Self-Launched Mongolia: Nomadic Family Stays & Orkhon Valley
10 days · Mongolia
G Adventures charges £1,499
No-markup version: ~£780 per person
Estimate only, not a guaranteed price. Always verify costs independently before booking.
A DIY version of G Adventures' 10-day Local Living Mongolia trip: two nights in Ulaanbaatar, homestays in gers with nomadic families in the Central Mongolian steppe, the Orkhon Valley waterfalls, the ancient capital Kharkhorin and Khustai's wild takhi horses, finishing in Gorkhi Terelj National Park. Instead of a tour leader and private vehicle, you book a small guesthouse and string together local buses, shared 4x4 seats through guesthouse/ger-camp contacts, and locally hired horses — all bookable a few weeks ahead directly with Ulaanbaatar guesthouses and ger camps. Costs are approximate backpacker rates and exclude international flights.
Day-by-day
Arrive Ulaanbaatar — capital orientation
Ulaanbaatar
Land at Chinggis Khaan International Airport and take a metered taxi or marshrutka into the city centre (~£10-15, 45-60 min). Check into a guesthouse or budget hotel in the Sukhbaatar/Chingeltei area and spend the afternoon acclimatising: walk Sukhbaatar Square, change money at a bank ATM (Tugrik can't be exchanged outside Mongolia, so withdraw local cash) and stock up on snacks, a warm layer and a sleeping bag liner. In the evening visit a local supermarket for ger-stay supplies and eat at a khuushuur (fried dumpling) canteen. Message your guesthouse host to confirm tomorrow's shared-vehicle seat to the steppe.
🚌Airport taxi or marshrutka (~£12)
🛏Central Ulaanbaatar guesthouse or budget hotel, twin/private room (~£22)
- →Sukhbaatar Square walk
- →Cash withdrawal and SIM card setup
- →Khuushuur dinner in a local canteen
Ulaanbaatar to Rashaant steppe — meet nomadic hosts
Rashaant Sum
Take an early shared minibus or marshrutka west along the paved road towards Kharkhorin/Rashaant (~4-5 hrs, £9-12), or arrange a shared 4x4 seat through your guesthouse if a bus doesn't fit the timing (£25-35 per person). Arrange in advance with a family ger camp or community tourism contact (e.g. through Ulaanbaatar guesthouses, the Mongolian Community Tourism Association or Klook/GetYourGuide local guides) for a bed in a family's extra ger (£10-14 per night including meals). Meet your hosts over lunch, then take an afternoon horse ride with the family's herder out to the Swan Lake and the desert-like dunes at the steppe edge (locally hired horse and guide ~£12). Dinner and milk tea with the family, then sleep in a traditional ger.
🚌Shared minibus/marshrutka to Rashaant (~£11), horse hire locally
🛏Nomadic family ger, shared (~£12 incl. simple meals)
- →Afternoon horseback ride to Swan Lake and dunes
- →Milk tea and dinner with nomadic hosts
Nomadic morning chores & Queen Manduhai monuments, on to Orkhon Valley
Orkhon Valley
Start the day the nomadic way: help with milking and moving livestock, then eat a simple breakfast with the family. Ride horses out to the Queen Manduhai monuments nearby (locally arranged, ~£10) and take a farewell lunch and tea before a shared 4x4 transfer south into the Orkhon Valley (~2-3 hrs, £25-30 per person — book seats via your host or an Orkhon Valley ger camp). The Orkhon Valley is a UNESCO World Heritage landscape of nomadic pastoralism stretching back over 2,000 years. Settle into your second family's extra ger, learn to make milk tea and share a traditional dinner.
🚌Shared 4x4 to Orkhon Valley (~£27), local horse hire
🛏Nomadic family ger in Orkhon Valley, shared (~£12)
- →Nomadic chores and milking
- →Horse ride to Manduhai monuments
- →Milk tea making with hosts
Orkhon Valley waterfalls trek
Orkhon Valley
Join the morning chores again — herding yaks or milking is the real deal here. After breakfast walk 5-6 km to the Ulaan Tsutgalan waterfall, Mongolia's most dramatic fall, where the Orkhon drops about 20 m into a basalt gorge; there's no entry fee, just bring water and layers. Return for lunch with your hosts, then take an easy afternoon walk to the smaller Baga Tsutgalan waterfall. Dinner back at the ger and a night sky that is genuinely extraordinary — bring a headtorch and a warm hat even in summer.
