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So we have collated an itinerary for a 14 day trip in Northern Mongolia.

I thought I would post this up here to tap upon the collective wisdom of Travel.SE!

Any suggestions or alternatives from those who have been there before (or otherwise).

What are the other "must see" things there?

What are the other "off the beaten track" things should we explore?

Edit

As per suggestion, here are some more specifics on what I would like:

Cost: We aren't travelling on a shoestring budget - willing to spend!

Tours: No tours please - we would like to explore things on our own as far as possible!

Special interests: Any of the following would be of great interest to us:

  • Interesting architecture
  • Any buildings that are striking/ unique to Mongolia
  • Outdoors & hiking
  • Cultural immersion
  • Experiencing the local culture

Day

Place

Dist. From Previous Stop

How will we get there?

Activity/ what’s nice

1-2

Ulaanbaatar

-

Flying in from Beijing

City-ish things Night life (Lonely Planet has a 2-day itinerary for ULN which we can use!)

3

Amarbayasgalant Khiid

200 km

Four-wheel drive with driver (hired from ULN)

Star attraction in Mongolia: magnificent monastery (This is, however, a detour and can be de-prioritised if necessary.)

3

Erdenet

<100 km

Four-wheel drive with driver (hired from ULN)

Little slice of Russia in Mongolia. People speak Russian here.

4

Bulgan

50 km

Four-wheel drive with driver (hired from ULN)

One of Mongolia’s prettiest aimag capitals. Not very developed.

5

Moron

200 km

Four-wheel drive with driver (hired from ULN)

Bustling mid-sized city that’s a gateway to Khovsgol. (Airport is here.) We do not need to spend the night in Moron.

5- 10

Khovsgol

150 km

Four-wheel drive with driver (hired from ULN)

THIS IS WHERE WE WANT TO BE! Hiking, horse-riding, boating. The mountain ranges are all here. We can also experience living in Ger Camps here.

11

Moron

150 km

Hired cab/ driver from Khovsgol.

???

11

Ulaanbaatar

500 km

Flight from Moron

There are nice places to explore around ULN, away from the city. Half-day mountain biking trips available too. We can also use this time for last minute shopping for souvenirs/ gifts for family/friends.

13

Ulaanbaatar

-

Fly back to Beijing

NOTE

I do not know how to format a table using markup, so pardon the difficulty reading!

If someone would like to edit it, you have my blessings!

share|improve this question
Hi @bguiz - as per our faq - " eliciting list-style answers, suggestions or recommendations on a topic or place (unless VERY specific criteria is listed) " is not permitted. You're asking for 'must see' and 'off the track suggestions' - but without knowing what you're interested in, there are literally thousands of possible answers! Please can you edit to give us an indication of what you're interested in seeing - cost, whether you like tours or not, the more detail the better! – Mark Mayo Aug 13 '12 at 3:54
1  
@MarkMayo : Thanks for the tips, will edit accordingly! – bguiz Aug 13 '12 at 4:04
3  
Well, thousands of possible answers, considering this is about northern Mongolia, is a bit of a stretch ;) @bguiz, it seems to me you've got it down quite well. There really aren't too many specific things to see in Mongolia. The sweeping, stunning, vistas you encounter, almost everywhere, do make up for that, imho. – MastaBaba Aug 13 '12 at 6:09
Just some warning about the roads there : they are VERY bad, so you better hire a driver with a very good All terrain vehicule. – guigui42 Mar 6 at 2:03
I have a friend who used to have a project there. He suggested that if you stay long enough there, you should take the Mongolian horse riding course. – Daniel Baktiar Mar 30 at 7:24

closed as too localized by mindcorrosive♦ Apr 7 at 20:14

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