Embark on a journey through the Orkhon Valley, one of Mongolia’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites and a vital link to the country’s rich history. This immersive experience allows you to connect deeply with Mongolia’s past, cultural heritage, and nomadic traditions.
The Orkhon River Valley, celebrated as a cultural site, showcases the evolution of nomadic pastoral traditions. It provides a tangible glimpse into the legacies of the Hunnu, the Turks, and the Mongol Empire, along with the origins of Buddhism in Mongolia. Often referred to as the cradle of Mongolian civilization, this valley stands as a testament to the region’s historical and cultural significance.
Our Wild Orkhon Trails tour focuses on key areas including the valley itself, Kharkhorin, and its monasteries. The Orkhon Valley was a pivotal site for nomadic tribes who used horses to travel, and you will follow in their footsteps as you traverse the valley. Experience the way of life of modern Mongolian people who call the area home, while immersing yourself in the valley’s natural beauty.
Duration: 11 Days (including 5 days horse trekking) – Adaptable – length or season
Accommodation – Homestays, – Hosted by families we work in long-term local partnerhsip with Family operated ger camp, Wild camping
Travel with & experience the friendship of our great Mongolian teams of male driver & female trip assistant as well as the friendship of the families we work in partnership with.
This is a customisable trip. It is adaptable, giving you the freedom to build a unique and personal trip for your chosen date. Upgrade your accommodation for all – or just part – of your trip, slow down the pace with few extra nights here and there or add a few more active adventures along the way. All images used throughout this document were taken either by EL guests or members of the EL team. This is the Mongolia that you will also experience.
We measure the carbon footprint of each tour we offer and balance the footprint through the Mongolian Nomad Carbon Project.
For all of our trips we offer a sliding price scale. We appreciate your holiday funds are precious and so the more people that book so the price comes down and everyone benefits.
Group Size – Minimum of two or pay a surcharge | We prefer a maximum group size of 6 as it helps manage our impact but we will increase it for private trips
2 Guests US$ 2860 pp
3-5 Guests US$ 2310 pp
6 Guests US$ 2095 pp
Where Does Your Payment Go?
We understand that budget is a personal consideration, and everyone has different preferences. Our rates may be higher compared to some other agencies, not because we position ourselves as a luxury tour operator, but due to our commitment to a form of tourism that is fair and equitable. By limiting our operations to around 150-200 travelers annually, we focus on delivering personalized and meaningful journeys rather than generic tick-list experiences.
Commitment to Mongolia: We are a registered Mongolian business, contributing to the local economy through taxes, employment, and social security payments. Your tour payment stays within Mongolia, supporting local initiatives and fostering economic growth.
Empowering Employment Opportunities: We offer long-term employment to individuals often overlooked by other tour companies. Our team includes female Mongolian trip assistants who break barriers in the tourism industry, paving the way for other women to flourish in tourism-related roles. Similarly, we employ older, traditional male drivers, addressing high unemployment rates and supporting extended families within Mongolia. Learn more about our initiatives: Empowering Mongolian Women and Supporting Male Drivers.
Community and Herding Family Support: Our trips are designed to benefit Mongolian herding families and local communities that we have formed long-term local community partnerships with without disrupting their lives or work. Our sustained support helps these families face the challenges posed by climate change. Discover more about us.
Climate Emergency Advocacy: As members of Tourism Declares A Climate Emergency and signatories of the Glasgow Declaration, we are committed to finding solutions to the climate crisis. We pioneer regenerative tourism practices that minimize our carbon footprint and contribute positively to our planet’s well-being. Learn about our climate initiatives: Climate Emergency.
Included in the tour:
All meals outside of the city of Ulaanbaatar. Mainly prepared and cooked by your local team so they are fresh and it means we offer more flexibility for any dietary requirements. We also provide filtered drinking water (not bottled), tea and coffee.
In Ulaanbaatar: local lunch and welcome drink on city walking tour
Local team of English speaking female Mongolian trip assistant and Mongolian male driver
All overland transportation throughout the trip (4×4 Russian Furgon van + fuel)
Each vehicle has a charger for cameras and phones
Free (informal and relaxed) city walking tour of Ulaanbaatar
Transportation to and from the airport on arrival and departure days
All activities mentioned PLUS any activities offered including
Camel or horseback rides
Entrance fees to monasteries, temples and museums (when with local team) – excludes camera tickets
Festival tickets if festival is highlighted in itinerary
For winter trips, we also provide each traveller with one of our traditional hand made goatskin blankets. These are used by most rural Mongolians and go on top of the sleeping bag. They are fantastic insulation. Also, you get a pair of Mongolian felt boots to wear during your time in Mongolia. These are commonly used by herders and insulate the feet much better than western-style hiking boots and socks can do. They are waterproof. About the cold, predicted winter temperatures could scare at first sight, but it is a very dry cold and with good preparation (as in the right clothing including thermals) minus 25 ° C could be compared with – 5 ° C in Europe. We look after you!
Not included in the tour:
International airfare to and from Mongolia
Accommodation in Ulaanbaatar
* Our trip pricing excludes the price of accommodation in UB though. Why? Everyone is different is the standard of accommodation they prefer at the start and end of a trip. As there is now such a variety of hotels in UB it is easier to exclude this cost. I provide a list of ideas covering varying standards and budgets and I can also help with booking. There’s everything from a homestay through to Airbnb, US$10 guesthouses and the Shangri-La!
