Mongolia
From
GOBI DESERT TO  THE ALTAI MOUNTAINS,
THE LAND  OF THE EAGLE HUNTERS

Mongolian Kazaks still hunt with their eagles on the Altay mountains
 

Tour Dates:  Thursday August, 3 2007 - Wednesday August 16, 2007
           
Itinerary
Please read the tour hand book for more details   and check the map

Please read the Journals from 2003 and 2002 Tours
Please check the photo journal of 2005 Gobi-Altay tour


Please read the Journals from 2003 and 2002 Tours
Please check the photo journal of 2005 Gobi-Altay tour

ITINERARY:
Day 01 Thursday
You will be piced up from the air port with MELITOUR SIGN. The tour members will be arriving today from different destinations. We will meat the the lobby of the hotel at 04;30 PM for a group meeting.
For details on arrival please click here

Day 02   Friday     
Fly to GOBI 11:15 flight 1,5 hour flight Dalanzadgad Air port/ half an hour drive to the Camp. Check in the camp . After Lunch drive 1.5 hours to Eagle Valleyof Yolyn Am Valley . A small natural history museum and the shops of the desert people .2 our walk into the depths of the valley. We will be surrounded with the animals of the vlley. whisteling mice busy visiting each others holes in the ground, wild goats at the peaks of the hills. Eagles flying above the sheep herds looking for a feast. the sheperds  of the valley let you know that you are not just in any beautiful gorge in the world but in Mongolia.
 Back to the camp at Tovshin . Enjoy sitting qround the camp fire listening to the stories of Gobi.

Day 03 Saturday
Gobi desert Bayanzag -
The flaming cliffs
After an early breakfast leave the camp at 0730 for a long pleasant day at the GOBI desert.  Our destination is not as important as what we feel and see in the endlessness of this vast Desert. We will stop at the Sand Dunes and the red sandstone cliffs at the canyon of Bayanzag  where the fossil bed of dinosaur bones discovered in the egining of the 20th Century..
Drive to "the only forest " of midget trees for picnic lunch. Visit Gers and families on route. We will see lots of free roaming Camels. If we are lucky we will see Gazelles.. Camel Herders Family.
Camel Back riding ; One of the best ways to experience the Gobi is  from the back of a camel. They are very easy to ride. Today we will also see herds of yaks.
Back to the same camp. Showers are available. The temperature at the desert will be cool in the morning and in the late afternoon . in mid day t can get to will be around 80 –90 Degrees F .

Day 04  Sunday     
At 11 am From Dalanzadgad fly back to Ulaan Baator . Arrive in Ulaan Baator  in time for lunch . Mongolian Artists have excellent talent for paper cutting. We will meet several artists at at the Children's  Park to find more about this craft. sitting comfortable on the grass in the shade of huge linden trees we will cut our own little magic forms out of black paper trying to understand the tricks of this very old Mongolia art. Later in the afternoon a sculptor will have us at his work shop to show us the traditional forms of ceramic use for the Budist temples.
Afternoon Paper Cutter Artist and Ceramic Sculptor. Overnight in Ulaan Batoor
Day 05  Monday    
0800 flight  out of Ulaan Baator to Olgii  on the Altay Moutains. this is a 3 hour flight with one stop for fueling in the middle. Bayan Olgii nestles among the towering snow-capped peaks of the Altay mountains.The polulation consists of mainly Turkish Kazaks. Meli speaks  their language.
Besides natural beauty, the archaeological sites offer incredible unique evidence of the past: the deerstones, balbal ( the Turikish Stone figures) and petrogliphs. But the most impressive memory of the day will be meeting the EAGLE HUNTERS. This is the most beautiful camp they have in Mongolia from our experiences of the camps. The only camp where the shower room has a little sauna  built into it.

