Mongolia & the Gobi Desert

Mongolia: Ulaanbaatar, Gorkhi-Terelj National Park, Khovsgol Lake, Gobi Desert

Group size

No more than 16 travelers

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Activity level

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Single Supplement: FREE

From $7,295 per person

19 Days | $384 per day

Includes airfare

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Naadam Festival: Select June-July Departures

Select June and July departures of Mongolia & the Gobi Desert feature highlights of Mongolia’s Naadam Festival—an annual celebration of traditional sporting events which take place in Ulaanbaatar and in many rural villages during Mongolia’s national holiday in July. Naadam (which simply means “festival”) is a time when Mongolia’s finest athletes participate in the country’s “three sports of men”:

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  • Mongolian wrestling: This competition utilizes a combination of skill and strength where the first opponent to touch the ground loses. This single-elimination, untimed tournament consists of 512 to 1,024 wrestlers who grapple for nine or ten rounds. Only men are allowed to compete, and the wrestler with the greatest fame gets to choose his opponent. Victors are known as arslan, or “lion,” and two-time winners get to be called avraga, or “giants.”
  • Archery: Mongolian men and women compete in this sport of skill that features hundreds of targets against a huge wall. Ten-man (or ten-woman) teams are given four arrows each and the first team to hit 33 targets (called surs) can achieve the title of “national marksman” or “national markswoman.”
  • Horse racing: In a tradition that dates back to the days of Genghis Khan, Mongolian horseback races during Naadam can last two hours or more and cover distances of up to 18 miles. Up to 1,000 horses from various corners of Mongolia may be chosen to participate in the races. The horses are ridden by children ranging in age from 5 to 13—and while the young jockey’s skill is important, the primary goal of the competition is to test the skill of the Mongolian horses.