MONGOLIA TRANS-SIBERIAN TOUR DAY-BY-DAY ITINERARY
Day 1 - Saturday 31 August
Arrival Beijing (3 nights)
On arrival at Beijing's International Airport you'll be met by our representative and privately transferred to our hotel. This evening at around 6.30pm we'll rendezvous in the hotel lounge where we'll
meet our local Tour Leader for a group briefing before heading out for a welcome dinner where we'll have the chance to get acquainted with our fellow travelers. (D) Accommodation: Beijing Hotel Park Plaza Wangfujing
Day 2 - Sunday 01 September
Beijing - Sightseeing
Beijing is the nation's political, economic, and cultural centre with a history stretching back 3 millennia. With a population of 21.5 million people, it's the nation's second-largest city after
Shanghai. The city has become one of the most popular travel destinations in the world, with about 140 million Chinese tourists and 4.4 million international visitors each year. This morning, accompanied
by our local Tour Leader, we'll start our full day city tour at the central hub of the city - Tiananmen Square. This huge square of 440,000 square metres is visited by thousands of people every day. Next
on our agenda is a visit to the beautiful Forbidden City, which is a masterpiece of 5000 years of Chinese civilisation and still vividly displays the power and prestige of the former dynasties. Sprawling
over many acres, the City is a magnificent group of palaces, pavilions, courtyards and deep terracotta walls. Ornately furnished palace rooms, priceless artworks and treasures are all now open to the
public after 500 years of seclusion. After lunch we'll also visit the Summer Palace situated on Lake Kunming. Construction of the palace started in 1750 as a luxurious royal garden where royal families
could rest and entertain and over the years the palace has had great influence on Chinese horticulture and landscape design. This evening we'll attend an acrobatic show followed by dinner where there'll
be a chance to sample the delicious Beijing dumplings and other local specialties. (BLD)
Day 3 - Monday 02 September
Beijing - The Great Wall Excursion
We'll make an early morning start today to explore the Great Wall at the Mutianyu section. This is a 1˝ hour drive outside of Beijing, slightly further than the popular and very busy Badaling Gate
section. On arrival we'll access this imposing section of the wall by cable car and then enjoy 2-3 hours of walking the wall before descending by chair-lift. Mutianyu is renowned for its Ming Dynasty
guard towers and superb views. The scene here is as one would expect with huge steep ramparts zigzagging across this mountainous area. The Great Wall of China is one of the Seven Wonders of the World
and is one of the world's most unusual and awesome sites. Commenced 2000 years ago, it was built as a defense line to keep out invaders, along the course of several thousand kilometres. After lunch we
return to Beijing mid-afternoon where there'll be time to relax before our evening meal of traditional roast Peking duck. (BLD)
Day 4 - Tuesday 03 September
Beijing - Train (1night) to Ulaanbaatar
This morning we transfer to the train station for our overnight journey to Ulaanbaatar. The train journey takes around 30 hours - two days/one night. This is an ideal way to see a changing countryside
from the frenetic pace of Beijing through the great expanse of the Gobi Desert and into downtown Ulaanbaatar. The border crossing from China to Mongolia happens late evening and takes 4-5 hours, due to
the changing of the train's bogies and the border formalities. Chinese and Mongolian border officials will board the train so expect a couple of interruptions to our night's sleep. This is all part of
the adventure. Keep some Yuan for purchases made on both the train and platforms in China. There is no need to obtain Mongolian tögrög (local currency) prior to arrival in Mongolia as purchases made on
the Mongolian train can only be paid in USD. (B) Overnight: Deluxe Soft Sleeper Compartment (2 passenger compartment)
Day 5 - Wednesday 04 September
Ulaanbaatar - Terelj National Park (1 night)
The train is expected into Mongolia's capital city Ulaanbaatar by mid-afternoon. On arrival we're met by our Mongolian guide, coach and driver who will stay with us for the next 4 days during our time in
Mongolia. We'll head straight out to Terelj National Park. The park is located around 80kms from Ulaanbaatar and is the third biggest protected area in Mongolia. This region is home to beautiful
wildflowers, fascinating rock formations and rolling meadows. We spend our night tonight in a ger camp. (D) Accommodation: Terelj National Park ger camp (2 people per ger, twin share)
Day 6 - Thursday 05 September
Terelj National Park - Ulaanbaatar (2 nights)
After breakfast in our ger camp we'll spend the morning exploring this delightful national park. We'll climb up to the Buddhist Aryabal temple of meditation nestled in the park's hills, where, from this
high vantage point, we'll have a wonderful view of the surrounding area. Around lunch time we'll visit a nomadic family to learn about their way of life and taste their local specialty drink - fermented
mares milk. On our way back to Ulaanbaatar we'll stop at the Genghis Khan Monument, located on the banks of the Tuul River at Tsonjin Boldog (54 km east of Ulaanbaatar), where according to legend, Genghis