Domestic flight where/if applicable
*If you are travelling by domestic flight, the schedule and cost of the domestic flights have not yet been determined by the Mongolian airlines. Once you have booked this trip, you will be notified directly by us as soon as that info becomes available. Reservations and payment arrangements for any domestic flight will be coordinated by us.
Passport and visa fees
Let us know your nationality at the time of booking and we’ll confirm whether you need to apply for a Mongolian visa. It is a relatively easy process depending on your nationality and we can help with some of the formalities.
Travel insurance (mandatory)
Gratuities
*Each member of the local team receives a responsible but fair salary and none have to rely on receiving gratuities to supplement their income. In addition, we make sure that everyone who works with us or helps us is fairly rewarded for their work and the service they provide. At the end of the tour, if you wish to make a gratuity to the local team then thank you – it is not compulsory but it is appreciated when given. If you would like to provide a tip, a tip for the drivers would be roughly equal to what you would give to the tour guides – anything from $20 (USD) per member of staff (driver & tour guide) is a good minimum guide.
No domestic flights. Emissions per km for domestic flights are high because a large proportion of the flight is spent taking off and landing. As we are serious about tackling the carbon footprint of the trips we offer, we try that a majority of our experiences don’t include domestic flights.
We only offer a very limited number of departures for this experience. Although we all love spending time in nature, we need to strike a balance. By having a limited number of departures each year we’re not creating a tourism circuit.
The maximum group size is six which is refreshingly small for the travel industry and allows us to manage our impact.
The experience has been built with a focus on Mongolian culture and on creating local benefits for local people & communities including families we work in long-term local community partnership with – helping to supplement their income to help prevent urban migration, face the challenges of climate change and allowing them to maintain their fragile herding lifestyle. More about who we work with.
Our team of female Mongolian trip assistants is breaking down barriers in tourism and leading the way for other Mongolian women from a diverse range of backgrounds to work in and be supported by tourism. Mongolia’s growing economy has not directly translated into better employment opportunities for women and by choosing to travel with us you’re helping us to create long-term development and employment opportunities for our brilliant trip assistants.
High unemployment rates and toxic masculinity are two very real issues faced by older more traditional men in Mongolia. By choosing to travel with us you’re helping us to provide long-term employment for our team of older, more traditional male drivers who have experience and accumulated knowledge but who would otherwise struggle to find employment and provide for their extended families.
We are in the process of measuring the carbon footprint of each experience we offer and balancing the footprint through the Mongolian Nomad Carbon Project. We wanted a high-standard project local to Mongolia where the local community had a positive say in the scheme and its impact. It’s the first project of its kind in Mongolia.
A donation is made to the Mongolian projects we support and that you will visit such as the Uuliin Nuur Community Project in Ulaanbaatar.
We are members of Tourism Declares A Climate Emergency and a signatory of The Glasgow Declaration which requires us to publish an annual Climate Action Plan. It also means we have essentially signed up to work towards halving our emissions by 2030. We must report publicly on an annual basis on progress against our interim and long-term targets, as well as on actions being taken. We do this in our Climate Action Plan linked above.
One of the five pathways defined in the Glasgow Declaration is ‘measure’ and we have started the process of measuring the carbon footprint of our tours.
- We wanted an accurate footprint analysis whilst also keeping the process manageable, achievable, and affordable. Of the limited carbon calculators available to small tourism companies with a restricted budget we have signed up with the carbon calculator tool Carmacal – specifically designed for tour operators and the 2017 winner of the UNWTO Award for Innovation in Research and Technology.
- However, there are limitations with this online tool in the fact that – like most online carbon calculators – you can only measure transport and accommodation and a few very specific activities. But, the main contributors to carbon footprints are food, consumption, transportation, and energy, and all are heavily utilised during a tourism experience.
- As a result, founder Jess has worked with two postgraduate students from the Responsible Tourism Management Postgraduate Course of Leeds Beckett University in the UK – the only responsible tourism management MSc certified by the UNWTO – looking at how we can measure the carbon emissions of meals on tour as well as the carbon footprint of our office as well as certain tour activities.
Balancing Our Carbon Footprint
We are in the process of measuring the carbon footprint of each of our tours. Once this is complete, we will balance those emissions by purchasing Plan Vivo–certified carbon certificates (environmental service certificates that each represent the reduction or avoidance of one metric tonne of CO₂) through C-Level and the Mongolian Nomad Project, delivered in partnership with the Mongolian Society of Range Management. The Plan Vivo Standard is built on ethical principles that deliver long-term climate, livelihood, and biodiversity benefits.
In the meantime, we have partnered with C-Level to fund a secure carbon calculator (linked below) for our guests. Through this, you can:
Balance the footprint of your flights
Offset a chosen amount of CO₂ (including your annual footprint)
Or make a direct donation to support the project’s work
Each contribution is invested in Plan Vivo Certificates that support the Mongolian Nomad Project
We know this isn’t perfect, but it is a start. As the saying goes: “you can’t manage what you don’t measure.” For us — a small business with limited resources — this approach is both realistic and achievable.
‘The impression I got about your commitment to responsible tourism was one of the things but that made me want to travel with your company. I would recommend the company because it is ethical, it allows you to have a bespoke trip either on your own or with a very small group, and it offers an authentic experience. Everything felt natural and not orchestrated. I liked it that there was variety and every place was different, but also that we weren’t whizzing from one place to another.’
