A SUMMER EXPEDITION ACROSS THE GREEN STEPPE TO THE TALLEST DUNES IN THE GOBI
Mongolia in summer is the country at its most alive: the steppe green to every horizon, the rivers running, and the nomads on the move with their herds. This expedition drives it from the top down: out of Ulaanbaatar and west to Kharkhorin, the old seat of the Mongol empire; into the Orkhon valley where the empire was born; across the open steppe where the track is yours to choose, two nights at remote camping grounds along the way; and south into the Gobi, where the green gives out and the tallest sand dunes in Mongolia rise out of the desert. A flight back over all of it to end. Seven days, the heart of the country and the edge of the desert, in the window your calendar allows.
What This Journey Holds
Max 32°C l Min 10°C
Toyota Land Cruiser 200 AT
Dirt roads, open steppe, sand dunes and tarmac
EXPEDITION DIFFICULTY
Two kinds of expedition. The terrain, the weather and the altitude decide which.
Tough & Challenging: The country sets the pace and the plan bends to it.
– Long driving days, with journey times the road decides
– Trails that ask something of you
– Weather that can turn, and altitude that slows everything down
– Breakdowns, fixed on the road
– Basic stays, with little around them, and shared facilities at camp
Moderate & Comfortable: The same country, an easier line through it.
– Steadier days, journey times that hold
– More road under the wheels
– Beds with walls and doors
– Amenities within reach
Neither is the soft version. The difference is how much the country is allowed to decide.
MAX GROUP SIZE
Small groups, always. Twelve at most on a Signature expedition, fourteen on a Classic.
– Small enough to move as one convoy
– A camp that fits around one fire
– No one becomes a passenger in their own expedition
– Many join solo. No one finishes that way.
Choose Your Edition
William
Head of Mongolia Operations
Seventeen years in the air with Emirates, then the open road. British-born and Sweden-based, William brought a career in global logistics to Nomadic Road and now leads every Mongolia expedition, winter and summer, from the frozen lakes to the Gobi. Precision on the ground, and a long appetite for the far end of the map.
William
Head of Mongolia Operations
Seventeen years in the air with Emirates, then the open road. British-born and Sweden-based, William brought a career in global logistics to Nomadic Road and now leads every Mongolia expedition, winter and summer, from the frozen lakes to the Gobi. Precision on the ground, and a long appetite for the far end of the map.
Prices are per person, in US dollars, and exclude your international flights. Dates and prices are
set in good faith, and two things beyond our control can move them: a domestic flight schedule
that changes can shift the dates by a day, and a sharp move in fuel prices can change the price. If
either happens after you book, we tell you first, and why.
This ground, your dates, your circle? That’s Privé →
Nothing Discovered Later
Where You’re Headed
Your Journey, Day by Day
Ulaanbaatar
Kharkhorin
The Orkhon Valley
Remote Camping in the Steppes
Remote Camping next to the Dunes
Dalanzadgad
Ulaanbaatar and departure
The Drive
A Toyota Land Cruiser 200 with automatic transmission, on tarmac out of the city, dirt roads that run for days, open steppe where the track is yours to choose, and the sand of the Gobi to finish. In convoy, from the capital to the dunes.
The Landscape
Green steppe to the curve of the earth. A river valley the empire chose for a reason. Brown turning to red as you drive south, and the tallest sand dunes in Mongolia rising out of the desert at the end of it.
The Nights
A hotel in the capital, then ger camps every night in the countryside, the same round felt homes the nomads live in, with proper beds inside and a restaurant on site. Two nights in rooftop tents at remote camping grounds, in the hills and beside the dunes, with the field chef and hospitality crew handling the table.
The Table
Hot breakfasts, packed lunches on the road, dinners in the restaurants of the ger camps, and on the two nights at the remote camping grounds, a table set by the field chef and hospitality crew in the middle of nowhere: mutton, dumplings, milk tea with salt, and the dishes you know alongside them.
The Culture
Nomads moving with their herds as their ancestors did, a family’s ger with the door open, Kharkhorin, the old capital of the empire, and the camel herders of the Gobi at the foot of the dunes.
WHO THE ROAD BELONGS TO
Every expedition here runs on hands you’ll mostly never see. The field chefs cooking before you wake. The mechanics working behind the convoy to keep the machines running. The hospitality and camping crew who raise your night’s shelter, and the cultural specialists, local guides, and staff who open the ground itself. All of them live here. That’s why the road opens for us, and it’s where what you spend on this expedition stays.
Unscripted Stories
