Nurbol.

Wonderful tour Everything as planned and better than i expected

David

October 2026

I was travelling in the Altai region for 14 days from mid November to beginning of December. Nurbol and his driver are brilliant. They picked me up at the airport in Ölgi and first we had lunch where he explained the entire itinerary with the option to change it on the way depending the host families flexibility. We stayed at 6 families in total and every stay was just so welcoming. We went eagle hunting by foot and by horse in rocky mountains. We had clear blue skies and a magnificent winter landscape. I got to see and experience so many things about the eagle hunters and how they live. Nurbol was always helpful and I enjoyed every single day of this adventurous trip. I could always take my pictures and fly with my drone. Just keep in mind to bring warm clothes as the coldest we had was around -30°C :) Due to the fact that he grew up in that region he can tell you a lot of stories and how life is in Western Mongolia. Thank you again Nurbol and Kenjebek and all the families who contributed to this experience. I will come back to Mongolia and for sure will get in touch with you again. All the best!

Hello Mr. Nurbol, It was a great week to spend with your wonderful team, we enjoyed everything - the sites, the weather, the food, the accommodations and over all the organization of the tour. thank you very much !

Was really a lifetime experience at the Altai Tavan Bogd Nationalpark. Nurbol and his very nice team did a great job! They have also a very nice new built tourist ger camp with hot shower :)

Excellent team and organization, super recommended!!!

I got to visit Ulgii for a short trip in July. Our group was picked up from the airport right on time by Nurbol and his driver. He took us aroung the center of Ulgii and the next day we headed to eagle hunter Jenisbek`s family in Saksai village. We had a full day of good activities, talking to the host family, sharing a local dish and of course, taking photos with the eagle. Nurbol was knowledgeable, kind and understanding since our group included three little kids. We had an amazing time in Olgii thanks to Nurbol! Thanks again.

I recently completed a four-day tour organized by Nurbol which included numerous activities surrounding the Eagle Festival which is held in the Kazakh region of Mongolia each year. He made all the local arrangements for me and ensured I was pickup at the airport and transferred to my hotel. From there I was introduced to my driver with a large SUV and to my personal guide Ms. Asyeli who was very charming, knowledgeable and spoke English very well, as well as Kazakh and Mongolian. I spent the first two days traveling in the region, cross country and met with two nomad families who practice eagle hunting and will be attending the festival. This included the traditional meal with family which was prepared by my guide. This was followed by an excellent demonstration on the art of Eagle hunting was also provided by our host, and I was able to capture the moment on film. We also had the privilege to track Argyle sheep up a mountain in difficult terrain with the assistance of a local herdsman who was recruited on the moment and knew where a few of them were located after I expressed the sudden desire to see some. I spent two days at the festival, wondering about taking pictures and meeting with other tourist and talking to participants with the ever attentive Ms. Asyeli beside me who ensure I was well-taken care. Nurbol also arranged for meals to be prepared and served when I was ready, in order not to distract from the activities going on. There is much to be said for having your own personal team. An avid photographer I was able to ask the driver to stop as often as I wished to take pictures or to change direction in order to capture the right moment. He was always accommodating and eventually able to anticipate my desire based on my reaction. With both Ms. Asyeli and Nurbol been local individuals I was provided with insight information and guidance that I would not have had otherwise. They were also able to juggle the schedule and make last minute changes based on circumstances. Travelers must always come prepared and be ready to expect the unexpected, especially in a country so vast as Mongolia where the climate can cause havoc on the best of intentions. I decided to hire local and was well rewarded with excellent service, care, and consideration. I recommend the team to anyone looking for that personal service.

Nurbol provided a great logistic support during our ski mountaineering trip in Tavan Bogd and Tsambaragav. Nurbol and his team arranged the transport with very good vans, the food with an absolutely amazing cook and they helped us in exploring their beautiful country when the conditions for skiing were not good. Our experience with them was very positive and we do recommend them.

Reliable Agency, great service and wonderful people....... what more?

This is for the more adventurous spirit and possibly unlike anything else. We stayed in a ger and the temperatures were in the 20`s during the night. The people of NW Mongolia are nomadic ,friendly and welcome your participation in the event. The roads are bumpy and dirt but this does not present a problem to viewing the Eagle hunters , on their horse, as the compete for the honor of winning. The prize is bragging rights and maybe an extra portion of fermented mares milk. Our group had excellent food and met many of the hunters while experiencing the ability to hold an Eagle on your arm. Layers of clothing an the ability to accept the unexpected will help you enjoy the introduction to the Kazak people of Mongolia .It does take time to travel to the festival so go with a highly rated tour company.

We went ski touring with some friends in the Altai during the three first weeks of April with Nurbol. Nurbol picked us up at the small airport of Olgiy with a driver. After buying supplies at the market of Olgiy, we started our journey to the inaccessible but beautiful Altai Mountains. It took about 8 hours of driving to get from Olgiy to the entrance of the Tavan Bogd National Park. The road is bumpy and sinuous but the driver was very competent and the landscapes are beautiful. Nurbol also puts on some Mongolian music and has always some good jokes to tell so the ride seemed very short. When we arrived at Tavan Bogd National Park, we just had the time to pitch the yourte before night fell. Nurbol had brought some meet and a bottle of vodka with him so we had the pleasure to eat and drink together with the local breeder who had helped us with the yourte. Nurbol and his driver then went back to Olgiy while we began exploring the Altai Mountains. We spent two weeks alone, just two friends in the vastness of the Mongalian Altai. We spent our days exploring the mountains around the yourthe and we made it to the top of a few summits. We spent the evenings in our cozy yourthe cooking and reading books. After two weeks we were joined by 3 other friends who were also brought from Olgiy by Nurbol and his driver. With the help of Nurbol and a local guide we then set up a second yourte higher in the moutains to reach higher summits. Thanks to this advanced camp we made it to some great summits as the Malchin Peak. After 1 week in the second gear, I went down to the valley and I was brought back to Olgiy by Nurbol`s driver. 1 of my friends came back with me while the three others stayed for one more week. Nurbol`s organisation was great along the whole trip. He was on time for every traject to and from Olgiy and provided us with all the necessary stuff for our stay in the mountains. As said above, Nurbol is always very friendly and polite, and his has very good contacts with the locals. I must however indicate that we were completely autonomous for our ski expeditions. Nurbol took the trajects and the accomodation in charge but we used no guide for our expeditions in the Altai. It was a great and beautiful trip in what I consider as of one the most beautiful and remote places on earth. Nurbol made this trip possible and I`m very grateful to him for his great organization.

