Naadam festival and general info | Mongolia - Lonely Planet Forum

anonymous

ONLINE

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 10:18:17 +0000

Hi, im looking into re-visiting Mongolia this summer (probably the entire 30 days visa during the month of July) and was looking for some advice :)

Firstly, am i correct that the Naadam festival is July 11th -13th? Is it just these 3 days or do the events go on longer and unscheduled? I presume you need to pre book tickets for the arena in Ulaan Batur? How can i do this? Is this the best place to witness the festival, or is it better in the countryside?

Secondly, a little advice on peoples opinions of the highlights of Mongolia! I was there in November 2006 for a couple of weeks and took a tour with Ulaan Batar GH out to West Lake, which i really loved. It was for 6 days and we had 6 people in our group and the cost was approximately $100 each + lodgings of a few dollars a night - no more than $20 a day all included. To take similar trips is this still roughly the price? Can anyone recommend similar trips? I understand there is one to the Gobi, so that would be a week, so where would be good for the other three weeks? At this time of the year, im hoping the flowers will be in bloom, making the landscape vibrant. Therefore i'm certainly interested in scenery and visiting local familes. I've traveled extensively in Central Asia, and always enjoyed encounters with local familes in out of the way places! Also, how about the eagle hunters? Where and when can i have an encounter with them!? Basically are there any places people think i really should not miss :D

I appreciate the time for reading this and look forward to hearing back about your favourite places and experiences :)

Phil

ONLINE

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:31:26 +0000

Nadaam in UB is July 11-13. I am pretty sure that it does not extend beyond that but there are smaller nadaam festivals in other parts of the country. Some precede UB and others follow it.
Prices for trips from UB are more expensive now as petrol and other costs have risen. Last summer I think reports here suggest that they averaged 45-75 USD per day per person for a vehicle with 4-5 people, driver plus guide.

There are a couple of threads about Western Mongolia here on the TT. I would provide the links but I am not at my computer. I posted them relatively recently though so try searching. You could easily spend a couple of weeks taking public tranport to Western Mongolia and then arranging some travel there and flying back to UB. Here is one report: Western Mongolia

Ruth

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Thu, 01 Apr 2010 14:11:16 +0000

The Gobi desert is meant to be pretty amazing, lake Khovsgul is beautiful, Arkhangai and Khan Khentii have also been mentioned to me as beautiful, along with Bayan Ulgii. These are my top hits for my travels this summer. I have been in contact with travel agents and $50 is the lowest Ive been told for a Russian minivan with 6 people all inclusive. I assume if you cook for yourself or pay for everything separately then you can reduce the price a little but not much.

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anonymous

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Thu, 01 Apr 2010 17:51:18 +0000

I contacted Ulaan Baatar Guest House who i used for my last tour in 2006 - they were excellent back then and i still hear good things now.

For a 7 day trip the price for jeep with driver/guide, food, accomodation, horse riding, park entrance fee, road tax etc etc is only $32 per day per person for a group of 5. This is not so different from last time and seems far cheaper than what other people are suggesting - which is $45 just for the van and driver. UB is $22 per day, per person for just a driver and van - the other $10 covers other activities.

Like i said, i used them before and they were excellent, so i think i will try them again.

They can also buy Naadam tickets in advance for you.

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