Day 1 Home City/Beijing
Board an overnight flight to Beijing, China.
Day 2 Beijing
Beijing is a unique reflection of the many changing facets of contemporary Chinese culture, where ancient cultural sites such as the Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven vie for space alongside high-rise buildings, modern shopping malls and an intricate freeway system. A thriving commercial capital, continually developing, Beijing’s 200-year-old cultural heritage is still very much in evidence, with a vast array of stunning attractions throughout the city. Your hotel is within walking distance of the historic Tiananmen Square, Mao Zedong’s Mausoleum and the Museum of Chinese History. Since your day is at leisure, venture out to see the impressive sights or wander through the nearby Wangfujing and Dongdan shopping districts.
Day 3 Beijing
Visit Tiananmen Square, a place that conjures up deep emotions in locals and visitors alike. It is ideally situated near many famous sites and located directly in front of the Gate of Heavenly Peace (tiananmen in Chinese). Pass through the Gate of Heavenly Peace into the Forbidden City. Now known as the National Palace Museum, the Forbidden City was once the imperial residence of the emperors and their families from the 1400s until 1911 and housed up to 100,000 people, including servants, soldiers and attendants. Spend the late afternoon browsing through the tiny shops of the bustling Hongqiao Market or Silk Alley. This evening, gather with your fellow travelers for a welcome dinner.
Day 4 Beijing
Travel to the less-visited Mutianyu section of the Great Wall, one of the great wonders of the world. The wall rides the highest point of the mountaintops and provides stunning views of the countryside.
Day 5 Beijing/Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Fly to Ulaanbaatar, the legendary land of Genghis khan where nomads still roam the Eurasian steppe as they have for centuries. Visit the Natural History Museum, renowned for its dinosaur bones and fossil records excavated from the Gobi Desert. Continue to the Gandan Monastery and the Palace of the Bogd Khan. Enjoy Mongolian cultural performance.
The Kempinski Hotel Khan Palace (B.L.D)
Day 6 Ulaanbaatar/Karakorum
Travel overland to the ruins of ancient Karakorum, once the capital of Genghis Khan’s Mongolian empire and inspiration for Coleridge’s Xanadu. Reaching the sweeping steppe land that frames the Orkhan River Valley, the heartland of Mongolia. The balance of the day’s drive is spent in the grassy plains with stops with local nomad families. In the evening stop by a local horse breeder’s family dinner.
Ger Camp (B.L.D)
Day 7 Karakorum
In the morning visit to Erdene Zuu monastery, once one of the largest monasteries in Mongolia. Tour of the monastery grounds and several chapels with excellent examples of Buddhist iconography dating from the 16th century. Visit the ruins of Karakorum, the 13th century capital of the Mongol Empire and Famous 108 Pagodas. After lunch travel overland to Ulaanbaatar. On the way visit Khustain Nature Reserve (supported by the World Wildlife Foundation) to learn about the resurgence of the takhi (wild horse), recently re-introduced back into Mongolia(165km).
Ger camp (B.L.D)
Day 8 Karakorum/Ulaanbaatar
After breakfast continue drive back to Ulaanbaatar. In the afternoon visit souvenir market or Gobi Cashmere factory.
The Kempinski Hotel Khan Palace (B.L.D)
Day 9 Ulaanbaatar/Dalanzagad
Board a flight to Dalanzagad in the South Gobi. Enroute to your innovative ger (traditional Mongolian tent), visit the Red Flaming Cliffs area of Baranzag, where discovery of dinosaur skeletons captured headlines around the world. Dine at the excavation site.This evening, watch the film Weeping Camel, a docu-drama featuring an actual Mongolian family.
The Three Camel Lodge Ger Camp (B.L.D)
Day 10 South Gobi
Drive to Yoliin Am (Vulture Valley). Hike or drive into the canyon, home to ibex argali (mountain sheep) and magnificent eagle. Spend some time visiting with the hospitable nomadic camel and horse breeders and embark on a camel trek.
The Three Camel Lodge Ger Camp (B.L.D)
Day 11 Dalanzagad/Ulaanbaatar
Flight back to Ulaanbaatar in time for lunch. Late, visit the National Museum of Mongolian History, with exhibits from Neolithic times to the present day. Enjoy traditional music and dancing during dinner tonight.
The Kempinski Hotel Khan Palace (B.L.D)
Day 12 Ulaanbaatar/Beijing, China
Fly back to Beijing, where the remainder of the day is at leisure until your farewell dinner. (You may want to stroll through the Panda Zoo and the Temple of Heaven, an exquisite example of Chinese craftsmanship, once the residence of the emperors. Alternatively, you may prefer to do some last-minute shopping).
Day 13 Beijing/Home City
Board your homebound flight or travel on to another destination in the Orient. China Holidays can help you plan your own extension, "tailor-made" as you require. (B)
Mongolia is a complex country located in the landlocked plateau between Russian Siberia and the plains of northern China, Mongolia presents a geographically and culturally dramatic impression. Within this enchanting country’s borders you can plan to enjoy same boundless wonders of nature. Mongolia’s pristine mountains, unspoiled Gobi Desert and sweeping grasslands are home to snow leopards, wild horses and camels, Gobi bears, wild sheep and goats, antelope and more. And you’ll see the sweeping countryside from horseback and camelback: a traditional point of view that will help illuminate the history, scenery and indigenous culture of this remote land…
