Tsagaan Sar Insight | Small Group Winter Trip | 9 Days | Feb 5th 2027

Tsagaan Sar Insight: A Cultural Winter Journey

Tsagaan Sar, Mongolia’s Lunar New Year, is one of the country’s most important family celebrations. On our Tsagaan Sar Insight journey, we invite you to spend this time with four rural families we know well — the Nergui family, the Davaasuren family, the Tumee family, and the Batchuluun family. These are families we have returned to over many years, through all seasons, as part of our long-standing community partnerships.

These relationships have grown gradually — through repeated visits, shared conversations, changing seasons, and the simple act of returning. They are not new contacts added to an itinerary, but families whose homes, the landscapes in which they live, and ways of life have helped shape our understanding of Mongolia over time.

Each family brings a different perspective to the journey. The Nergui family are part of the wide-open desert-steppe landscapes of Erdenedalai. The Davaasuren family are connected to the sacred mountain landscape of Khogno Khan. The Tumee family welcome us in the Orkhon River Valley, a place shaped by herding life, history, and seasonal movement. The Batchuluun family are part of the community around Khustain Nuruu, where conservation, pastoral life, and local livelihoods sit closely together.

Expect a winter journey adapted to the rhythm of Tsagaan Sar as it is lived: visiting homes, sharing food, travelling between families, and moving through winter landscapes. Our hosts open their homes during a time that is meaningful, personal, and busy, welcoming you not as passing visitors, but as genuine guests.

This is a journey that asks a little more of you — warm layers, patience, flexibility, and openness. Days move at the pace of the season and the households you visit. Plans may shift, journeys may take longer, and the celebration itself unfolds according to family life rather than a fixed visitor schedule.

Travelling at a slower pace, you’ll experience Tsagaan Sar through the quiet accumulation of moments: greetings, visits, food, conversation, and the generous hospitality that sits at the heart of this celebration. Our hosts are not performing a festival or creating an experience; they are people we know well, opening their homes during one of Mongolia’s most meaningful times of year and sharing it with us in the way they have done over many years.

You’ll find the key locations below. For the full day-by-day flow (and the why behind it), please email us. We share the detailed itinerary by email so we can explain the pacing, driving days, and options in context. We also keep a few moments back as a quiet surprise.

• Spend time in Ulaanbaatar, gaining a sense of the capital beyond the main sights.
• Celebrate Tsagaan Sar with the Nergui family in the wide-open desert-steppe horizons of Erdenedalai.
• Explore the sacred mountain landscape of Khogno Khan.
• Take in the views of the Elsen Tasarkhai sand dunes from between the ears of a Bactrian camel owned by your hosts, the Davaasuren family.
• Discover the history and culture of Kharkhorin.
• Spend time with the Tumee family in the Orkhon River Valley and gain a window into their way of life.
• Stay with the Batchuluun herding family in the foothills of the Khustain Mountains, after looking for the wild Takhi horses in Khustain Nuruu National Park.
• Enjoy a complimentary day trip to the Chinggis Khaan Statue Complex and Gorkhi-Terelj National Park, offering a gentle way to start or round off your time in Mongolia.

Group Size & Pricing

• Final group size of 2 guests: US$  2,320 pp **current group size**
• Final group size of 3-4 guests: US$ 2,245  pp
• Final group size of 5 guests: US$ 2,110  pp
• Final group size of 6 guests: US$ 1,940 pp

Map Of Route

During this journey, you’ll experience a variety of accommodation styles, each offering insight into daily life in Mongolia and shaped by the season and setting:

We don't offer single supplements on our small-group trips. However, when staying in a hotel, you are welcome to pay the hotel directly for a private room if one is available.

Winterised Mongolian Gers

Throughout the trip, you’ll stay in winterised gers hosted by local families. These traditional felt dwellings have been insulated and prepared for winter, with heating provided by a central stove. Each ger accommodates 3–4 people, but you’ll always have your own bed and personal space.

A sleeping bag is required at the family accommodation. See exclusions for more information. 

Showers

Running water is rare in rural Mongolia, so showers are limited. On this itinerary we use town shower houses—simple cubicles with plenty of hot water, which many travellers describe as a highlight! You will need to bring a towel.

We also provide bowls and soap powder for hand-washing clothes if needed. Just to be clear: there are no washing machines.

Toilets

Think: a loo with a view!

Mongolia has very few public toilets, so on drives it’s a case of finding a private spot in nature (your trip assistant will give what we call “the toilet talk”).

