Day 1
Arrival to Ulaanbaatar (Airport Code ULN, we call it short
UB). You’ll be met by our drivers and transferred to hotel. We meet at 7
p.m. at the lobby of our hotel. Then we drive to our dinner restaurant.
There we will have discussion about photo tour and get to know each other. Stay
overnight at nice hotel just 5 min from the main square. /D/
You can choose any flight today landing before 5 p.m.
Options are via Beijing, Seoul or Moscow. International flight is not included
in the tour. It is recommended to arrive a day or 2 earlier to have some rest
and make sure you will not miss next morning flight.
Day 2
Today we catch domestic flight from UB to Dalanzadgad. The
flight is 1,5 hours. Please note that flight schedule is released in March, so
in case of no flights we will travel by cars from Ulaanbaatar (at no additional
cost). Please buy your international flight tickets only after local flights
will be announced. Depending on the flight arrival time we can also have our
first session in Khongor sand dunes at sunset. Overnight in tourist Ger camp.
Amenities include electricity and shower. Ger camp is heated. 2 persons
per Ger, sleeping on a bed with bed linen, blanket, pillow. Each get has
electricity.
Day 3
Sunrise session at Khongor sand
dunes, which stretch for
over 170km in length. Khongor sand dunes is the most beautiful and one of the
largest sandy areas of Mongolia. Camels and camel herder will be waiting for us
for portrait session and model shoot in sand dunes.
You’ll meet first rays of light in
Gobi desert looking at
infinite curves and stunning mountains at horizon turning pink.
At daytime we have some rest and
post processing tutorials
at kitchen Ger.
Sunset and Night photo shoot are
also planned today. We’ve
chosen dates in Gobi with no moon, that means if we have a clear sky we may
practice at night photography.
Stay overnight at the same tourist
Ger camp.
Camp: Has a shower and electricity
Day 4
Get up early for shooting sunrise
in Khongor sand dunes.
After breakfast we check out and go Bayanzag (Flaming cliffs). We will arrive
at afternoon. The area is most famous for yielding the first discovery of
dinosaur eggs. Other finds in the area include specimens of Velociraptor and
eutherian mammals. Stay overnight in tourist camp.
We photograph sunset from
panoramic locations with overview
of flaming cliffs. At sunset they turn deep red color.
Camp: Has a shower and
electricity.
We stay in this camp for just one night (the area is small).
Day 5
Departure from Dalanzagrad local
airport back to UB. The
local flight will take 1,5 hours and included in tour cost. Again, flights will
be released only in March, so please arrange your international tickets after
we have local itinerary at hands.
Check in to comfortable hotel in
the very center of UB.
Dinner in one of local restaurants.
Day 6
Fly on commercial airplane (3
hours, flight around 6:00-8:00
a.m., tba) to Ulgii city from Ulaanbaatar. Drive to local Kazakh family (host)
so we can photograph locals and their portraits. This session will include
locals in their traditional clothes. We will also have 3-5 eagle hunters at
stunning sunset location with mountains around. After sunset we leave back to
Olgii to overnight at hotel (1-1,5 h drive back to town on our well prepared
Land Cruisers – 3 persons per car, on a gravel road).
Hotel with shower, wifi – it’s a
simple hotel in a small
town, but you can recharge yourself and your batteries and stay warm with nice
shower.
Day 7
We skip sunrise – allowing
ourselves a bit of rest. After
breakfast we leave back to Kazakh family to same area. It’s a very special day
for us. Private eagle festival just for us, Kazakhs on horseback, dressed in
their traditional dark coats and scarlet hats, with Golden Eagles hovering on
their arms. The Festival is arranged by locals that are committed to preserve
traditional Kazakh heritage. Enjoy the rare opportunity to view Golden Eagles
close up and allow one to perch upon your arm. We will be able to ask any
of them for a private portrait session. The whole event is just for 12
photographers. There’s a public festival happening around this time, but last
years it’s totally crowded with almost no possibility to make a good photo. We
will have up to 20 eagle hunters with many opportunities to shoot at diverse
locations: mountain ridges, river bends and grass marshlands with splashes and
reflections. Every single of eagle hunters will be ready for portrait session
and very friendly to our group. You’ll feel like in movie set today and bring
back home hundreds of good images with no crowd behind.
After this stunning day we return
back to Olgii to hotel
(1-1,5 h drive).
Hotel with shower, wifi.
