Altai Trail Highlights

Day 1|Welcome to Ulaanbaatar — Arrival

Airport transfer, 1 hr

Meet your crew, settle into a central hotel, and gather for the reception dinner — the mountains of the far west wait at first light.

Day 2|Ulgii Town & Oigor River — West to the Trailhead

Fly 2 hrs, then drive 3–4 hrs

Fly to Ulgii and drive on to the Oigor River, reading the land's long story en route — petroglyphs, deer stones and ancient burial mounds against the first big views of the Altai.

Day 3|Tavan Bogd Basecamp — The 17-Kilometre Approach

Trek seventeen kilometres to Tavan Bogd basecamp while camels carry the loads — snow peaks ahead, glacier tongues descending to meet you, green valleys underfoot.

Day 4|Malchin Peak — 4,037 Metres

The summit day: nine kilometres up Malchin Peak for a sweeping panorama of the Five Holy Peaks and the Potanin Glacier below. Celebrate under the stars back at camp.

Day 5|Khoton & Khurgan Lakes — Down the White River

Trek 15 km, then drive

Descend fifteen kilometres along the White River valley, then drive to the joined lakes of Khoton and Khurgan — comfortable gers beside nomad neighbours.

Day 6|Eagle Hunters Inspiration Day — The Falconer's House

Drive 3–4 hrs

A day with a Kazakh eagle-hunting family: the training craft, the winter hunts, and unhurried portraits of hunters and eagles at home.

Day 7|Kharkhiraa: Yamaat Valley — The Second Range

Drive 4–5 hrs

Cross to the Kharkhiraa massif and camp at Tel Mod in the Yamaat Valley — a three-hour walk among petroglyphs and burial mounds beneath forested slopes.

Day 8|Valley of 108 Alpine Lakes — Green, Yellow, Red

Wander the lake-strewn upland toward Rashaany Am, whose three lakes shade green to yellow to glacier-fed red — with an optional steep push to the ice itself.

Day 9|Goojuur Waterfall & Otor Canyon — Water and Stone

A spectacular drive to the seventeen-metre Goojuur waterfall, then four hours on foot up the Shiver River through the grand Otor Canyon.

Day 10|Ulaangom & Uvs Lake — The Chandmani Legacy

Drive 3–4 hrs

Descend to Ulaangom past the Bronze Age burials of Ulaan Uul — the 'Chandmani culture' — and sleep at a ger camp on the shore of Mongolia's largest lake.

Day 11|Ulaanbaatar — Return East

Fly 3 hrs

Fly back to the capital for cashmere, souvenirs and a farewell dinner.

Day 12|Fly Home — Departure

Airport transfer, 1 hr

Transfer to the airport for your onward flight.