🚌On foot
🛏Nomadic family ger in Orkhon Valley, shared (~£12)
- →Ulaan Tsutgalan waterfall hike (~5-6 km each way)
- →Baga Tsutgalan falls walk
- →Yak herding with hosts
Kharkhorin and Erdene Zuu Monastery, then Khustai National Park
Kharkhorin / Khustai
Arrange a shared 4x4 or local minibus north to Kharkhorin (~2 hrs, ~£15 shared). Explore the walled Erdene Zuu Monastery — built on the site of Genghis Khan's 13th-century capital Karakorum — with its rows of stupas and temples (entry ~£3; a local English-speaking guide can be hired at the gate for ~£8). Lunch at a nearby ger camp, then continue by shared vehicle to Khustai (Hustai) National Park (~3 hrs, ~£20 shared) and overnight in a park-area ger camp with showers and a canteen (~£22-28 per person).
🚌Shared 4x4/minibus Kharkhorin to Khustai (~£35 total)
🛏Ger camp near Khustai National Park (~£25)
- →Erdene Zuu Monastery and Karakorum ruins
- →Optional local monastery guide
Khustai takhi wild horses, then Terelj National Park by horse
Gorkhi Terelj National Park
Spend the morning in Khustai National Park on foot or with a park ranger's shared jeep (£10-15) looking for the reintroduced Przewalski's horse (takhi) plus marmots, deer and raptors; park entry ~£10. After lunch take a shared vehicle or bus back east and on to Gorkhi Terelj National Park (~3-4 hrs, ~£18-22 — the public bus to Terelj village is cheapest at ~£3 but slower). Meet your Terelj host and ride horses about 3 km up the valley, crossing the Terelj River, to the family's camp (~£10). In the evening learn to saddle a horse and prepare an oxcart, play shagai (sheep's-bone) games and eat dinner with the family.
🚌Shared vehicle to Terelj (~£20), horse ride to camp
🛏Nomadic family ger, Terelj National Park (~£12)
- →Khustai takhi spotting and park entry
- →Horse ride across the Terelj River
- →Shagai bone games and horse-saddling demo
Long horseback ride to a nomadic seamstress
Gorkhi Terelj National Park
A big breakfast, then a long horseback ride through forested hills to an open green plain (roughly 24 km of riding, ~£25-30 with horse and local guide arranged through your host). Stop with a well-known local seamstress and her family for lunch, then learn how to cut patterns for a traditional Mongolian deel garment — a genuinely hands-on session rather than a demo. Ride or walk back to camp, optionally help collect firewood by oxcart, and finish with dinner and tea in the ger.
🚌Horseback and oxcart
🛏Nomadic family ger, Terelj National Park (~£12)
- →Full-day horse trek
- →Traditional garment pattern-making lesson
- →Firewood collection by oxcart
Terelj free day — vodka and cheese making, Turtle Rock
Gorkhi Terelj National Park
Keep the morning free: walk to Turtle Rock and the Aryabal Meditation Temple (entry ~£2, 45-60 min uphill on foot) or take a local horse ride. In the afternoon visit neighbouring families by oxcart and learn how homemade Mongolian vodka (airag/shimii arkhi) and dried curd cheese are made, tasting both with lunch and dinner. Terelj village has small shops for supplies; cash only outside Ulaanbaatar.
