Western Mongolia September 28 - October 13, 2019
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Western Mongolia September 28 – October 13, 2019
This Photo and Cover © Nomadic Journeys
Expedition O ver view
Wedged between Russia, Kazakhstan, China and the rest of
Mongolia, Western Mongolia has always been a patchwork of
ethnicities and traditions. Wild, rugged and remote as it is, these
traditions have endured longer than in most places on Earth. Here,
customs such as eagle hunting and khöömii (throat singing) still
thrive. Here, the great Snow Leopard still prowls and the world’s last
great wild horse, the Takhi, still frolics on the plains. Join Apex on
this special 15-day tour, the only such tour that incorporates both
© Nomadic Journeys
Snow Leopard tracking and the magnificent Golden Eagle Festival
near Ölgii. Experience timelessness and vast wilderness in the true
Photos: Eagle Hunter (cover), Camel
Wild West of Mongolia. Riding in Western Mongolia
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© Nomadic Journeys
Itinerar y
Saturday, September 28: Arrive Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia / Hui
Doloon Hudag
Arrive this evening in the capital city of Ulaanbaatar, then transfer to the town of
Hui Doloon Hudag. Upon arrival at the resort, settle into your private luxury Ger, the
traditional Mongolian nomadic housing. Enjoy dinner at your leisure, and overnight
at HS Khaan Resort.
© Nomadic Journeys
Sunday, September 29: Hustai National Park
Enjoy breakfast overlooking the vast plains before driving to Hustai National Park,
established to protect Mongolia’s wild horse, Przewalski or Takhi as it is called by
Mongolians. Stop in Bayansonginot to meet with community members and enjoy
a traditional lunch of buuz and hushuur—steamed dumplings and fried meat
pies. Continue into Hustai, looking for Maral, or Asiatic Red Deer, and the wild
horses. Visit the remarkable neolithic gravesite of Öngöt before heading for the
southwestern portion of the park for a magnificent valley hike. En route, look for
Maral, Steppe Gazelle, boar, wolf and lynx. Enjoy dinner in the park, before an
evening game drive in search of the nocturnal Manul, or Pallas’s Cat, leads you back
to the resort. Overnight at HS Khaan Resort.
Monday, September 30: Hui Doloon Hudag / Delüün
Rise early for a return to the airport for your flight to either Ölgii or Hovd
(depending on flight schedules), in the Bayan-Ölgii province, forming Mongolia’s
far western border with China and Russia. Upon arrival, travel overland in a convoy
of four-wheel drive vehicles to Delüün, a traditional Kazakh village perched on the
western edge of Hökh Serkhiin Nuruu (“Blue Goat”) National Park in the rugged and
perpetually snow-capped Altai Mountains. This afternoon, enjoy a briefing from Photos: Przewalski Horses,
the director of the reserve about its recent efforts at conservation. Dinner and Ger at HS Khaan Resort, Pallas’s Cat
overnight at your private ger camp.
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Tuesday – Thursday, October 1 – 3: Altai Range
Take three full days to explore the area and search for wildlife in Hökh Serkhiin
Nuruu, Ikh and Baga Yamaat Valleys and the newly-established Chigertei National
Park on the Chinese border. The remoteness of the Altai mountains makes this one
of the last strongholds for many species of rare and endangered ungulates and
carnivores, including Siberian Ibex, Argali Sheep—the biggest wild sheep on Earth,
Altai Deer, Manuls, Wolverines and, most particularly, Snow Leopards. There are
said to be roughly 1,200 Snow Leopards left in Mongolia and recent collaring and
© Richard Reading
the installation of camera traps has increased chances to find their “nests.” With
luck, catch a rare glimpse of this legendary, almost mythical creature. A mixture
of game drives and moderate (though often steep) hikes will give you the best
chance to find wildlife. Many activities will take place between 7,000 and 8,000 feet,
making this one of the lower-altitude locations for spotting Snow Leopards. You will
also visit Kazakh nomads and learn of their longstanding tradition of hunting with
Golden Eagles. Dinners and overnights at your private ger camp.
Friday, October 4: Delüün / Ölgii
This morning, enjoy a dramatically scenic drive to Ölgii, the capital of Bayan-Ölgii
province, stopping at Tolbo Lake along the way. Enjoy lunch in this windswept,
frontier-feeling town of 30,000. A walk through its streets will give you the sense
© Örjan Johansson
that it has more in common with Muslim–influenced Central Asia than Buddhist
Mongolia: there are signs in Arabic and Kazakh Cyrillic and multiple mosques, and
its local market is called a ‘bazaar’ rather than the Mongolian zakh. Dinner and
overnight at Hotel Eagle Dreams.