Great adventure in Mongolia! It wouldn`t have been possible without Indy Guide & Nurbol`s assistance. I made a post on Indy Guide asking for a very specific trip to be arranged. This was to be a multi-day trip on horseback following an eagle hunter through the Altai mountains. My request was for a minimalist set-up where just a few horses, eagle, and hunter would be provided. We brought our own camping gear, food, and water which we attached to an extra horse. Nurbol contacted me and was very detailed in what he could provide. He offered a reasonable price compared to what other tour operators asked. He was responsive and knowledgeable in all communications. Most importantly, he found the perfect eagle hunter for us, Esen. Nurbol speaks english very well and I would recommend anyone travelling to western Mongolia contact him. I would be confident in Nurbol`s ability to assist with arranging any itinerary. If planning to visit an Eagle Hunter or ride across the Altai mountains, be sure to request Esen.

I have just come back from a 19 day tour with Nurbol covering Altai mountains and Gobi desert in Mongolia. I was on this tour with a friend and unfortunately we were severely disappointed in the quality. When we arrived at Ulgii airport, Nurbol and our first driver Nurbek collected us and off we headed for a week in the Altai mountains with our cook Janka also. He informed us that he does tour guiding part time in this annual leave from working in a bank. He later said that when he designed the itinerary for this region he thought we were coming in June and July (not sure why, it had always been May) and so some areas we were not able to visit due to the snow. Despite this, the trip to Altai was reasonable and there were only two hiccups: 1. He failed to navigate us back to the homestay on one of our walks and so I stepped in with Maps Me on realising none of the scenery was familiar (we had overshot by 810m) 2. Poor planning on a different walk resulted in piggy backs across a half frozen river as being the only way to get across with dry feet before the sun went down After the Altai mountains, we headed back to Ulgii for one night to restock and then started our journey towards the Gobi desert. It was at this point that Nurbol informed us he had never been to the Gobi desert before and things started to deteriorate significantly. Nurbol was unbelievably unprepared for this journey, he was rude and seemed utterly incapable of understanding the simplest of questions. I will list below what I consider the failings of this trip: 1. Poor planning: we frequently arrived after dark at our destination having had an unnecessarily late start for a long day of driving and with no precise plan of where to stay. On one occasion he seemed unaware of a dotted line of a map being a dried up river and so when this became apparent on arriving in the village he suggested driving a further 70km on dirt road to another hopeful place - we ended up driving till sunset and camping by the road. 2. Inadequate research: at the sand dunes in the Gobi desert he camped us initially in a protected area so when rangers turned up a few hours later we had to move camp but he was again unclear on where to camp so driving around in the dark to pick a spot took considerable time. He did not know the flaming cliffs were the same as Bayanzang and tried to fob us off that there were a taller more famous set at a different location either further south than where we were going or in a town just south of UB (he was inconsistent with this fact). When we arrived in a village near Bayanzang he headed off in the wrong direction and seemed totally baffled when I requested to be taken towards the fire like cliffs in the distance that fitting with the location of Bayanzang on Maps Me (again saving the day). He fed us erroneous facts at historic sites (e.g. that Ongiin Khidd was built in 1919, its more like 1790) or just read out the signs that were written in English. A museum he tried to take us to was also closed. He also had the location of Hustai national park in entirely the wrong place on his map and it was only after I pointed this out that he corrected this. 3. Unprofessional and rude: at no point did Nurbol apologise sincerely for any of the errors or inconveniences along this journey. He often told us to be quiet when we were trying to clarify plans and laughed along with our second driver as he translated sexually inappropriate comments that he was making towards us. He appeared to treat this more of his holiday than ours in that he was drinking beer after lunch in the car on more than one occasion and we frequently had to wait for him at view points to finish takings his photos - at the sand dunes this felt like almost an hour. He also seem to think he had the authority to allow strangers to take photos with us and even after explaining that we found this very rude he still met his sister and brother in law at a petrol station purely so they could take a photo with the two of us. Given the cost of $247/day between the two of us we felt we had been thoroughly ripped off so at the end of the trip we asked for a 16% discount (the amount we had left to pay in cash). Nurbol did not in any way engage in this discussion. He still did not apologise he just said it "was fine" that we weren`t happy with the quality but we still had to pay. When we tried further to push the point he tried to run off with out backpacks - stopped only by the kind hotel manager who was in the foyer. Nurbol then tried to move his things into the hotel saying he was going to wait for us to pay and then he called the police. We`re not sure the police would really have been that interested but given how tired and in need of a shower we were we decided at this point to pay him the remaining money to avoid anymore hassle. I should say that I have no criticism of Janka or Nurbek who were both excellent. I would suggest you consider specifying a modern landrover/jeep as opposed to a russian van if you want any comfort, seatbelt or temperature control though. In summary, DO NOT BOOK a tour with Nurbol.