throughout (except Day 14 lunch)
Bactrian camel ride at Khongoryn Els (Day 4, 1 hour)
Three-day hot spring treatment program at Shargaljuut (Days 8–10)
Medical consultation on arrival and departure at Shargaljuut (Days 7 and 10)
Treatment certificate issued by resort doctor (Day 10)
Evening wildlife drive in Khustai National Park (Day 13)
All entrance fees: Baga Gazriin Chuluu, Yol Valley, Khongoryn Els, Bayanzag, Ongiin Khiid, Erdene Zuu, Kharkhorin Museum, Khustai National Park
Airport pickup and drop-off in Ulaanbaatar