Saturday & Sunday, October 5 & 6: Golden Eagle Festival, Ölgii
This weekend, find yourself front and center at Ölgii’s Golden Eagle Festival, the
largest gathering of eagle hunters in Mongolia, held every year to kick off the winter
hunting season. Here, more than 100 skilled hunters, dressed in full traditional
regalia and mounted on decorated horses, will compete in tournaments that test,
not only the bird’s mettle or the hunter’s acuity, but the bond between hunter and
bird. You can also enjoy horse and camel racing, archery, traditional Kazakh music,
and special equestrian events like Tenge Ilu, wherein the rider has to snatch a single
© Nomadic Journeys
coin from the ground in full gallop, and Kiz Kuar, or “girl chase,” where a man and
woman race on horseback while the woman whips the man. Dinners and overnights
at Hotel Eagle Dreams.
Monday, October 7: Ölgii / Hovd
After breakfast, settle in for a drive southeast to Hovd, with many stops at points
of interest along the way. Explore the town, which has been a bustling center of
trade since the Manchus built a military garrison here. For this reason, Hovd has
some of the greatest ethnic diversity in Mongolia, with a Halkh majority and a dozen
other Kazakh and Mongol ethnic groups represented. Dinner and overnight at
Steppe Hotel.
Tuesday, October 8: Hovd / Dörgön Lake
After breakfast, depart for Khar Us Nuur National Park, a vast two-million-acre
wilderness in the Great Lakes Basin of Western Mongolia. The park harbors more
extensive sand dunes than the Gobi Desert, and they border directly on salt and
Photos: Argali Sheep, Snow
freshwater lakes teeming with birds and fish. Today, head to the easternmost part,
Leopard during Collaring,
to Mongol Sands at Dörgön Lake. Hike around the Dörgön plains and look for
Eagle Hunters, Mongol Sands
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critically endangered Saiga Antelopes, with their bizarre, characteristic bulbous
noses. Saiga once roamed Pleistocene prairies with mammoths, but now hang
precariously on the edge of extinction but for a few herds in Russia, Kazakhstan
and Khar Us Nuur. At Dörgön Lake, see the spectacular Janjin Ovoo, a ritual stone
shrine venerated by the locals. Dinner and overnight at your private ger camp.
Wednesday, October 9: Mongol Sands
Soak up the staggering scenery today, with snow-capped Jargalant Hairkhan
Mountain standing as an exquisite backdrop to Mongolia’s longest sand dune.
Domestic Bactrian Camels dot the landscape, as do a breathtaking number of
birds, many of which are endemic. Look for Pallas’s Fish Eagle, White-tailed
Eagle, Asian Dowitcher, White Spoonbill, Ruddy Shelduck and Lesser Kestrel, and
keep watch for the exceedingly rare Relict Gull. Large congregations of Pallas’s
Sandgrouse sometimes descend at the lakes to drink. See Altai Osman and
Mongolian Graylings swimming in Dörgön, where two-thirds of the fish are
endemic. This afternoon, meet with local members of the Halkh Mongol ethnic
group, whose customs are quite different from the Kazakhs. Dinner and overnight
at your private ger camp.
© Nomadic Journeys
Thursday, October 10: Dörgön Lake / Hovd
Today, return to Hovd, looking for Saiga Antelope and Goitered Gazelles along the
way. Dinner and overnight at Steppe Hotel.
Friday, October 11: Hovd / Ulaanbaatar
Bid farewell to the Wild West and transfer to the airport for a flight back to
Ulaanbaatar. You have the afternoon at leisure to explore the city and do some
shopping for local crafts. Dinner and overnight at Shangri La Hotel.
Saturday, October 12: Ulaanbaatar
Today, enjoy a guided tour of the city. Head to Gandan Khiid, one of Mongolia’s
most important monasteries, which nearly didn’t survive the religious purges
of 1937. Next, visit the Central Dinosaur Museum, housed in the former Lenin
Museum, which contains an impressive collection of fossils found in the Gobi
Desert. Explore the centrally located Sukhbaatar Square with lunch in a local
© Nomadic Journeys
restaurant, followed by a visit to the National History Museum of Mongolia, which
offers a sweeping overview of Mongolian culture, from stone-age petroglyphs to
a wide array of traditional ceremonial costume. This evening, enjoy a farewell
dinner and overnight at Shangri La Hotel.
Photos: Bactrian Camel,
Private Ger Interior,
Sunday, October 13: Depart Ulaanbaatar Shangri La Hotel in Ulaanbaatar
Transfer to the airport early this morning for your international flights home.
