• Category: Event journey

• Places to visit: Ulaanbaatar - Ceremony Naadam Festival

 • Activities: Trekking, sightseeing, cultural visits

• Duration: 3 nights/4 days

• Covering distance: 150kms

 • Number of participants: Min-2, max-18

 • Season: July

 • Date of departures (ex. Ulaanbaatar):
2010: NF01 10Jul
2011: NF01 10Jul

July 10 Arrive in Ulaanbaatar and city sightseeing tour

Arrive in the Ulaanbaatar. Your guide will meet you at the airport and transfer to hotel. After freshen up, Gandan Monastery, where we will attend ceremony and meet with the monks. Gandan is the largest monastery and temple complex in use in Mongolia. Built in 1810, partly destroyed and reconstructed 1990, it contains one of the biggest standing Buddhas in Asia (26m high). Afternoon we will visit stadium and minor archery competitions may have started already, especially different types such as children's archery, Buryat-style archery. Enjoy traditional art performance and welcome dinner. Stay overnight in the hotel. LD

July 11 Opening Ceremony Naadam Festival

Naadam! Naadam! Mongolian national day is celebrated throughout the country. Naadam festival is opened officially by the President of Mongolia. Soldiers on horseback, sometimes dressed in Chinggis Khan warriors regalia, will get the nine white horsetail banners at the Parliament house where they are normally displayed and will then ride in procession through the city, later to be placed in the center of the National Stadium, from where we will be viewing the Opening Ceremony. At the stadium, a huge procession is held including hundreds of adults and children dressed in costumes representing Mongolia's numerous ethnic groups. The opening ceremony features a colorful show with folk music and dance, parachute show and more. The first round of wrestling will start immediately thereafter. Usually 512 wrestlers from all across Mongolia will compete in the first round! But sometimes more than 1000! After that you will see the archery competitions where contestants can only rely on his keen eye, firm hand and experience, take aim at a target of fist-sized baskets; and ankle bone shooting competition. Stay overnight in the hotel. BLD

July 12 Visit horse racing place field and Closing Ceremony

Morning we will travel to Khuu Doloon Khudag, the horse racing field. The horse races continue over the two main Naadam days. Mongol horseracing is part of a living cultural heritage, similar to the equestrian tradition that brought the Mongol armies to faraway places during medieval times. There are seven categories of races depending on the age of a horse. Two or three hundred riders ages 5-12 compete in every age category in a distance of 15 to 35km. We will see the four year old horse racing around 11 am. The horse race is actually a bit far from the barriers set up for visitors, so bring binoculars! However, the fun of attending is really seeing the locals. We can visit nomadic tented camps that have sprung up behind the race track and experience a concentration of nomadic Mongolia at one site! Herdsmen have come with their horses and all provisions for the festivities, which include airag (koumiss; fermented mares milk) for the merrymaking. Travel back to Ulaanbaatar. Visit the Zaisan Memorial Hill, erected on the 50th anniversary of the Communist Revolution-serves to honor the Soviet and Mongolian soldiers and you can see whole city Ulaanbaatar from the top of the hill. Afternoon we will be viewing the Closing Ceremony. Stay overnight in the hotel. BLD

July 13 Departure
Transfer to airport and departure. B

Included: All activities described in the itinerary, twin/double basis hotel accommodation (3 nights) in Ulaanbaatar English speaking guide service, sightseeing cost, all transfers by bus/mini bus in the city. Meals of breakfast, lunch and dinner as mentioned per day itinerary.
Excluded: International transportation to and from Mongolia, travel insurance, mineral (bottled) water and alcoholic drinks, tips and gratuities, laundry and items of a personal nature.

Note:
• International and domestic flight and train tickets would be arranged due to the clients' requests and wishes with our pleasures.
• City sightseeing tours are offered as optional.
• Private departures are available on request.

Please see here more information about the Naadam festival