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Tsagaan Sar Group Tour Overview
On the Tsagaan Sar Group Tour, you will celebrate the famous Mongolian national holiday Tsagaan Sar or Mongolian Lunar New Year like a Mongolian. The local experience starts when you visit a nomad family on Tsagaan Sar eve – nomads put the holiday table and ceremonially celebrate. The host family resides around the semi-desert and mountain steppes area. Seeing winter horse race and spot wild horses and deer roaming on glistening white snow-covered steppes are part of your adventure.
The first day of Tsagaan Sar also starts ceremonially, followed by the celebration. Mongolians celebrate the Tsagaan Sar officially for 3 days, although it extends further for days or a month, distantly locating relatives and family members visiting each other. On those days, families prefer to have plenty of food, be at the utmost of clean and dressy. People start preparing for the holiday for many days in advance.
Day 1: Leave Ulaanbaatar, start the countryside tour to Elsentasarkhai, a transition zone from mountain steppes to the Gobi desert
Your guide and driver pick you up from your accommodation. Launch the countryside tour to Elsentasarkhai; a unique area represents high mountains, mountain steppes and the Gobi desert in a single area. At Elsentasarkahi, you will experience the real nomadic lifestyle and celebrate the national holiday Tsagaan Sar (Lunar New Year) with nomads. Today is the Tsagaan Sar eve, a day to see how nomads prepare for their holiday including how to make traditional dishes. Before the sunsets, the hosts put a table full of traditional cookies and whole sheep rump, ceremonially. Next, the celebration of last day or no moon day of the passing year takes place. Have an overnight in a stove fire heating extra ger of the nomad family.
Accommodation: Extra ger of nomads
Meals: Lunch, Dinner
Driving distance: 280 km
Day 2: Celebrate the first day of Mongolian Lunar New Year
Early in the morning, people climb the nearest hill or a mountain to see the new year’s first sunrise. For most Mongolians, the first day of Tsagaan Sar starts with stepping in their right direction, foreseeing the coming year be wealthy, in good health, and full of success. Hostesses make traditional milk tea and offer the best of it first to the earth, then to their shrine, next to the oldest person in the family or host of the household and then serve each person in the family. It is a day Mongolians wear their attractive looking traditional dresses, visit parents, relatives, and friends traveling as long as they can go. People greet each other by age category (younger people come to elders) in the traditional greeting. Today, you mount on horses and visit neighbors. You will experience the holiday like the family members.
Accommodation: Extra ger of nomads
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 3: See last survival of the Earth’s wild horses at Hustai National Park
Hustai National Park is renowned in the world for its successful reintroduction of the wild Przewalski horse to their homeland in nature. You won’t only see the wild horses in Hustai National Park, you also enjoy winter views of the holy mountains and see different wild animals such as red deer and gazelles.
Accommodation: ger camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Driving distance: 200 km
Day 4: See winter horse race, drive to Ulaanbaatar
On the way to Ulaanbaatar, you will see a winter horse race in the open field (horserace is not available some years depending on the condition of the winter). Transfer to your accommodation upon arrival in Ulaanbaatar.
Meals: Breakfast
Driving distance: 100 km
TOUR PRICE PER PERSON
Group tour price: 368$ per person
DISCOUNTS
- For children of a family trip
- One free space for every 16 pax (Regards private group tour)
- Early booking discount 10%
- 1 night at a ger camp
- 2 days nomad family stay
- 3 breakfast, 3 lunch, 3 dinner
- English speaking guide
- Transfer service
- Daily bottled water
- Entry fees to national parks and museums
- Horse & camel riding
The tour includes:
- Items of personal use
- Arrival/Departure transfer
- Accommodation in Ulaanbaatar
- International travel
- Travel & medical insurance
- Visa fee
- 30 meals – 10 breakfast, 10 lunch, 10 dinner
- Single supplements
The tour excludes:
Is the Tsagaan Sar Group Tour suitable for you?