Day 8
Lazy morning with a good night
sleep after a long day. After
breakfast we leave to another epic location for sunset. We arrange private
sessions with a total of five eagle hunters in the foothills of the Altai
mountains. Background will be holy Tsambagarav (4208m) mountain. That’s
stunning 360* location with rocky sharp mountains on one side and snowy capped
mountains on the other.
Back to Olgii. Stay overnight at
hotel.
Hotel with shower, wi-fi
Day 9
Traditional morning rest. After
lunch in the town of Olgii
we drive 1 hour on a paved road to beautiful blue lake with panoramic rocky
viewpoint. We have 3 eagle hunters today to have another opportunity to shoot
sunset with a person in the frame for the scale or a portrait in last warm rays
of light.
Back to Olgii. Stay overnight at
hotel.
Hotel with shower, wi-fi
Day 10
In the morning after early
breakfast we leave from Olgii
airport back to UB. Flight is included – 3 hours to fly. Check in to hotel
around 2-3 p.m. You’ll have time to stroll around UB city center.
Farewell dinner at UB restaurant.
(B, D)
Day 11
Our drivers will take you to UB
airport (code ULN). You can
select any flight this day, a private transfer will be arranged this day and
included in the tour. (B)
What to bring
Gear
- DSLR camera with tripod and remote shutter release
- A wide angle lens. For example, Nikkor 14-24 or Canon 17-40. Best lens
for use in wide-angle scenes or architecture photography - A middle-zoom lens such as a 24-70 mm
- A telephoto zoom lens, such as a 70-200 mm
Wear
- Waterproof and windproof jacket
(consider the average temperatures +5 20 C) - Waterproof pants
- Warm down-jacket and thermal pants
- Casual clothes for dinners and lunches and photography workshops
- Full list of recommended wear will be sent to participants.
Accommodation and food
- Amazing hotel in UB, more basic hotel in Olgii (but best in
town). Hotel in Olgii has private shower in each room, electricity, wifi,
private toilet. - During Gobi part we stay in heated Ger tents sleeping in
beds. Women sleep in one Ger, ment in the other Ger (2 persons per one Ger). - Electricity in every tent in Gobi, in kitchen at flaming cliffs. Facilities
camp-style outside in sheltered toilet (normal toilet, not “hole”). Some camps
have modern toilet facilities outside, some basic hole in the ground with
shelter around. Dining in a special Ger tent. No wifi in Gobi part, slow
cellular internet connection partially available. There are no hotels in Gobi,
just nice Ger camps – so this experience might be a bit of your comfort zone,
which definitely compensated by amazing unspoiled nature around. - During extension tour (only) in remote part of Altai you
stay in traditional Ger tent with stove. Heat up in the night, cool down till
the morning). Sleep on the mattress/carpet in provided sleeping bags or take
yours. Toilet outside (hole in the ground with mobile tent around it).
Electricity by generator run in the evening 2-3 hours.
Please note that we bring our amazing cook for this trip. So
even vegetarian options are available. It’s hard to get veggies in Mongolia,
but you can be sure that we take care of good food during this trip. Let’s say
for breakfast we have bacon and eggs, toasts with nutella, sausages, juice,
coffee etc. For lunch and dinner we have salads, nice soup and meat/pasta/rice
various nice dishes.
Physical difficulty
The main tour is easy to moderate in terms of activity. Most
of locations in the West even in the mountains are just next to the car
parking. First and second location in West Mongolia – 50-100 m from the car).
Third location in West Mongolia involves 300 m walk with 20-30 m ascend on a
20%-30% slope to reach little panoramic hill. At Gobi desert you need to be
ready to walk in sand dunes. I recommend bringing hiking poles here. Usually
it’s 30-40 min walk to most amazing inner dunes.
Temperatures in the night might be colder, so you just need
to prepare yourself in terms of wear, especially for extension part in remote
Altai.
In this tour lots of driving is involved on unpaved roads
(although on nice landcruisers). In Western part it’s 1-2 hours to location and
back, to get to Gobi from Dalanzadrad is 4-5 hours to drive and back).
Weather: (Averages in Aug – Oct)
Coldest: +1°C to -2°C
Normal: 6°C to +8°C
Warmest: +13°C to +16°C
The Gobi desert is the warmest area in Mongolia. But it’s
autumn time and it gets cold in the night time. So please take your warm
clothes. Full packing list will be sent to participants 2-3 months before the
trip start.
*If you cancel when your spot is confirmed and outside of 60 days until departure, you can receive a trip credit for your down payment minus the $100 cancellation fee.
