Mongolian Total Solar Eclipse Tour 2008

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Travel Itinerary:

Day 1. (26 Jul) Arrival Day (D) Arrival to Ulaanbaatar and transfer to hotel. Depending on time of arrival, you may have a short city sight-seeing tour. Evening welcome dinner. Overnight in hotel.

Day 2. (27 Jul) Ulaanbaatar / Bayanhongor (B,L,D) After breakfast we will visit the National History Museum, which holds a permanent exhibition on the different civilizations that have inhabited the territory of Mongolia from prehistoric times to the present, including a world class dinosaur exhibit and significant display of objects from the era of the Great Mongol Empire. Then, we will spend a couple hours exploring the Black Market. This huge market contains every single item a Mongolian might need, whether they are nomads or urban apartment dwellers. Goods brought from all corners of Mongolia are here for sale. A visit to the market is a colorful experience which gives the visitor an insight to the everyday life of the people of Mongolia. After lunch in a restaurant, we will visit Gandan Monastery, and then you will have free time to relax before we drive to the airport to catch our flight to Bayanhongor, in the heart of central Mongolia. Camping overnight.

Day 3. (28 Jul) Bayanhongor / Altai (B,L,D) After breakfast we drive from Bayanhongor west across desert steppe to Altai. Crossing the northern edge of the Gobi desert, you will get your first glimpse of desert steppe wildlife and fauna. During the day we will stop for a picnic lunch and for a couple of short walks to stretch our legs. We stop to visit with a nomadic family along the way for tea. In the late afternoon, we reach our camp and you have the option of going for an easy hike to stretch your legs before dinner. Camping overnight in tents.

Day 4. (29 Jul) Altai / Alag Khairkhan (B,L,D) After breakfast we drive to Munkh Khairkhan mountain, where we will go for a short hike to look at some bronze age (turkic) balbals, stone grave markers that are sometimes shaped like people. Camping overnight.

Day 5. (30 Jul) Alig Khairkhan / Altai (B,L,D) Today you have the option of spending a relaxed morning in camp, or of going with a wildlife ranger to do some photography and wildlife watching on the mountain. After a late lunch in camp, we will continue westward in the direction of Altai soum, making camp in the late afternoon. Camping overnight.

Day 6. (31 Jul) Southern Altai Range/Bulgan/Eclipse Camp (B,L,D) Leaving our campsite, we continue south until we arrive in Altai village. In the afternoon we continue to our eclipse camp. In the area there is a lot of wildlife, including elk, Argali sheep, and many small mammals. Along the road, we pass small households where you will likely see local people making hay for the winter and harvesting the summer's crops. We will arrive at our eclipse camp next to the emerald green Hovd River in the late afternoon. Camping overnight.

Day 7. (1 Aug) Eclipse Day (B,L,D) Today you will have free time to explore the surrounding area and make preparations for viewing the eclipse. We will watch for cloud cover in case we need to make last minute adjustments to the viewing location. Eclipse watching, followed by a celebration dinner. Camping overnight.

Day 8. (2 Aug) Eclipse Camp/Mankhan (B,L,D) After an early breakfast, we will drive north across the Altai Mountain range. Ascending along the Bodonchin River, we will stop for lunch at the top of the Altai Range, and then continue down through the high steppe to Mankhan Village, where we will camp for the night. Camping overnight.

Day 9. (3 Aug) Mankhan / Uvsiin Ulgii (B,L,D) Today you we will continue north between Khar Uus Lake and Khar Lake, both of which are part of the Uvs Basin World Heritage Center (for further information, please refer to the following link- http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/769). On our way we will stop at Chandmani village, the cradle of Mongolian Khoomi. Khoomi is throat singing, an amazing vocal feat which few people outside of Mongolia and Tuva have ever mastered. We will learn about this ancient tradition, and hear some of Mongolia’s Khoomi masters perform for us in a private concert. Then, we continue north and across the Leaping Wolf River, which connects these two mighty lakes. The Leaping Wolf River is known as the “river that never freezes” as it’s waters continue to flow even when Mongolian winter kicks in with its frigid cold winds. Finally, crossing the grasslands to the lakes basin of the Kharkhira Mountain range, we will camp by on the shores of Khar Uus Lake. Camping overnight

Day 10. (4 Aug) Uvsiin Ulgii / Ulaangom (B,L,D) Leaving our campsite, we drive along the eastern slopes of the Kharkhira Mountain Range, a branch of the Altai-Sayan Mountain Range. The mountain is rich with wildlife. In the afternoon we reach Ulaangom, the provincial city, and if time permits, we will visit the local market. Overnight in local hotel in Ulaangom.

Day 11. (5 Aug) Uvsiin Ulgii / Ulaangom (B,L,D) In the morning we drive to Ulaangom airport to catch a return flight to Ulaanbaatar. If time permits, you will go on a short city tour to visit some of the capital’s interesting sites.Overnight at Hotel Kharikhorum.

Day 10. (6 Aug) Departure (B) Transfer to the airport for your departing flight.