Stay With Nomads In Western Mongolia

About this tour

Day-by-day itinerary

What's included

What to know

One of the main tourist attractions of Mongolia is the Nomadic lifestyle as the nation has kept their unique way of life through the centuries, from the time the Mongols ruled the world. Even today, in the stimulating XXI century of science and technology, Mongolian nomads tend their livestock and move for good pasture all year around. This trip, we are offering, gives you an amazing chance to experience their culture, traditions and hospitality by living in their way of life in a Ger for a few days and share their own and unique happiness. Staying with nomad families is the best way to discover the knowledge of the centuries-old nomadic lifestyle culture. The nomads are totally self-sufficient with their five kinds of animals (horses, sheep, cattle, including yaks, goats, and camels) and move with their mobile and collapsible dwellings “gers”, in search of better pastures and water for their animals from place to place all year round. The types of domesticated animals kept by nomadic families differ depending on where they live, local weather conditions, vegetation on the pasture, and other factors. Our company organizes authentic nomad family stays to let our clients understand and experience as much as possible about the locals during their tour in the country of steppes. The nomadic stays could be 1-2 nights or even longer with one family or with different families living in different parts of Mongolia. Staying with the nomad family is mutually beneficial, as you can discover a unique way of life while feeling their heartwarming hospitality; this is also cost-effective for both nomad families and travelers alike. This is a way both travelers and our company to support the life of the nomads and ensure the longevity of the nomadic lifestyle, which is being gradually affected by modernization and urbanization. The nomad families, we choose for our customers have extra gers in which visitors can stay to enjoy privacy and comfort at night. However, some guests even opt to stay in the family’s ger. The families with extra gers are at certain locations and sometimes move to different areas. In such cases when they move to remote areas, or if clients wish to stay with nomad families in areas where we do not have nomadic partners, we arrange a stay with a local nomad family at that time, just as Mongolian travelers do; this is an example of the unique hospitality within the nomadic culture. They are happy when people visit their homes and like to share what they have and show what they do daily. While you stay with the nomad families, you can eat and learn how to make traditional meals, fresh dairy products, homemade cookies, pancakes, and bread, as well as how to tend to and milk animals and so on. It is a challenging life, especially surviving in bitter winters, where temperatures drop down to -40°C in some areas. Staying with nomads in winter is a unique experience and adventure, exclusively available in Mongolia. What to expect when you stay with the nomads? On the nomadic steppes, nobody asks permission or even needs to inform hosts of their visit in advance; this applies to visitors and locals in the community. Therefore, there could be some visitors, including children, visiting the families while you are there. They will be curious to see foreigners and stay around if possible to hear some news from the strangers. Expect a lot of meat for meals, mostly mutton, beef (sometimes camel, horse, and goat), flour products, and dairy products such as milk, yogurt, milk butter, very hard and sour dried curds, salty milk tea (black tea is available as well), sour fermented mares’ milk and sometimes vodka. We carry bottled water in case you do not like milk tea and Mongolian black tea. Please inform us in advance if you have dietary restrictions, and will gladly arrange the meals accordingly. Guests should expect lower levels of privacy and comfort than they may be accustomed to while staying with a nomadic family, including WC, shower, tap water to wash, pillows and soft beds, etc. The nomads generally do not have electricity, but some families have solar panels or battery devices for light in the evening and to possibly watch TV. Only a few of our tours include nomad family overnight stays; those can be included according to your request. During all of our tours, you visit a nomad family at least once, and you can visit the nomads as many times as you wish considering your guide and driver during your journey.

Route & locations

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia to Bayan-Ölgii, Mongolia