Kharkhorin Tour

[Day 1]
Pick up from the hotel. Have tea and coffee along the way. Upon reaching the camp have lunch at Elsen tasarkhai , which literally translates into “piece of desert” that stretches for 80 km. After lunch go camels riding. After short break continue our journey towards Kharkhorin that will offer an insight into the 13th century Mongolia, the invaders, barbarians, nature lovers people who owned and roamed through the vast lands. Visit the Kharkhorum museum. In the evening can enjoy mini folk concert including throat singing, long and short songs, hoomei singing, and performance of a contortionist at the camp.

[ Driving distance – 361 km,  Driving duration – 5 hours,  Meals – Lunch + Dinner ]

[Day 2]
Early in the morning we visit Erdene Zuu Monastery then leave the ancient capital ruins of the Great Empire and go into the real wilderness of Mongolia, where you will be greeted by the green fields that stretch as far as your eyes allow you, where wind plays with your hair and sun plants soft kisses on your skin. After short ride we reach a nomadic family, where we will spend the whole day closely observing and participating in everyday activities and live as true nomads. Stay overnight with the family under the enchanting sky filled with twinkling diamond like stars….. that almost feels as if you can reach them if you tip toe high enough!

[ Driving distance – 50 km,  Driving duration – 1 hours,  Meals – Breakfast + Lunch + Dinner ]

[Day 3]

After having traditional Mongolian breakfast leave the nomadic family and travel further to Tsenkher hot spring camp. Arrive at the camp, have lunch. After some rest drive to Tuvkhun Monastery. The monastery is located on top of a hill (approx 2 hours of hiking) so you can either walk or go horse riding. Have dinner at the camp. In the evening you can gaze at the beautiful starry sky while enjoying a hot bath in the outdoors hot spring.

[ Driving distance – 280,  Driving duration – 5 hours,  Meals – Breakfast + Lunch + Dinner ]

[Day 4]
After Breakfast leave the camp and drive back to UB, however sightseeing is not over yet! We shall make a short stop to have lunch near the Khugnu Khaan Mountain, do a short walk to the Uvgun Temple ruins where The First Bogd built a temple for his beloved teacher Erdene. After a short stop we will continue our trip back to Ulaanbaatar.

[ Driving distance – 464 km,  Driving duration – 7 hours,  Meals – Breakfast + Lunch + Dinner ]

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS 

Kharkhorin  is a town and village center in Uvurkhangai province in Mongolia. The village population was 13,828 (1994), 13,964 (2000), and 13,496 (2003). The population of Kharkhorin town itself was 8,977 in 2003 and covered an area of 20.5 km². Kharkhorin is located at the lower end of the upper valley of the Orkhon river which is included within UNESCO’s World Heritages Site Orkhon Valley Cultural Landscape.  The location marks the easternmost foothills of the Khangai Mountains, where they meet the rolling steppe of central Mongolia. Nearby are the ruins of the ancient town of Karakorum (also known as Kharkhorum or Qara Qorum) which, for a short time, served as the capital of the Mongol Empire under Ugudei Khan (Chinggis Khan’s son) . Another Kharkhorin landmark is  Erdenezuu Monastery and its famous  phallic rock. The important Paleolithic archaeological site of Moiltyn-am is located near the bridge over the Orkhon River, just west of the settlement. A modern resort is south of Kharkhorin at Khujirt on the Orkhon River. Kharkhorin’s principal sources of income are tourism and agriculture. Water from the Orkhon River serves to irrigate crops on the large plain east of the town. The Kharkhorun Airport (KHR/ZMHH) has one unpaved runway and is served by regular flights from and to Mongolia’s capital, Ulaanbaatar.

Mongolian camels are two humped Bactrian camels. These camels are native to the steppes of Central Asia. Camels are one of the main five livestock for Mongolian nomads. Since early days, camels have played an important part in everyday lives of their owners. They were the means of transportation before vehicles introduction, especially they were useful when nomads moved from one place to another. Moreover they provide people with milk, wool and sometimes meat.

Since the ancient times as illustrated on rock and cave paintings, horses were an inseparable part of Mongolian people and their lifestyle. The very first thing you have to know about Mongolian horses is that they are still half wild. Apart from few horses that are used for riding, the rest of the herd usually roams around grazing grass and spending their time free. Even the riding horses are set free in the evening. This is the main reason they have their own temper and unique character.

In the main hall it holds the precious artifacts found in the Orkhon valley belonging to Stone age, Bronze age and ancient empires. Built in 2011

The Erdene Zuu Monastery is probably the earliest surviving Buddhist monastery in Mongolia. Located in Uvurkhangai Province, approximately 2 km north-east from the center of Kharkhorin and adjacent to the ancient city of Karakorum, it is part of the Orkhon Valley Cultural Landscape World Heritage Site.The monastery is affiliated with the Gelug sect of Tibetan Buddhism.

Tuvkhen Monastery  is one of Mongolia’s oldest Buddhist monasteries and located on the border of Uvurkhangai province and Arkhangai province in central Mongolia. Tuvkhen Monastery was first established in 1648 by the 14-year-old Zanabazar, the first  Jebtsundamba Khutagtu, the spiritual head of  Tibetan Buddhism for the Khalkha in Outer Mongolia, when he determined that the location on the Shireet Ulaan Uul mountain overlooking a hill at 2,600 meters above sea-level was an auspicious location. The first physical structures were built upon his return from studying in Tibet in 1651. Zanabazar, who was a gifted sculptor, painter, and musician, used the monastery, originally called Bayasgalant Aglag Oron (Happy Secluded Place), as his personal retreat over the course of 30 years anrd while there created many of his most famous works. It was also where he developed the soyombo script. The monastery was destroyed in 1688 by Oirad Mongols during one of their many military campaigns against Eastern Mongols. Restored in 1773, the monastery suffered severe damage during the Stalin’s purges of the late 1930s as Mongolia’s communist regime sought to destroy the Buddhist Church in the country. Restoration of the monastery was completed in 1997. Ceremonies were staged to re-consecrate the monastery and a new statue of Gombo Makhagal (Mahakala). Several monks now reside and practice at the monastery full-time.

TSENKHER HOT SPIRNG