My wife and I just returned from a 23 day trip to Mongolia.
It was an amazing trip.
We drove a diesel 2009 Nissan Patrol DX for 5100 kilometers. We had a guide vehicle in the lead as road signs are almost non existent or written only in Cyrillic. Many tracks that lead in the general direction of your next destination sometimes converge again or diverge into parts unknown or a herder's Ger. We brought along a GPS with roads of Mongolia loaded. Most tracks were shown but several were not.
The Patrol is very capable truck, however I did not like the long hood and front over hang when dropping into dry washes,streams/rivers or cresting steep hills.
We started in Ulaanbaatar (UB) driving west visiting Hustai National Park and several lakes on the way to the mountains of Altan Bogd on border with Russia and Kazakhstan. You need a special permit from the Mongolian Border Patrol to be in the area.
From there we drove to the Jargalant Mountains, then on to Kherman Tsav a paleontological site in southern Mongolia, from there on to Khongoryn Els the dunes of the Gobi, on to the Flaming Cliffs, White Stupas and back to UB. Driving in UB is an experience all its own. Very aggressive drivers in a very traffic congested city.
The major roads connecting the Provincial Capitals may start out as paved roads then turn into dirt tracks then back to pavement again. The roads may be paved but are often pockmarked with craters in the pavement and herds of goats, sheep, horses, cows, yaks or camels randomly crossing the road.
Off road tracks between towns can be rough and rutted or smooth as you cross the steppe, We drove in sandy dry washes, deep sand, a little mud and had many stream/river crossings Other than on the paved main roads Mongolians do not believe in culverts for streams or rivers and at times their roads make our roughest Forest Service roads seem like the interstate but somehow Mongolians in Toyota Prius's, Hyundai's, buses. trucks and tractor trailers negotiate the roads. Land Cruiser, the Russian UAZ 452 Van and UAZ 469 Hunter dominate the 4x4 market. Toyota, Hyundai and Kia the cars and Hyundai the small work trucks
Along the way we were able to see ancient burial mounds (Balbals). Tugricks ( carved stone human figures) and Deerstones. Visited a couple of museums.
We visited a Kazak who hunts with Golden Eagles and explored a couple of petroglyph sites.
We saw camels, Mongolian Gazelles, Ibex, Red Deer and the Prezwalski Horse as well as many new bird species.
There are few people outside of UB mostly nomadic herders living in Gers.
Thank you so much for these amazing photos. I'm brand new to this community but lived in Sukhbaatar and then Bayankhongor, Mongolia from 2014-2016. These images take me right back...though I still need to return and visit Khovd!
OUTSTANDING! Thanks so much for sharing your story and photos!
Man, Dennis! What a great experience! I can't wait to see the pictures.
Dan
One thing led to another finding a guide. I was sitting in the doctor's office picked up a travel magazine and read an article about a guy putting on guided self drives in Tibet and Mongolia. We had previously done 2 unguided, unsupported self drives in Africa and the article piqued our interest. We contacted the first outfitter. Once we decided his trip was too short I searched the web and I found the outfit we went with. Not many outfits doing trips especially the longer more remote trips.
We decided to go an a guided self drive this time mainly due to the language barrier, everything written in Cyrillic and the remoteness. I exchanged emails with the outfit for a few months before we pulled the trigger. It was a bit of a leap of faith but we always purchase trip/medical evacuation insurance for trips of this magnitude.
Understand how that works with the photos, hard not to take so many.
Sounds like a fun, and really interesting way to see remote country. How did you find the tour guide? I would imagine it could be a leap of faith on choosing a company in some of the more/less frequented areas like Mongolia.
It was a guided (English speaking) and supported trip. We were the only clients and drove our own vehicle. We originally looked at a shorter self drive but most operate within what seems to be the tourist corridor between Ulaanbaatar, Hustai NP and the Khongoryn Els usually a 9-12 day trip.. Not much to see during the drive between destinations.
My wife said if we are going that far we should make it a longer trip and see more of Mongolia. We contacted another self drive company that produced an itinerary that took us to some very remote places, the far west mountains (Altan Bogd) of the country and the far south to an oasis and the canyons (Kherman Tsav) of the Gobi.
We mostly camped but stayed in a few Ger Camps. Outside of the tourist corridor services are very few and very far between and the guide seemed relieved when we entered into it
Pictures. My wife is still processing them. She took about 5000 photos. The bane of digital photography is you are not limited by the amount of film you once had to carry. Once she is done I will post a few.
Sounds like an awesome experience. Were you part of a guided trip, or did you just piece it together yourselves? And of course - Pictures?