Vanaf: € 1,200
Seven days, one 4×4, and the route that made Mongolia famous.
Orkhon Valley Circuit
01 Start
Seven days, one unbroken circle, every one of them out on the steppe
There is a route through Central Mongolia that people have been travelling for eight hundred years, and it turns out you can drive the whole of it in a week. You collect your 4×4 in Ulaanbaatar on the first morning. By that afternoon the city is gone, the tarmac has given way to grass, and you are sitting in a Hustai valley with the engine switched off, waiting for the last truly wild horses on earth to come down and drink.
From there the circle opens out, and it never doubles back. West to Khögnö Khan, where the Elsen Tasarkhai dunes — a stranded finger of the Gobi, marooned five hundred kilometres north of the desert that made it — pile up against bare granite. South onto the Khujirt high plateau, 1,750 metres above the sea, where mineral water surfaces at fifty-five degrees and has been drawing people to bathe in it for longer than anyone has bothered to record. Down into the Orkhon Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage cultural landscape, where the river throws itself twenty metres off a lip of black basalt at Ulaan Tsutgalan. On to Karakorum, capital of the largest contiguous land empire in human history, now a field of foundations with the 108 white stupas of Erdene Zuu Monastery rising from the middle of it. And finally out to Ugii Lake, a Ramsar-listed wetland where more than a hundred and fifty species of bird break their journey north each spring, and where you are asked to do nothing at all for an entire afternoon.
Six landscapes, six nights, 1,065 kilometres
What makes this loop the most requested route in Mongolia is not any single stop. It is the rate of change. Six driving stages, and at the end of each one the country has become something else — short-grass steppe, then sand, then alpine plateau, then a river gorge, then the ruins of an empire, then open water full of pelicans and cranes. You sleep in a traditional ger camp or under canvas every night of the trip, out where the sky does what the guidebooks say it does. There is no filler day, no city sightseeing, no morning lost to paperwork.
Nor is any of it hard. The Circuit is graded Level 2 of 5: roughly half asphalt, half open track, with soft sand at the dunes and a handful of shallow river fords in the Orkhon Valley. It asks for attention rather than expertise. If you can drive a car confidently at home, you can drive this.
You drive it. We do the rest.
Self-drive in Mongolia sounds daunting until you see what actually stands behind it. We give you the vehicle — a UAZ Patriot, a Toyota Land Cruiser 76, or a Land Cruiser 250 if you want the automatic and the comfort — fully prepared, with a recovery kit and a GPS route map on which every waypoint, camp, fuel stop and river crossing is already marked. We book every night of accommodation along the route. We brief you properly before you leave Ulaanbaatar, and we stay reachable around the clock for the whole week, in your language, from the moment you pull away from the depot to the moment you hand back the keys.
The stages have been placed with some care. We have run this route for years, and every overnight stop sits where it does for a reason — Hustai short so you catch the horses at dusk and again at dawn, Khujirt early so the springs get a full afternoon, Ugii last so the week ends slowly. You spend your evenings in the good places, and never on the road after dark.
This is the classic Central Mongolia loop, complete, in seven days. Bring a camera you don’t mind getting dusty.
1.1 Waarom kiezen voor deze tour?
- Seven days out, none wasted: No sightseeing day in the capital and no half-day handover. You are driving west within a few hours of collecting the keys.
- A night with the wild horses, not an hour: Khustai’s takhi come down to water at dusk and again at first light. Staying at the park gives you both windows — the reason we make the first driving day a short one.
- A true circle: Six stages, no backtracking, and a different landscape at the end of every one — steppe, dunes, high plateau, river gorge, ancient city, lake.
- A genuine UNESCO valley, not a roadside stop: A full day inside the Orkhon Valley cultural landscape, including the Ulaan Tsutgalan waterfall and the black basalt gorge below it.
02 Overzicht
- Stijl: Zelf rijden
- Terrein: Asfalt, onverharde wegen, zandwegen, zandduinen
- Tour niveau: 2
Onze tourniveaus zijn ingedeeld van 1 (makkelijk) tot 5 (uitdagend), waarbij elk niveau de complexiteit en uitdaging weergeeft op basis van meerdere factoren.
2
2
2
2
Wild Horse Observation
Gobi Sand Dunes
Off Road Driving
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Oud klooster
Sleeping in a Ger
Nomadic Culture
03 Routebeschrijving
Dag Ulaanbaatar to Khustai National Park
- Ger Kamp of Kamperen
Collect the 4x4 and drive west; by dusk you are waiting in silence for the wild horses.
