Traveling Smart

Partnership between Wind of Mongolia and the local NGO Ger to Ger
To contribute towards sustainable tourism, benefiting rural nomadic groups and their communities

Ger to ger routes have been created in order to give the possibility to nomadic herders to get benefits from the tourism sector, by creating a complementary income through a sustainable management of resources.
A very strict management of the project is necessary to open a route for foreigners, to preserve nomadic way of life and the environment.
Only small groups at the same time will be sent on the route.
Nomads will be your host, but also your guides. They will share with you their land, their life, their history.

The treasure of Mongolia is not only in its beautiful landscapes… The treasure of Mongolia is the country itself, its roots, History and traditions.
Mongolian culture has changed through centuries, and ruins, vestiges give us nowadays the chance to explore the past of the country.
Mongolian culture is also Buddhism and more than anything else, nomadic way of life. Mongolia is one of the last nomadic countries in the entire World.
Chinggis Khaan himself lived in gers, and this type of accommodation is still in use in the XXI century.
Despite this strong will to preserve this way of life, Nomads see their purchasing power going down year by year; lights of the city become attractive illusions for these men who look for a minimum comfort for their families.
More and more nomads move to the capital city, believing they will find jobs, money…
They settle down in the suburb of the city, in the ger districts, unhealthy surroundings, or in the sewerages, to keep warm during the freezing winters.

The population becoming sedentary, the nomadic way of life, result of thousands of years of experience, is disappearing… And by the same way the economy is changing drastically, the society is searching itself for a new way of life.
If nothing is done to give hope to mongolian herders, they will not be able to survive this transition period.

Ger to Ger routes are one solution: to give a chance to nomads to stay in the countryside, to live from their cattle, proudly, like their ancestors, and with a place in this new society.
Nowadays, nomads are still used as passive actors of the growing tourism sector; they usually don’t have the place they deserve.
Traveling with ger to ger means to be engaged for different values and other way of exploring the country, beyond a selfish satisfaction of a nice journey.

13 days travel in the heart of Mongolia
Arkhangaï & Övörkhangaï Provinces
Explore nomadic way of life, travel smart by choosing a Ger to Ger route

Day1: Reception at the airport and installation at the hotel.
Day2: Ulaanbaatar – Small Gobi
Day3: Small Gobi – Karakorum (ancient capital of the Mongolian Great Empire)
Day4: Karakorum – Tsetserleg (capital of Arkhangaï province)
Day5: Tsetserleg – Ikh Tamir
There, the project coordinator of Ger to Ger, Mongolian NGO, will wait for you. Still 30kms to go to reach the first settlement of the ger to ger project
Day6-11: Ger to Ger route.

The principle of Ger to Ger route is easy:
At Ikh Tamir, the project coordinator will register the group and gives to the driver the exact location of the first ger.
Then, the nomads themselves will take you in charge: At least one of them will travel with you from his settlement to the next one, with horses, ox cart or by foot. He will be your guide and show you interesting spots along the way. , like archeological sites, hot springs, monasteries…
8 days and 7 nights in a new universe, to live with nomads, taste their food, play games with children…

At the end of the route, your driver will wait for you to take you back to Ikh Tamir, your starting point.

D12 : Ikh-Tamir - Ogii Lake
D13 : Ogii Lake - Ulaanbaatar
D14 : International flight