At host family homes, expect Asian-style squat or long-drop toilets.If squatting isn’t second nature, you may want to practice before travelling—several of our guests recommend it.

These toilets aren’t designed to shock you; they’re simply part of everyday rural life. We provide toilet paper (though not the aloe vera variety!).

Ulaanbaatar

Accommodation in Ulaanbaatar is not included although we provide recommendations and can help with booking.

.

Meals

Each EL team travels with a simple mobile kitchen, and most meals outside Ulaanbaatar are either prepared by your trip assistant or eaten in local restaurants along the way. We also stop at guanz — local roadside cafés — and, where appropriate, share meals with the families we stay with.

We deliberately don't expect rural families to provide meals for our guests. Access to shops and fresh supplies can be limited, and dietary requirements have become increasingly varied. Preparing much of the food ourselves gives our host families less work and gives us more flexibility over what we can provide.

Our trip assistants are not trained chefs, but they cook for their own families and know how to keep you well fed on the road. Food is simple, filling and based around ingredients we can realistically buy as we travel. We grocery shop every few days in towns along the route, which helps us keep supplies fresh while also giving you a glimpse into everyday life in Mongolia.

Fresh fruit and vegetables can be limited outside Ulaanbaatar and larger towns, particularly in more remote areas and depending on the season. If five portions of fruit and vegetables every day are essential to you, rural Mongolia may be challenging.

We can usually accommodate vegetarians and a range of dietary requirements, including vegan, gluten-free and lactose-free diets, but please speak with us before booking. Choice can be limited and meals may become repetitive — there may be rather more boiled rice than you are used to! We would much rather explain the realities beforehand than promise a level of variety that isn't always possible once you are on the road.

In Ulaanbaatar, meals are generally not included unless specifically shown in the itinerary. On this journey, the included UB meal is lunch during your Intro to Ulaanbaatar day.

Vegetarian Options in Mongolia

Drinks & Drinking Water

We provide drinking water throughout the journey, collected from the water stations found in towns along our route. Rather than routinely buying single-use bottles, each team carries larger reusable water containers.

We recommend bringing a filtered reusable water bottle. We can provide a 15% discount, with details sent when you book and linked below. Alternatively, bring a standard reusable bottle and some Aqua Tablets for additional water purification.

If you would prefer bottled water, you can buy it yourself in shops along the way.

As well as drinking water, we provide tea and coffee with meals and at various times throughout the day.

Soft drinks such as juice and fizzy drinks are not included but are widely available. Alcohol is also excluded apart from the welcome drink during your Intro to Ulaanbaatar day. Beer, vodka and other drinks can be bought in shops and supermarkets along the route, although the choice becomes more limited in rural areas. Your team makes regular shopping stops during the journey.

Why We Ask Travellers to Bring a Reusable Water Bottle to Mongolia

Transport

Our driving team is made up of experienced Mongolian men we know personally and have worked with for many years. Their English is limited, but their driving knowledge is exceptional — from navigating rough terrain to mongolchlokh, improvising the Mongolian way when a tyre bursts or a vehicle breaks down.

And breakdowns can happen. Mongolia is hard on vehicles, particularly away from paved roads. What matters to us is having drivers who know their vehicles, understand the terrain and can usually deal with problems as they arise.

Each driver owns his own vehicle. Depending on the journey, this may include a UAZ Furgon 4×4 van, Hyundai Starex or Mitsubishi Delica. Because the vehicles are individually owned, interiors and seating layouts vary, including forward- and rear-facing seats. Vehicles are fitted with either lap belts or standard seat belts.

If you are expecting a luxury or high-end 4×4, that is not our style of travel. We choose our drivers first for their experience, reliability and knowledge, and then for the vehicle they own. Using driver-owned vehicles also helps provide long-term work and income for experienced local drivers and their families.

We contribute towards vehicle maintenance, and the vehicles used for our journeys undergo the required annual inspections and licensing for tourism use in Mongolia.

Learn more about our drivers and their tour vehicles here.

Travel Times

Road travel is a central part of experiencing Mongolia. It is a vast country, and getting from one place to another is very much part of the journey.

The daily travel times shown in the itinerary are estimates rather than promises. We deliberately allow generous timings because road surfaces, weather, traffic, river levels and occasional vehicle issues can all affect progress.

Average speeds are usually around 30–65 km/h, depending on conditions. On unpaved routes, the road may vary from relatively smooth gravel to corrugated tracks, rocky sections, mud, sand or uneven ground, sometimes all within the same day.

You really do need to be comfortable with road travel to enjoy this style of journey.

Transportation to and from the airport or train station: on arrival and departure days