Tsagaan Sar Group Tour is suitable for cultural and adventure travelers. Celebrating the national holiday while staying with a nomad family lets you experience in depths of their unique culture. The tour has not included any challenging activities; however, staying in a fire heating ger put on a snowy steppe and doing outdoor activities such as horse and camel riding in cold weather is an adventure.
Accommodation
As a cultural tour, it includes 2 days of nomadic family stay, plus 1-day ger camp stay in Hustai National Park.
The experience with the nomads will be genuine local – without electricity, WC, shower, and running water. Your nomadic host will heat the ger making й fire. You and the tour mates stay in an extra ger of the nomads. No private ger available with the nomads.
On the contrary, the ger camp at Hustai National Park is more comfortable, connected to central electricity. It’s running water bathroom and shower located in a separate building apart from the ger accommodation. Learn more about what is ger camp?
Private gers available at the ger camp at the base of an additional fee.
Guides
An English speaking guide will serve the group. They are all friendly, helpful and most of them were born and raised in the Mongolian countryside. Therefore, they have good knowledge about every aspect of Mongolia. During the camel riding, a local guide will support you.
Transportation
The full-time Japanese van Toyota Hiace is the main vehicle that serves for the group tour. Depending on the group size, roads, and weather conditions, the vehicle type differentiates.
What meals will I eat during the Tsagaan Sar Group Tour?
The tour includes 3 breakfasts, 4 lunches, and 3 dinners. All meals with the nomads will be authentic Mongolian.
The ger camp serves Mongolian and western meals. Meat is the main ingredient of the meal, plus some vegetables, rice, pasta, etc.
If you are a vegetarian or have dietary restrictions, please inform us in advance. We will arrange the meals accordingly.
We provide bottled water daily.
When is the Tsagaan Sar Group Tour and winter weather?
The Tsagaan Sar or Mongolia Lunar New Year date differentiates due to the lunar calendar. Following are the coming years’ Tsagaan Sar schedule:
February 12 to 14, 2021
February 1 to 3, 2022
February 20 to 23, 2023
February 10 to 13, 2024
January 29 to 31, 2025
The average daylight time temperature of February is between -15°C to -25°C and the night temperature fluctuates between -18°C to -30°C (this weather regards central Mongolia only). Check Mongolian monthly weather.
What to bring and wear?
• Torch/headlamp will be useful when going to the bathroom in the evening while staying with nomads and the ger camp.
• A warm jacket suitable as low as -35°C. Layers of warm clothes are another option (fleece jacket/sweatshirt). The layers of clothing allow efficient heat retention and provide protection against the cold and chill wind. A three-quarter length, (and full length) jacket is advisable. For added warmth, we can provide full length, warm traditional cloth “deel” on request. It is free of charge.
• Pajamas/tights or something similar to stay warm at night
• Warm boots and a good pair of thermal wool socks
• Warm hats, gloves, and scarf
• Windproof sun cream may protect your skin from the sunlight reflected on snow.
• Some pills for common symptoms such as travel sickness pills, allergies pills, Pepto-Bismol for the inevitable upset stomach, Antibiotic cream for cuts, scratches, and insect bites, etc. These should be carried in the original, clearly labeled container, in your hand luggage, and should be checked with the Mongolian embassy if necessary.
• Shampoo, soap, lotions, deodorant, and toothpaste are all available extensively in Ulaanbaatar. However, they are not available during the nomad family stay.
• Bringing your towel, dry/wet tissues, and hand sanitizer will be handy. Particularly during some important stops in the countryside (call of nature).·
• Travel and medical insurance, passport, and other documents
• Camera with a spare battery or a mobile charger.
• Check the allowed power bank Wh with your flight operator and make sure you carry it in the handbag.
• Check here vaccinations and health information needed to travel to Mongolia.
• If you do not mind, bring small gifts for nomad children, but not mandatory. The gift ideas are some candies, biscuits, or school stationaries.