Dag Dawn at Khustai, then the Elsen Tasarkhai dunes
- Kamperen of Ger Camp
One more dawn with the takhi, then west to the dunes at Khögnö Khan to ride a camel.
Dag South to the Khujirt high plateau
- Kamperen of Ger Camp
South past Kharkhorin onto rough track, to a high plateau where the water runs at 55°C.
Dag Into the Orkhon Valley
- Kamperen of Ger Camp
A short run over boulder fields and river fords to the waterfall in its basalt gorge.
Dag Kharakorum and Erdene Zuu
- Kamperen of Ger Camp
Follow the river downstream to the empire's lost capital and the 108 stupas of Erdene Zuu.
Dag Ugii Lake
- Kamperen of Ger Camp
An easy stage northeast to a Ramsar lake, 150 bird species, and an afternoon off.
Dag Terug naar Ulaanbaatar
The long run east on asphalt, back to the city with a week of steppe behind you.
04 Neem contact met ons op
Het is normaal dat je vragen hebt, en ons team staat klaar om ze te beantwoorden!
Vul het formulier in of kies een van de opties hieronder om ons te laten weten hoe we je kunnen helpen de meest fantastische tijd in Mongolië te hebben.
05
Wat is inbegrepen
5.1 Basis
Bereid je voor om je onder te dompelen in alles wat Mongolië te bieden heeft, want wij zorgen voor elk detail zodat je gewoon kunt ontspannen en genieten!
- 24/7 Around-the-clock Remote Support
- Curated activities along the route (e.g.: guided camel riding, nomadic family visit and more)
- Fully equipped SIXT 4×4
- GPS-gecentreerde route met een offline navigatie-app
- Pre-arranged accommodation
- Gedetailleerde reisinformatie voor vertrek
- Airport pickup and vehicle handover
Ons doel is om je reis puur avontuurlijk te maken en volledig vrij van ongemakken!
5.2 Auto
Voel je zeker om overal in Mongolië te rijden met onze moderne, robuuste en betrouwbare reeks terreinwagens voor Mongolië. We bieden verschillende modellen; kies de auto die het beste bij je past.
Standaard
UAZ
Patriot
Premium
Toyota
Land Cruiser 76
Luxe
Toyota
Land Cruiser 250
5.3 Accommodatie
5.4 Accommodatie
The Orkhon Valley Circuit puts all six nights out on the route, so how you sleep is entirely your choice — under canvas with the equipment we provide, in a traditional ger camp every night, or a split of the two. Fixed accommodation on this route means ger camps at Hustai, Elsen Tasarkhai, Khujirt, the Orkhon Valley, Karakorum and Ugii Lake, all booked by us long before you arrive. Upgrade to Premium for higher-specification camps with private facilities. Nature's Nomad Basic — 4 nights camping, 2 nights ger camp Nature's Nomad Premium — 4 nights camping, 2 nights upgraded ger camp Mixed Nomad Basic — 3 nights camping, 3 nights ger camp Mixed Nomad Premium — 3 nights camping, 3 nights upgraded ger camp or hotel Comfort Nomad Basic — 6 nights ger camp Comfort Nomad Premium — 6 nights upgraded ger camp or hotel
5.4 Niet inbegrepen
5.3 Niet inbegrepen
We streven ernaar om je reis zo gemakkelijk en plezierig mogelijk te maken, en we staan altijd klaar om vragen te beantwoorden of hulp te bieden. Houd er echter rekening mee dat je je eigen voedsel en brandstof behoeften tijdens de reis.
Nomade van de natuur
- Onder de eindeloze sterrenhemel van Mongolië bieden onze campingnachten een ongeëvenaarde omhelzing met de natuur, waar elk gefluister van de wind een verhaal van de wildernis vertelt.
- Basis
Gratis - Premium
€0
Gemengde Nomade
- Verscholen in het hart van Mongolië's adembenemende landschappen, bieden prachtige lodges en gerkampen een toegangspoort tot het nomadische leven, waarbij oude gebruiken worden gecombineerd met huiselijk comfort.
- Basis
€400 - Premium
€860
Comfort Nomade
- Met uitstekende lodges en hotelverblijven zorgen we ervoor dat uw reis nachten vol comfort biedt, zodat u zich kunt verfrissen en opladen voor het vervolg van uw avontuur.
