EDGE OF THE WILD CYCLING TOUR

ITINERARY

• Arrival in Ulaanbaatar. Tour briefing and welcome dinner

  Upon arrival in Ulaanbaatar meet with your guide and transfer to a 4-star hotel in the city center. Depending on your arrival time you may enjoy an opportunity to explore the capital city where almost half of Mongolia’s 3 million inhabitants reside today. You will certainly feel the vibrancy of recent changes towards modernity. Meet with the rest of the group at welcome dinner and get an informal introduction to the cycling tour ahead of you. Overnight at the hotel. (Dinner, hotel)

• Bike to Khan Khenty wilderness area (45km +690m / 28 miles +2260ft)

  After breakfast meet with your support team and transfer to a giant mounted statue of Genghis Khaan outside of the city. Enjoy a panoramic view of mountains and grasslands from an observation deck on the horse’s head and start cycling. We cycle on clear car tracks running across grassy valleys and gentle hills with wooded slopes. While pedaling you can get a glimpse of a way of life which hasn’t seemingly changed in centuries. Large flocks of and goats as well as horses and cattle graze alongside the way and white mushroom-like homes of nomadic Mongols can be seen in twos or threes. After lunch we climb to the day’s highest point at 1887m, the gateway to Khan Khenty wilderness area that marks the southern edge of the Siberian mountain forest ecosystem. A long descent on rocky surface brings us to a riverside with high willow growth and wooded mountains as the backdrop. This will be our campsite. (Breakfast, lunch, dinner, tent)

• Bike to Bayangol valley (66km +790m /41 miles +2590ft)

  Bear, wolf, lynx and boar inhabit the depths of the wilderness area but as well herbivores such as elk, a few kinds of deer and the many fur animals typical to boreal forest. But of course, it’s not realistic to encounter the wild animals in warm seasons and especially on trails trodden by human beings but yet you acutely feel the immensity of the wilderness. The whole of the morning we ride along the lush riverside on predominantly smooth tracks yet with some muddy and rocky sections. The day’s high point brings us to the edge of the wilderness which we glance at for the last time before riding downhill for 20km. The wide valley here is populated by many nomadic people. We take a chance to satisfy your curiosity by stopping at a nomadic house to learn about “whats, hows and whys” of the traditional way of life. You may get a chance to taste milky tea, sample dairy products and depending on availability try a sip of fermented horse milk. (Breakfast, lunch, dinner, tent)

• Bike to “The XIII century Mongolia” complex (41km +600m / 25 miles +1970ft)

  We continue riding across more open grassland to historic complex called "The XIII century Mongolia". As the names suggests it consists of several stations displaying different aspects of Mongolia’s medieval life. You can see here what a Khan’s camp would have been like back in the XIII century or postal station, or a shaman’s camp. You can have your names written down in traditional vertical writing or have your photo taken dressed as a medieval Mongol nobleman, or try your hand on traditional archery. We leisurely visit a few stations before pedaling out of the complex to our camp site nearby. (Breakfast, lunch, dinner, tent)

• Bike to open grassland (50km +690m / 31 miles +2260ft)

  Gentle climbs alternate with rolling descents to open grasslands with mountain slopes dotted with scenic rock formations in the background. From the highest point at 1830m there open views of vast steppes. The last 20km are easy pedaling across grasslands most commonly associated with Mongolia. We enjoy the last lunch in the outdoors, load bikes and transfer back to Ulaanbaatar. At farewell dinner tonight we celebrate your mountain biking adventure in Mongolia. (Breakfast, lunch, dinner, hotel)

• Departure transfer

  Transfer to Ulaanbaatar airport for your return journey home. (Breakfast)