Gobi Desert Tour Insights: What Awaits Your Adventure

If you are interested in visiting the famous Gobi Desert, then the best recommendation I can give you is to book a Gobi Desert tour. Numerous travel agencies in Mongolia offer a variety of tours through Mongolia.

These tours range from visiting the desert and steppes of the Gobi, to exploring the reindeer herders in the snow during winter.

Given the nomadic culture of Mongolia, booking through a tour is the easiest way to travel through Mongolia. As there are highways that go directly between the major cities, however most of the other roads are still just back dirt roads between the small towns and major attractions.

Traveling by a Tour Agency

So what to expect during your Gobi Desert tour through a tour agency?

From what I saw, most are pretty similar. I was solo traveling, but saw a couple of other travel agencies at the airport and at the variety of Ger Camps that we stayed at.

Most will provide a driver, a translator, and then a vehicle (which varies depending on the size of the group). These two people will travel with you during the entire trip, and be your tour guides. Each day you will most likely check into a different Tourist Ger Camp that the agency arranges for you.

I normally arrange all my travels myself, but I really couldn’t figure out how to get to Ulaanbaatar by myself, and get to the sites that are all fairly far from one another. You really won’t find much guidance on how to explore Mongolia other than by tour agency.

This was my first experience with a tour agency, and I did like that I did not have to arrange anything for once, and that was perfect for a quick sightseeing tour of the Gobi.

Differences in Tour Agencies

The main difference I saw in the tour agency was either language – in that some spoke Korean, Chinese, etc or the level of luxury a client is looking for during their trip. There was some more “backpacker” kind of tour groups, and then there were ones that wanted to stay at luxury Gers.

Ultimately, I think you will be safe arranging with just about any tour agency – as I noticed that they were incredibly flexible to meet whatever your schedule or ideal itinerary was. For example, my tour guide one time just cooked and set up tents for a couple that hiked across the Sand Dunes for a week straight – she said she only ever saw them in the evening when they descended the dunes and ate then went to sleep.

Some tour agencies

• View Mongolia – this is the tour company that I used and they were super helpful (I booked a week out to do the tour)
• Mongolia Short Tour

Gobi Desert Tours

I opted for a Gobi Desert tour, as when I hear Mongolia, I think of the Gobi Sand Dunes. Therefore, I was determined to check them out while I am exploring Asia.

I will outline here what an itinerary for the tour looked like, and what to expect. As mentioned previously, it seemed that most of the tour agencies had either identical or similar itineraries.

For the purpose of this blog post though, I will be writing about my experience with View Mongolia three-day Gobi Tour.

Transportation and Accommodation

As previously stated, you will be transported by a driver in either a van, SUV, or even a bus if your group is large enough. The vehicle is reserved just for your party.

Accommodation will be at tourist gers. These gers (which some may refer to as yurts) are around all the major attractions in Mongolia. The camps vary from simple to luxury. Speak to your tour agent about the budget and what type of accommodation you would like during your trip.

Getting to the Gobi

The Gobi is a large providence in southern Mongolia. There are no international flights that land at the small airport – therefore you will have to arrive in Ulaanbaatar and then catch an early morning flight down to Dalanzadgad. There is also the option of driving, which is much cheaper however adds an additional 6 hours to the trip.

The trip to the Gobi starts at 6 am, and with arrival at around 8 am in the morning in the Gobi. From the airport, you are picked up to start the drive through the variety of the Gobi.

Day One: The Flaming Cliffs

The first day is a trip over the barren steppe landscape of the Gobi to the Flaming Cliffs. Along the way, you will see a variety of farm animals (horse, sheep primarily) out free-roaming the grass. The back dirt roads that lead to the Flaming Cliffs will have the occasional ger but overall the landscape is very barren and flat other than the mountain landscape in the distance.

The Flaming Cliffs earned their fame due to the discovery of dinosaur eggs in the 1920s. This was the first time that dinosaur eggs had ever been discovered.

Another great aspect of the Flaming Cliffs is being able to explore along the cliffsides and enjoy the views out over the valley with the beautiful orange and red rock.

You will most likely spend the afternoon exploring the area, and then if the weather is participating visit the Flaming Cliffs again at sunset to see how the colors change as the sun sets.

Day Two: The Khongor Sand Dunes

I won’t lie, I was surprised when the plane flew over and I exited the airport. When I had pictured the Gobi, I just expected desert and sand dunes. There is actually much more variety to the Gobi than the sand dunes which this tour shows.

However, no Gobi Desert tour would be complete without a visit to the iconic Khongor Sand Dunes – also known as the singing dunes. These dunes are what most imagine when referencing the Gobi: massive piles of sand dunes, rolling through the distance.

These dunes are where you will spend day two. After traveling through the mountain landscape to reach the sheltered dunes. You will have the chance to eat lunch at the ger, and then if you are interested to go on a camel ride. As this is where you will see some of the domesticated camels!

After an afternoon at the ger, then you will be transported to the Khongor Sand Dunes and have the opportunity to hike (or climb) to the summit of the dune to see across the rolling sand. The hike is exhausting, but the views from the top make the hike worth the effort.

Day Three: Eagle Valley

Another different landscape to explore on day three as you are taken deep into the mountains. The valley and canyon of Eagle Valley are not what I ever imagined I would see in Gobi, Mongolia.

The hike through the Eagle Valley is your chance to see some of the wildlife of Mongolia. Up until this point, unless you were lucky, you most likely will see farm animals (cow, sheep, horses, camel, goats – what Mongolian’s call the five farm animals). Now you will have the opportunity to see the wild side of Mongolia animals from Pika, Ibixes to the famed eagle.

The hike through Eagle Valley is relaxing, and easy making it a great final day trip after climbing the sand dunes the day before.

However, this is also the furthest point of the trip. I was able to receive phone service (international) at all the other locations however this is the one area where I had absolutely no service – and tourist gers typically do not have wifi!

Packing List

For a Gobi Desert tour here is the packing list that I would recommend bringing to make for ease of travel – note this is a packing list for a short trip.

• Backpackers bag – there are no sidewalks when you are out during this tour. Most gers will have carts to carry bags to rooms, but it just always seemed weird to me to see a roller bag at yurt.
• Book or downloaded TV/Movies – there will be a lot of time between the destinations (2 to 4 hours of driving). Your tour guide will try to have discussions but sometimes you can just chill. The Gers don’t have service typically, so during the rest periods at a ger you may want something to occupy your time with like a book.
• Portable Battery Pack – this is great for charging your phone during the trip. Some of my gers had outlets, but one did not. I never needed to use one though as I had this portable battery pack to charge my phone and camera with.
• Flashlight/headlamp – staying at the Ger is like camping a bit, where there is a public bathroom and shower set. In the middle of the night, it was good to have a light to get there, or when in your ger after sundown.
• Protective bags – either a Ziplock for your phone or waterproof casing for cameras. I went through all the elements while visiting the Gobi, it down poured one day, and then was very windy when I was on the sand dunes. It is always good to protect your electronics and with the outdoor nature of this trip, a protective element will be incredibly important.