trip details for russia & mongolia overland (XPB)

We hope you enjoy this video of life on the road. This video may not be of this trip you are looking at but should give you an idea of what life is like on a Dragoman Overland journeys in this region of the world.

This film requires a Macromedia Flash 8 Player.

is this trip for me?

Route: St Petersburg to Beijing or v.v.

Length of Section: 11 Weeks

Profile: Exploratory with flexible itinerary which will vary, visiting Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and China. Trip varies from high western culture (St. Petersburg) to staying with Mongolian horsemen. Travels through a range of temperatures from European Russia, Siberia and hot deserts of Central Asia. Road conditions can be poor and sometimes non-existent. Crosses very remote regions including Gobi Desert, Kazak steppe and southern Siberia. Trip for adventurous travellers with hiking, camels and horse riding. Expect the unexpected

Adventure Rating: Extreme

Crew: 2 Dragoman crew and 1 local crew.

Vehicle: Classic Dragoman truck.

Accommodation: Good quality 3 star through to small guesthouses with some Yurt/Ger tent homestays. Plenty of wildcamping. (50% camping, 50% hotels)

what's included?

Week 1: The European Capitals:

2 or 3 night stay in St. Petersburg incl. city tour
2 nights in the ancient Russian city of Novgorod
3 nights in the capital Moscow incl. city tour

Week 2: The Golden Ring & Volga:

Visit to the majestic town of Vladimar, capital of the Rus kingdom
3 nights in and around fairytale town of Suzdal, time for hikes
2 nights in "Russia�s third capital" Nizhmy Novgorod

Week 3: Russian & Kazakh Steppe:

Visit to Kazan, the capital of Tartarstan
3 nights on the banks of the Volga in Samara
Overland journey across the Russian and Kazakh steppe

Week 4: Kazakhstan's Kazakh Steppe:

Visit Aral and see the eerie discarded ships left from the retreated Aral Sea
Overland into Southern Kazakhstan

Week 5: Southern Kazakhstan:

Visits to ancient 10th Century ruined city of Sauren
2 nights to explore the Islamic blue domed Khanate of Turkestan
Travel through the stunning Tian Shan of the Aksu-Dzhabagly NP

Week 6: Tian Shan & Altai Shan Mts:

4 nights for culture, clubs and R&R in the big smoke of Almaty
Overland through the Tian Shan and Altai Shan Mountains

Week 7: Southern Siberia & Western Mongolia:

Explore the stunning Siberian Altai Mountains
Wildcamping in remote mountain scenery
Cross a remote border into the even more remote lands of Mongolia Altai Mountains

Week 8: Northern Mongolian Lakes:

Journey through the lake district of northern Mongolia, wild camping at night
Wildcamping in remote areas and often beside lakes
3 nights at stunning Huvsgul Lake
2 night Ger homestay with the Tsaatan Nomads and their reindeer herds

Week 9: Ghenghis Khan Country:

Journey through Mongolia�s most stunning wild lands
Visit to the Khorgo-Terkhiin Tsagaan Lake and Volcano NP
Hiking at the Tsenher hot springs
Exploration of the Erdene Zuu Monastery, close to the 13th century Mongul capital of Harhorin

Week 10: Gobi Desert:

Overland across the vast Gobi Desert
Journey along the Orhon River
Mongolian Ger homestay and camel trekking at Khongorin Els
Mongolian Ger homestay and explore the Yolin Am Iced Valley

Week 11: Gobi Desert & Inner Mongolian Grasslands:

Overland across the grasslands and plains of the southern Gobi
Enter China in the grasslands of Inner Mongolia
Time to visit the Great Wall at Mutianyu
Explore the Ming Tombs

what can I do on the way?

(Activities available at extra costs)

Tour around Russian Cosmodrome at Baikonur if time and permits allow
Hermitage Entrance and tour
Visit the Ballet in St. Petersburg or Moscow
Kremlin Entrance
Ride horses with Kazakh or Mongal nomads
Ride camels in the Gobi Desert
Guided visits to the Summer Palace & Forbidden City in Beijing

notes:

General notes: Kitty does not cover food while staying in hotels or hostels.

Because of its nature, this itinerary may vary.

We strongly recommend that you contact Real Russia (our Russian agent) with regard to obtaining visas for this trip. Please click the relevant link below which will take you to Real Russia's own website and information.

EASTBOUND TRIPS VISA NOTES:
Please click here to go to the Real Russia website for all the visa notes for this trip.

WESTBOUND TRIPS VISA NOTES:
Please click here to go to the Real Russia website for all the visa notes for this trip.

This is another Dragoman Overland first, a Silk Road adventure with a difference; it's overland adventure travel at its most pioneering. If you are after an adventure holiday and you are one of the lucky few who can get 11 weeks off from work, then sign up now for this great adventure. We will travel Central Asia and the northern Silk Road from St. Petersburg through to Beijing. Russia adventure travel is only just in it's infancy and so you will have to take the rough with the smooth especially when we explore the Altai Shan Mountains in Kazakhstan, Siberia and Mongolia. If you are into walking holidays, you should be aware that this is primarily an overland journey, but there will be time for trekking in both the Altai and the Tian Shan mountains. Homestay holidays are becoming very popular and this trip is a series of homestay adventures. We will stay with Kazakhs, Mongols, reindeer herders and traditional hunters. A Yurt homestay is a great way to experience the lifestyles of the semi nomadic and nomadic peoples whose land we will travel through. For those unsure of what a yurt is, it is a traditional Central Asian circular tent built on a semi permanent wooden frame. As we travel across the region it's name will change from yurt, yurta, gert and finally to the Mongolian Ger, but what's in a name. For us the joy is meeting the people and our style of adventure tour must have this community involvement. This is part of our ethos and understanding of responsible tourism. This is an exploratory journey with a flexible itinerary, which will vary. We will travel through a range of temperatures from European Russia, Siberia and hot deserts of Central Asia.