🚌On foot / oxcart
🛏Nomadic family ger, Terelj National Park (~£12)
- →Turtle Rock and Aryabal Meditation Temple
- →Vodka and cheese making demonstration with local families
- →Oxcart visit to neighbouring herders
Back to Ulaanbaatar — Gandan Monastery and Tumen Ekh
Ulaanbaatar
After breakfast take the public bus or a shared minibus back to Ulaanbaatar (~2 hrs, ~£3-10), check into your guesthouse and spend the afternoon sightseeing on foot and by city bus: Gandan Monastery (entry ~£2, morning prayers), Bogd Khan Palace Museum (~£4) and Zaisan Hill for the city panorama. In the evening book a ticket to the Tumen Ekh Ensemble folk performance at their own theatre (~£10-12, direct or via Klook/GetYourGuide) and eat a farewell dinner at a local restaurant (~£8).
🚌Public bus to Ulaanbaatar (~£5), city buses
🛏Central Ulaanbaatar guesthouse or budget hotel (~£22)
- →Gandan Monastery
- →Bogd Khan Palace Museum
- →Zaisan Hill viewpoint
- →Tumen Ekh Ensemble folk concert
Depart Ulaanbaatar
Ulaanbaatar
No activities planned. Pick up last souvenirs at the State Department Store or a local cashmere shop, then take a taxi to the airport (~£12, 45-60 min) for your flight out.
🚌Airport taxi (~£12)
🛏None (departure day)
- →Souvenir shopping
Self-launched vs. G Adventures
| This itinerary (self-launched) | G Adventures | |
|---|---|---|
| Price per person | ~£780 | £1,499 |
| Duration | 10 days | 10 days |
| Who books it | You and your group, direct | Tour operator, guided group |
| Savings | £719 per person (48%) | |
Estimate only, not a guaranteed price. Always verify costs independently before booking.
Want to see more G Adventures-style trips? Check them out here.~£780
estimated per person
You never pay Travel Crew for this — you pay hostels, transport, and activity providers directly, the same as if you'd booked it all yourself.
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Frequently asked questions
How much does Self-Launched Mongolia: Nomadic Family Stays & Orkhon Valley cost?+
Doing it yourself with this self-launched itinerary costs an estimated £780 per person for 10 days in Mongolia. This is an AI-generated estimate based on typical budget-traveller prices — actual costs will vary by season and how you book.
Is this cheaper than booking with G Adventures?+
Yes — G Adventures charges around £1,499 per person for a similar tour. Doing the same route independently, using the same standard of accommodation and activities, costs an estimated £780 — a saving of roughly £719 (48%) per person.
How long is the Mongolia trip?+
This itinerary runs 10 days, covering 10 day-by-day stops through Mongolia.
How do I join this trip?+
You can join an existing open departure using this itinerary if one is scheduled, or launch your own departure with your own dates and invite other travellers to join you — no tour operator required.
Isn't it easier to just use a tour operator?+
Well, yes, a tour operator will book all the individual parts of your travel for you and provide a guide. That's obvious, but doing this has the potential to save the group thousands, which can in turn improve your itinerary substantially or save you huge amounts of money. Also, when you launch a departure, Travel Crew has tools in place to help you book the individual sections of the trip or make it easier for you to do this as a group. Really, you do not need a middle man. If you are more comfortable paying more and using a middle man, then you should certainly do this.
Is it safer to book through a tour operator?+
Arguably, there isn't much difference. A self-launched trip runs on the same principle as a group travel crew: collective responsibility, everyone looking out for each other, the same way it would if a group of friends organised the trip themselves — because that's exactly what's happening. You should always take out travel insurance before you go, self-launched or not; that doesn't change either way. Every open departure is published publicly with real dates and a real trip organiser, so it's never an anonymous arrangement, and our support team is reachable any time you need help, including in an emergency while you're away. Longer-term, we're building direct relationships with ground DMCs in popular destinations, offered as an optional paid add-on for extra on-the-ground support. Ultimately, though, the group is responsible for its own conduct and safety on a self-launched trip, same as on any trip you plan yourself.
What kind of trip is this?+
This is a adventure, culture, hiking trip through Mongolia, self-launched rather than run by a tour operator — you organise it with a group you find or bring yourself.
Would you like to name the operator, name the trip, or have any suggestions about how to improve this itinerary?
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