Day 1: Leave SFO for Beijing. The adventure begins! (Other departure cities are also available).
Day 2: Beijing
Arrive in Beijing in the evening. Your guide will meet you and transfer you to your hotel.
Day 3: Beijing
TianAnmen Square and Forbidden City, including the Emperor's Clock Collection and the Jewelry and Relic collection. After lunch we will take you to the Yong He Gong Lamasery, which is one of the few Tibetan Buddhist Temples and includes 4 small museums on the grounds. Evening option: Beijing Opera.
(B), (L), (D)
Day 4: Beijing
Today we will walk on the incredible Great Wall and visit the Ming Tombs. You will remember this day for the rest of your life.
(B), (L)
Day 5: Beijing
We will take you on a tour of a Hutong. This is the traditional Chinese residence in old Beijing. The Hutongs are disappearing in modern China. We will take you on a bicycle-driven rickshaw into the neighborhood and then into one of the residences. After lunch you will be taken to the 2nd Hand Street Market. This is where locals shop and where you can buy a great variety of things for fantastic prices!
(B), (L), (D)
Day 6: Lhasa
The morning is free for you to relax or walk around the neighborhood near the hotel. After lunch you will go to the Temple of Heaven. This is where the emperor went every year to commune with the heavens to assist the harvest. Later we will transfer you to the airport for your flight to Lhasa, Tibet and then transfer you to your hotel. Due to most people's need to adjust to the high altitude, you should probably take it very easy this evening.
(B), (L), (D)
Day 7: Lhasa
Today we will take you to the Jokhang Temple, Bharkhuo Street and the Tibetan Quarter of the town. Dinner at the Crazy Yak Restaurant.
(B), (L), (D)
Day 8: Lhasa
We will visit the incredible Potala Palace in the morning. It was the government headquarters, the center of the religion and the residence of the Dali Lamas all in one. This is one of the most impressive structures ever built. It is literally a "city set on a hill." After lunch we will take you to the Sera Monastery, and if we are fortunate, we can see the Monks "debate".
(B), (L), (D)
Day 9: Xi'an
You will fly to Xi'an in the morning where your guide will meet you and transfer you to your hotel. Once you are settled, you will be given a tour of the city, including the City Wall, the Bell Tower and Drum Tower.
(B), (L), (D)
Day 10: Xi'an
Today you will go to the amazing Terra Cotta Soldiers Museum. Then you will return to the hotel.
(B), (L), (D)
Day 11: Xi'an
The day begins with the incredible Shaanxi Provincial Museum. After lunch you will visit the Muslim Quarter and the Great Mosque. The Great Mosque is one of the few mosques which has both Chinese and Arabic architecture.
Day 12: Ulaanbaatar
Today you will fly you from Xi'an to Mongolia via Beijing. When you arrive at the airport of UlaanBaatar, our guide will pick you up at the airport and take you to the Chingiis Khan campground on the way into Ulaanbaatar. Then you will go to UlaanBaatar. After a brief orientation of the center of town, you will arrive at the hotel.
Evening option: Tumen Ekh National Performers (concert which includes the Tsam dance, traditional Mongolian singers, dancers, Tuvan throat singing and contortionists).
(B), (L)
Day 13: Ulaanbaatar
Morning visit Gandan Monastery (80 foot tall statue of Buddha, practicing Tibetan Buddhist Lamas). Then we will visit Choijin Lama Temple Museum. After lunch visit the National History Museum (which has some wonderful exhibits, especially concerning Chingiis Khan and the tribal costumes).
(B), (L)
Day 14: Gobi
A trip to the Gobi Desert - Fly to Dalanzadgad area in the morning. Arrive at the camp site. Once settled in the camp we will take you on a tour of the area including Yol Am. This incredibly beautiful valley features one of the anomalies of nature found in Mongolia- here in the midst of the Gobi Desert is a glacier coming out of the mouth of a cave that is still frozen even throughout the summer.
(B), (L), (D)
Day 15: Gobi
Full day tour, including the Flaming Cliffs (where dinosaur fossils were discovered in Mongolia), a camel herder, Moltcog Els sand dunes and varied countryside sites. If there is time we can take a brief tour of Dalanzadgad.
(B), (L), (D)
Day 16: Ulaanbaatar
Enjoy the ger campsite and the beautiful scenery in the area. Fly back to UlaanBaatar and transfer to your hotel or apartment.
(B), (L), (D)
Day 17: Ulaanbaatar
Today you will visit the Zanabazar Art Museum. Then we will take you to the Bogd Khan Summer and Winter Palace. After lunch we will visit Natural History Museum. If time permits you can go shopping at the Gobi Cashmere Store which features fine Mongolian cashmere and camel hair garments as well as State Department Store.
(B), (L)
Day 18: Karakhorum
Karakhorum Trek - You leave in the morning to go on a trek to Karakhorum, the ancient capital of Chinggis Khan. There is little remaining of the capital, as it was mostly built of wood, but there are a few small stone monuments there from that time. Driving through the beautiful Mongolian Steppe (and the Shoestring Gobi patch), we will stop and visit Nomads along the way and enjoy Nomad hospitality. You will arrive at the ger camp late in the day. You will stay in a quality ger camp where you can have dinner and enjoy the area.
(B), (L), (D)
Day 19: Hustai Reserve
You will be taken to the 9th Century stone tortoises. Then you will visit the active Buddhist Erdene Zuu Monastery. You will see several interesting buildings, Buddhist artwork, and possibly a Buddhist service. Then we drive back east and visit the Dutch Horse Ranch, the Hustai Natural Reserve. We will spend the night there at their ger camp.
(B), (L), (D)
Day 20: Hustai Reserve
After breakfast very early morning you will have another chance to see the horses. After lunch we will drive back to Ulaanbaatar and transfer into the hotel.
(B), (L)
Day 21: Ulaanbaatar
Fly back from UlaanBaatar to Beijing where your guide will meet you and take you to your hotel. Along the way you will have a brief stop at Bei Hai Park, which is where locals go to relax. You will arrive in the evening, transfer to hotel.
(B)
Day 22: Beijing
Today your guide will take you to the airport for your return flight to the US with incredible memories.
(B)
Notes:
Airfare is not included in the tour price.
Exact price is dependant on the international airfare prices Private room only guaranteed in hotels. Private gers in ger camps are dependant on the number of clients at the camp at the time.
* Note: Other departure cities can be substituted or connection flights included for a reasonable fee.
* Tour price includes: Domestic Chinese flights, domestic Mongolian flights, buses, jeeps, private transportation, all tours, guides, drivers, transfers, 4-star hotels (double occupancy) in China, hotels in Mongolia, meals as listed.
* Not included: International air flight round trip USA-China, items listed as "optional" Airport tax *(Chinese visa, next-day air, service and handling), tips, dinners in UlaanBaatar (this is to allow those who want to rest in UB to go back to the hotel and rest).
* Note: We do provide visa service for China. We can provide international flights at excellent rates.
Also see tour packages in:
Asia
China
Mongolia
Tibet
Cultural Journey
Archeology/History
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