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Expedition Map – Wes tern Mongolia
A – Ulaanbaatar D – Delüün
B – Hui Doloon Hudag E – Ölgii
C – Hovd F – Dörgön L ake
B y A ir B y Road
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Your Expedition Leaders
Kevin Clement
Mongolia’s vast open tundra, dramatic mountains and rugged
remoteness all epitomize Kevin’s true love of exploration and
discovery. Not many people can say they have lived inside Denali
National Park, but Kevin Clement is one. Kevin has served as the
Denali Foundation instructor for natural history and as a trainer for
the Park’s staff of naturalists. For several years he worked with the
sled dogs of Denali National Park, rebuilding sleds in the summer
and patrolling in the winter. He has lived in several other national
parks and has guided groups in whitewater rafts, on cross-country
skis, by sled dog, and on foot, earning certifications in scuba diving,
swiftwater rescue, and wilderness medicine, as well as a Coast
Guard Master’s license. Nowadays, however, he spends most of
his time guiding ecotourism and adventure travel trips on all seven
continents. Kevin’s interests and experience make him a superb
all-round naturalist. Kevin also continues to draw and paint. His “Kevin is the consummate
first career was as an illustrator and he never travels without his Renaissance Man, possessing a
sketchbook, or his sense of humor. poetic and artistic take on the
world that adds a fascinating
dimension to his interpretation as
you explore alongside him.”
– Judy M., Hawaii
Gerald Broddelez
Gerald has been leading wildlife-focused expeditions to some of
the planet’s most rewarding destinations for over 30 years. As a
veteran Expedition Leader to Mongolia, Gerald is looking forward
to returning to western Mongolia and the exciting combination
of Snow Leopards and the Eagle Festival. His life-long passion for
nature and conservation has taken him to over 170 countries and
every continent, during which he has seen over 8,000 species of
birds, over 1,000 mammals and most of Europe’s butterflies. Gerald
also helped produce natural history documentaries, both as a
cameraman and a writer, for Belgian, British and Azorean television
networks. In recent years, Gerald has also been involved in field
training courses for nature guides, working closely with local tourism
boards in several European counties. Belgium is home and in
addition to speaking his first languages of French and Flemish, he is
also fluent in English, German, and Spanish. “A trip with Gerald is always a
pleasure—superbly organized, with
fantastic wildlife
experiences accompanied by
his great humor.”
– Jane M., England
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Expedition Details
Western Mongolia September 28 – October 13, 2019
$15,970 Per Person Rate
$19,860 Solo Rate
16 Days Trip Length
14 Guests Group Size
Ulaanbaatar / Ulaanbaatar Start/End
Included
Apex Expeditions’ rates include all accommodations; all meals, activities and excursions as described in the itinerary;
flights within Mongolia, as noted in the itinerary; services of two Apex Expeditions leaders and local guides throughout
the itinerary; local beer & wines at lunch & dinner; all gratuities; airport transfers; permits and entrance fees; all taxes.
Not Included
Costs not included in the price of your Apex expedition include travel to and from the start and end point of trip;
premium brand drinks and liquor; travel insurance (Trip Cancellation and Interruption, as well as Emergency Medical
and Evacuation insurance, are highly recommended); airport departure taxes; equipment rental; excess baggage fees;
passport and/or visa fees; items of a personal nature (phone calls, laundry, souvenirs, etc.); and independent travel
arrangements pre- or post-trip.
Payments & Terms
20% of the trip cost will confirm your place on the expedition. The final balance is due 150 days prior to departure.
All prices are quoted in U.S. dollars and must be paid in U.S. dollars. Per person pricing is based on double occupancy.
The solo rate is paid by participants who specifically request single accommodations and is subject to availability.
If you are traveling alone and wish to share accommodations, we will try to match you with a roommate of the same
gender. However, if a roommate is not available, the published solo rate will be charged. Upon confirming your
reservation you will be required to pay the published Solo Rate, if we are able to pair you with a roommate, the
applicable difference will be refunded at the time that the final trip payment is due for all participants. Please note that
solo accommodations are limited and cannot always be guaranteed throughout. For our full set of Terms & Conditions,
please visit our web site at www.apex-expeditions.com/about/terms-conditions/
One-of-a-kind adventures to the world’s
most fascinating places. Join us.
© Nomadic Journeys
WWW.APEX-EXPEDITIONS.COM 800.861.6425 / 206.669.9272
Reser vation Form
Western Mongolia September 28 – October 13, 2019
Person 1: (Primary Contact)
Passport Name:
Preferred Name:
Date of Birth:
Email Address:
Mailing Details:
Address:
City: State: ZIP Code: Country:
Phone: Fax:
Double Solo
Person 2: (If applicable and at same address, otherwise please submit a second Reservation Form.)
Passport Name:
Preferred Name:
Date of Birth:
Email Address:
Deposit Information:
My deposit check is enclosed (20% of total tour fare)
Charge my deposit to my: VISA MasterCard American Express
Card #: Expires: CCV Code:
Name on Card:
Signature:
Please return this completed form to Apex Expeditions.
E-mail: info@apex-expeditions.com or Mail: 4130 California Ave SW, Seattle, WA 98116
WWW.APEX-EXPEDITIONS.COM 800.861.6425 / 206.669.9272
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