found a golden whip. The complex has a statue of the man himself on horseback that is 40 metres tall and wrapped in 250 tons of gleaming stainless steel. This is the biggest equestrian statue in the world
and is symbolically pointed east towards his birthplace. We're able to climb (via stairs and a lift) to the head of the horse through its chest and neck, where we have panoramic views across Mongolia. On
our arrival in Ulaanbaatar there's time to freshen up at our hotel before we enjoy dinner at a Mongolian Barbecue restaurant. (BLD) Accommodation: Best Western Tuushin Hotel
Day 7 - Friday 06 September
Ulaanbaatar - Sightseeing
Today we'll take in the remarkable sights of Mongolia's capital. Founded in 1639 as a nomadic Buddhist monastic centre it settled permanently at its present location at the junction of the Tuul and Selbe
rivers in 1778. Our first stop this morning is at the Gandan Monastery which is the city's main Buddhist monastery currently housing approximately 150 monks. In the 1930's many of the country's monasteries
were destroyed by the communist government. However, the Gandan Monastery survived but it was closed in 1938 and didn'' t reopen until 1944 with a skeleton staff. When the communist regime lost power in 1990
the restrictions on worship were lifted and the Monastery and the Avalokiteśvara Temple were restored in 1996, funded by donations from the Mongolian people. This temple is the biggest temple in Mongolia
and was originally built in 1809 by Djibouti Danba IV, specifically to study the sutra. It now houses the tallest indoor statue in the world, a rebuilt 26.5 - metre-high Buddha completely gilded with
gold-leaf and studded with 2286 precious stones. Next we'll visit the fascinating Central Museum of Mongolian Dinosaurs followed by the National Museum which depicts the history of Mongolia from Neolithic
times to the present day. It also contains a great display of national costumes from Mongolia's ethnic groups as well as enlightening information on the proliferation of the Mongolian empire. Later this
afternoon our local guide will point us in the right direction for the purchase of souvenirs and the very reasonably priced local cashmere products. Early this evening we'll attend a lively folkloric
concert, including Mongolian throat singing, before dining in a local restaurant close to our hotel. (BLD)
Day 8 - Saturday 07 September
Ulaanbaatar - Train (1 night) to Irkustk
This morning we have the whole morning to do as we wish. Why not take the opportunity to have a leisurely breakfast before further exploring Ulaanbaatar, completing the souvenir shopping, purchasing snacks
for our forthcoming train journey or just do some people-watching from a café in Sukhbaatar Square? Around mid-day our local guide will collect us from our hotel and take us to lunch at a local
restaurant. After lunch we'll be transferred to Ulaanbaatar Railway Station where we'll bid farewell to our Mongolian friends and board the train for our 24 hour journey to Irkutsk in Siberia. The train
is scheduled to leave mid-afternoon and the border crossing from Mongolia to Russia commences around 9:00pm. The procedure takes approximately 7˝ hours and, as in China, officials will board the train at
both sides of the crossing. We'll be able to catch some rest in our compartments as this takes place, however, again we should expect some interruptions to our night's sleep. Please keep a small to
reasonable amount of Mongolian tӧgrӧg for any purchases on the station platforms prior to crossing the border as USD and Euros are not accepted by the local Mongolians. The dining car is not usually added
to the train until it crosses into Russia but this is also unfortunately not guaranteed. If the dining car is attached breakfast and lunch will be available on Sunday but it's wise to have a back-up supply
of snacks, purchased in Ulaanbaatar before departure, just in case the dining car is not connected! (BL) Overnight: 4 berth compartments reserved for 2 people per compartment
Day 9 - Sunday 089 September
Arrival Irkutsk (2 nights)
While we're on the train this morning we'll be rewarded with great views of Lake Baikal as we skirt around its edges. Located in the southern part of Siberia, the UNESCO heritage-listed Lake Baikal is the
oldest, largest and deepest lake on earth, reaching a depth of 1650 metres at its deepest point and holding one-fifth of all the fresh water on the planet. In past times the indigenous people living on its
shores have revered this beautiful body of water. The Buryat-Mongols tell of Baikal's creation in stories and legends, of the spirits and gods who inhabit its waters and of the mighty conqueror, Genghis Khan
who roamed the area. Russian writers, who came to the area more recently, celebrate the lake in poetry, fiction, and song. National parks and nature reserves line the east and west shores of this sparsely
populated region, encompassing a landscape of dense forests, snow-capped mountains, grassy steppes, lush wetlands, harsh deserts, rocky islands and rugged cliffs. We'll arrive into Irkutsk in the
mid-afternoon where we'll be met by our Siberian Tour Leader who'll escort us to our hotel in the centre of the city. After checking in to our hotel there'll be time for us to relax or perhaps explore the
area surrounding the hotel before enjoying dinner in its restaurant. (D) Accommodation: Hotel Courtyard by Marriott Irkutsk (or similar)