- Basis
€800 - Premium
€1,740
(Klik om de samenvatting te bekijken)
07 Boek nu
7.2 Upgrade je rit
Onze standaardauto is de robuuste en betrouwbare UAZ Patriot
Upgrade naar Toyota Land Cruiser 250
Offroad in luxe met een hypermoderne 2024 Land Cruiser 250
Upgrade naar Toyota Land Cruiser 76
Upgrade naar de legendarische Landcruiser 76
7.3 Upgrade je reis
Upgrade verzekering
Loss Damage Waiver met verlaagd eigen risico tot 503 EUR, Gravel Protection, Sand and Ash Protection, Tire and Windshield Protection, Roadside Protection.
Passagier achterin
Voeg tot twee extra passagiers per auto toe
Chauffeursdienst
Leun achterover en ontspan terwijl een professionele SIXT-chauffeur je meeneemt op avontuur (prijs per dag).
08 Aangepaste reizen
09 FAQs
What is the Orkhon Valley Circuit?
The Orkhon Valley Circuit is a 7-day self-drive loop through Central Mongolia with SIXT. It runs from Ulaanbaatar to Khustai National Park and the Elsen Tasarkhai dunes, south to the Khujirt mineral springs, into the UNESCO-listed Orkhon Valley, on to the ancient capital of Kharakorum and out to Ugii Lake before returning to the city — approximately 1,065 km without retracing a stage.
When does the tour actually start?
On the morning of Day 1, with the vehicle handover and route briefing in Ulaanbaatar. You are on the road west the same morning and at Khustai by the afternoon. Alternativly you can arrive at the Ulaanbaatar International Airport on day 1 and start the tour directly from there.
Will I actually see the wild horses?
Nothing wild is guaranteed, but this route is built to give you the best odds available. You overnight at Khustai rather than passing through it, which puts you in the park for the dusk movement on the first evening and again at first light the next morning. Those are the two hours the takhi come down to water, and most guests who go out for both see them.
How is this different from the 5-day Kharakorum Quest?
The Circuit adds two full days and takes you into the Orkhon Valley itself — the UNESCO World Heritage cultural landscape and the Ulaan Tsutgalan waterfall — which the 5-day route does not reach. It also adds the Khujirt high plateau and Ugii Lake, and gives you a night at Khustai rather than an afternoon visit.
Are there hot springs on this route?
Yes. Khujirt has been known for its mineral springs for generations. The water surfaces at around 55°C and carries bicarbonate, sodium and sulphur compounds, and the plateau setting at 1,750 m makes it a genuinely restorative stop halfway through the loop.
Can I swim in Ugii Lake?
The lake is warm enough to swim in through July and August. It is also a sacred lake, and by local custom women do not enter the water. Your ger camp hosts will point you to the right stretch of shore — this is a live tradition rather than a historical one, and it costs nothing to respect it.
Do I need off-road driving experience?
No. The Circuit is graded Level 2 of 5. Roughly half the route is paved highway, and the unpaved sections are open track, soft sand and shallow river fords rather than technical terrain. We brief you fully at handover, mark every waypoint on your GPS, and are reachable 24/7 throughout.
When is the best time to do this tour?
Mid-June to early September is the ideal window: the steppe is green, the Orkhon is full, the migratory birds are on Ugii Lake and every camp on the route is open. Late May and late September are quieter and still very drivable, though nights are cold and several of the lakeside camps operate a shortened season.
Wat is inbegrepen in het reispakket?
Airport transfers by SIXT, full vehicle handover and route briefing, 24/7 remote support, a GPS route map, curated activities along the route, and all six nights of accommodation on the route according to the package you select.
What is not included?
Food and fuel during the journey, the car rental deposit, flights to Mongolia, visa fees, travel and health insurance, and any hotel nights in Ulaanbaatar before or after the tour.
Can I customise this route?
Yes. The Circuit extends naturally — most commonly with a detour to Tövkhön Monastery in the hills above the Orkhon, extra nights at the Naiman Nuur lakes, or a southward extension into the Gobi. Use the custom tour form and our team will build it around you.
Zijn er extra kosten die niet bij de prijs van de tour zijn inbegrepen?
Yes. Food and fuel are managed by you, and a 5,000,000 or 9,000,000 MNT depending on vehicleT car rental deposit is not included, along with flights, visa fees and travel insurance.