Day 06  Tuesday    

120 Km jeep drive to Khovd . In Mongolia this distance will normally take 4-5 hours. With our interest in photography and the wealth of its photo ops with the nomads and mountains and the aerchaeological sites, we will be on the road the whole day.
 Khovd has a varied demographic structure with different ethnic groups of the Mongolians. Overnight at ger camp which has the best cook for excellent meals.Showers are available but not too reliable.

Day 07   Wednesday    Khoved
Free time in the morning for people to catch up with their journal in this spectaclar land. Early lunch at 11;45. Leave the camp for Khovd city 20 minutesaway from the Camp we are staying at. This town has an interesting "Black Market" that serves all the nomads in the vicinity of several hundred miles. Visit the market for excellent shots of work a day in Mongolia" .In the afternoon visit  local museum and the Budist temple which stay pen only for few hours a day.Visit the  families. Overnight at the same Camp.
Day 08     Thursday Khoved
Drive 60miles  to the largest Cave of Mongolia to see remains of Paleolithic Tsenkheriin Agui caves. Similar Caves in other parts of the world ( France)  are not accessible for preservation concerns. So this will be a very rare opportunity to look into the lives of the oldest peoples of our planet . On the way back to Khovd  we will be at the western shore of the lake KHAR  us Nuur Lake. (Black Water Lake) Pelicans bird watching…Overnight at the same camp

Day 09  Friday Ulaan Baator
Fly back to Ulaan Baator at 08:30 AM. Arrive the capital at lunch time. The lunch will be at the hotel.Generally this afternoon is the time when every one catches up with laundry and a short visit to the department store for changing money or visiting the 5th floor which has excellent souveneirs. Some groups like to take the opportunity of visiting a FOOT REFLEXOLOGY place to get ready for the next part of our tour.Manicure and pedicure has been poular among the female tour members as well.
Dinner at a very popular restaurant. Overnight at Edelweiss hotel

Day 10 Saturday   Ulaan Baator
We will start the day after breakfast with a visit to the largest Monastery of Ulaan Baator which survived the Communist destruction. Gundan Monastary. Afterlunch we will visit the school for contortionests and learn about what it means to the Mongolian Families to have their little sons and daughters learn how to have full command over their bodies- bones and muscles. some tour memers take time in the afternoon to go shopping or more museum or art gallery hopping. Dinner at the hotel.

Day 11  Sunday Khuvs Gul
 Fly to Murun 1.5 hours flight from Ulaan Baator.
 Deepest Lake in Mongolai 90 Rivers flow into it  only one river goes out:crystal clear waters make fishing very muc fun we will be able to see the fish we catch. If we are lucky we might be able t eat the fish we catch.
 4-5 hours Drive to the ger camp by the lake. There are hot showers and Sauna.  We will enjoy the nature in "strict nature reserve around the lake while we are driving to see the caves  paintings on the west shore of the lake
 Hiking around the lake, horse back riding or boat ride will  be offered as activities.

Day 12 Monday  Khuvs Gul
      More  of untouched nature of Mongolia.  bird watching by the lake . We will get a chance to visit the Shamans today.
 Overnight  at the same camp.
 

Day 13 Tuesday
Drive to Saridag  to see the animals under protection.
 Fly back to Ulaan Baator at around 1.00 pm
 Arrive in Ulaan Baator Late afternoon.
Farewell dinner
Day 14  Wednesday Ulaan Baator
The tour will be over. Transfer to the Air port is included
 

The Price of the Tour:
The tour will not operate with less than 9 people
 US$ 3250.- per person in a  double room
Single room supplement: US$ 420
The Price Includes:
Accomodations
Transportation
6 domestic flights
Horse back riding
Camel rides
All the meals
All the entrance fees
All the tips
The transfers
Boat Ride

Typical Melitour tour price. Once you arrive in Ulaan Baator, until you leave Mongolia
you do not need to pay for any thing
The price does not include:
Trip cancellation insurance
International flights to and from Mongolia
The drinks (  Water - coffee- Tea)

For the Payment Plan and cancellation please check the tour hand book