Wild Mongolia
with Tugi
← 2026 Season
Mongolia's remote west · Five Holy Peaks
AltaiTavan Bogd
Glaciers, twin alpine lakes, Kazakh eagle hunters, 4,000-year-old petroglyphs. Flight in from UB, everything handled. The most remote tour I run — and the one most travellers come back for.
Duration6 daysDepartures2 / seasonFlightIncludedPrice$900
Tavan Bogd massif
View from the Ukok Plateau
Duration
6 days
Departures
2 in 2026
Group
5 – 7
Region
Western Mongolia
Price
$900
Co-host
Kazakh local
August departure·Aug 3 – 8, 2026·6 days
A letter from Tugi
Mongolia’s wildest corner, all included.
The Altai is where Mongolia meets Russia, Kazakhstan, and China in a single mountain range. It's not like anywhere else in the country — the people are Kazakh, the culture is eagle-hunters, and the peaks start above 4,000 m.
I run this as the budget version on purpose. We fly you from UB to Ölgii so no wasted drive days, stay with nomad families (not fancy hotels), eat what they eat, and cover the absolute highlights — Khoton Lake, Baga Turgen waterfall on horseback, the Potanin Glacier viewpoint, petroglyphs older than the pyramids.
Everything is included — flight, food, guides, horses, permits. You bring your boots and a warm layer. I hand off to a local Altai co-host the moment we land in Ölgii; you get the warmth of a personal tour AND the depth of someone who grew up in this specific landscape.
— Tugi
Itinerary
Four days on the ground, two on the wing.
01
UB → Ölgii · Khoton Lake
📍Ulaanbaatar·Ölgii·Eagle-hunter family·Khoton Lake shore
🚐🛕🛖
Morning flight west to Ölgii (~3 hours). Scenic 170 km drive to the twin Khoton–Khurgan lakes. Stop with an eagle-hunter family — hold the eagle. Night with a nomad family on the shore.
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Flight from UB to Ölgii is the cheapest way to start — the alternative is a 3-day drive. Once we land, scenic 170 km west to the lakes. We stop with a Kazakh eagle-hunter family; you can hold the bird if you want (heavy). Sleep in a family ger on the lakeshore.
02
Horse ride · Baga Turgen Waterfall
📍Khoton Lake·Baga Turgen Waterfall·Family camp
🐎🥾🌊🛖
Saddle up on Mongolia's tough little horses. 22 km round-trip to the waterfall, ~6 hours total. Forest, icy rivers, green pasture, snow-line at the China border. Drive to another family camp to stay.
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Mongolian horses are stockier and tougher than they look — they handle the rocky trails fine. The ride to Baga Turgen passes through larch forest, fords a few icy streams, and ends at a 30m waterfall basically at the China border. Long day in the saddle but easy pace. Family camp for the night.
03
Northern Altai Tavan Bogd
📍Family camp·High passes·Yak Milk River·Ranger station camp
🚐🏔️
Drive deep into the national park. High passes, hour-by-hour shifts in terrain, the Yak Milk White River. Night with a nomad family near the ranger station.
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This is the day the landscape really opens up. We climb through high passes; the colour of the rock changes every hour. The Yak Milk River is exactly what it sounds like — milk-white glacial runoff. Sleep with a nomad family near the ranger station, deep inside the park.
04
Sacred Ovoo · Potanin Glacier
📍Ranger station·Sacred Ovoo viewpoint·Potanin Glacier·Petroglyph site
🥾🏔️🛕
10 km to the sacred Ovoo — the viewpoint for the Five Holy Peaks and the Potanin Ice Glacier. Optional 3.5 km hike to the glacier. Return to Ölgii via 3,000–4,000 BC petroglyphs.
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Big day. The hike to the Ovoo is moderate — 10 km out, 2,500m elevation, mostly walking grade. From there, the Five Holy Peaks of Tavan Bogd are right in front of you. Optional extension to the glacier itself adds 3.5 km and gets you onto the ice. Back to Ölgii via Bronze Age petroglyphs on the way.
05
Ölgii · rest + culture
📍Ölgii bazaar·Kazakh artisan studios·Museum of Natural History
🏙️🛕🍴
Recovery day. Explore Ölgii bazaar, meet Kazakh artisans, visit the Museum of Natural History. Dinner at a local spot.
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Ölgii is the most distinctly Kazakh town in Mongolia — different language, different food, different mosques. The bazaar is the centre of life. We visit a couple of artisans (embroidery, leather), the museum has a small but worthwhile exhibit, and dinner is somewhere local — usually beshbarmak.
06
Ölgii → UB
📍Ölgii airport·Ulaanbaatar
🚐🏙️
Morning flight back east. Arrive in UB by afternoon with time for a shower before your onward plans.
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Morning flight back to UB. We drop you at your hotel or the airport, whichever your next stop is. About 3 hours door-to-door.
Western landscape
The Five Holy Peaks.
“The eagle weighs about seven kilos and she looks at you like you’re prey. It’s the longest ten seconds of the trip.”
Co-host on this tour
A local Altai guide joins the group.
The Altai is its own world — Kazakh instead of Khalkh, eagle-hunter culture, mountains above 4,000 m. I travel with the group from UB, but once we're in Ölgii a local co-host joins us: someone with years of direct experience in these peaks, family ties to the eagle hunters, and fluent Kazakh. You get the warmth of a personal tour AND the depth of someone who grew up in this specific landscape.
Practicals
What’s included, what to bring.
✓Included in $900
- ·Round-trip flight: Ulaanbaatar ↔ Ölgii
- ·All meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner)
- ·4×4 Russian van, driver, and fuel
- ·English/Mongolian guide (Tugi) + local Altai co-host
- ·Horses and local riding guide for Baga Turgen
- ·Ger camps and nomad family stays
- ·All park permits and site entrance fees
- ·Eagle-hunter visit fee
◇You bring
- ·Hiking boots (broken in) + blister tape
- ·Warm layer — nights drop below 5 °C even in August
- ·Rain shell (Altai weather flips fast)
- ·Sleeping bag rated to 0 °C for the ger camps
- ·Headlamp, sunhat, sunscreen, lip balm
- ·Altitude is up to ~3,000 m — flag any heart conditions
- ·A 40 L duffel (no hard suitcases)
Altai is physically the most demanding of our tours. The horse day is 6 hours in the saddle; the glacier hike is 3.5 km each way at altitude. Most ages handle it — just come with something in the tank.
Before you apply
Answers to the usual questions.
Is the flight really included?+
Yes. Round-trip UB ↔ Ölgii is built into the $900 price. Flight tickets go non-refundable ~45 days before departure, so if you need to cancel after that the flight portion is forfeit.
How cold does it get?+
Days 10–20 °C, nights can drop to 0–5 °C. The wind is the real factor — it cuts through thin layers. Wool or synthetic mid-layer + wind shell beats any fleece.
Do I have to ride a horse?+
The Baga Turgen day is on horseback with a local guide leading. If you really can't ride, we can swap it for a shorter hike — but the waterfall is the highlight and the horses are famously gentle.
Is the eagle hunter real or a show?+
Real. We visit a hunting family that actually uses their eagles for winter hunting. Summer they're training and mostly welcoming guests like us. Most famous training grounds are within a 2-hour drive.
Can I do this + another tour?+
Yes — August Altai (Aug 3–8) leaves you ten days to recover before Gobi Glimpse (Aug 18–28). Or pair with Terelj (Aug 11–13) in between for a long, slow summer. Ask and I'll plan the combo.
Come with me
$900 per person · flight included
One departure in 2026 — Aug 3–8. Small group of 5–7. Bring a friend and save 15% each.