Mongolia Photography Tour
We are extremely excited to add this epic destination to our itinerary!
Experience Mongolia's nomadic culture, meet eagle hunters, and take incredible photos of the vast, untouched landscapes of Altai mountains and Gobi Desert of Mongolia with Swiss Photo Club.
This trip will be led by: Osan Altun who speaks Anglais, Français
Location
Where do we go?
The Gobi Desert (Gobi meaning ‘waterless place’) is a vast, arid region and stretches across northern China and southern Mongolia. You probably know if for its sand dunes and camels. It’s even said that the the Khongoryn Els sand dunes in the Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park sing when the wind blows. The Flaming Cliffs are another famous site, where dinosaur fossils have been found.
The breathtaking Altai Mountains form a huge part of the stunning scenery of the Western part of the country and play a key role in the second half of the tour. This is the land that nomadic families have called home for thousands of years up to today.
Eagle Hunting (´berkutchi´) has played a significant role in day to day life and is still a key element in the national culture. We will stay with these families and join them in the hills and creeks to create stunning photos of this spectacular tradition.
Altai Tavan Bogd National Park is located on the Western most point of Mongolia in Bayan-Ulgii Province. This vast, mountainous park borders China and Russia with views of Kazakhstan from the highest peak in Mongolia.
Road trip adventure
Mongolia is a huge country. This means that there will be long periods spent in our vehicles getting from one location to the next. Roads are mostly unpaved, where there are roads at all.
This is really a big part of the adventure. With our vehicles, we’re able to drive through the mountains and cross rivers. It will be an experience unlike anything. We’ll be far away from the civilized world, driving through scenery that constantly changes. There will be plenty of photo opportunities along the way. Due to the rough terrain, it may happen that we experience a vehicle breakdown. Our experienced drivers are usually able to fix this quickly--but you can take advantage by walking around and shooting more photos.
Trip highlights
What you can expect from this trip
- Ulaanbaatar
- Drive to Dalanzadgad city in the Gobi desert
- Drive to Khongor sand dunes of the Gobi desert
- Gobi Desert
- Drive to UB from Gobi
- Fly to Western Mongolia
- Eagle photography and drive to Altai Tavan Bogd National Park
- Early morning shooting Altai mountains
- Drive to Altai Tavan Bogd. Khoton Khurgan lakes.
- Photography with eagle hunter in this region
- Drive back to Olgiy
- Departure to Ulaanbaatar
- Departure from Ulaanbaatar
See full itinerary here
Day 1 –
Ulaanbaatar
Ulaanbaatar means ‘Red Hero’, and this bustling city on the bank of Tuul River is the capital city of Mongolia. It is growing quickly and developing in many versatile ways, but in contrast to its modern flair, it has kept its historical and cultural feel as well as its monastery temples and other buildings of historical value.
Today we meet the members of the team in Ulaanbaatar and will have dinner at one of our favorite restaurants! Our guide and drivers will meet everyone and will pick them up from UB airport, transfer to the hotel and meet with others at the restaurant.
Day 2 –
Drive to Dalanzadgad city in the Gobi desert
During this 5 to 6 hour drive to the main city in Umnugobi province, we will witness the landscape change. We will stop along the way at nice places to get our first landscape shots before arriving at the hotel in Dalanzadgad city.
Day 3 –
Drive to Khongor sand dunes of the Gobi desert
Sunrise session at Khongor sand dunes, which stretch for over 170km in length. The Khongor sand dunes area is the most beautiful--and one of the largest--sandy areas of Mongolia. Camels and the camel herder will be waiting for us for a portrait session and model shoot in the dunes.
You’ll meet the first rays of light in the Gobi desert looking at infinite curves and stunning mountains as the horizon turns pink. During the day, we will have some rest and post processing tutorials at a kitchen Ger. Sunset and Night photo shoots are also planned today. If we have a clear sky, we may practice night photography. We will stay overnight at the same tourist Ger camp.
Day 4 –
Gobi Desert
Get up early to climb up the Khongor sand dunes and shoot the sunrise. After breakfast, we will check out and go to Bayanzag, the famous Flaming Cliffs. We will arrive in the 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. Here, we will photograph the sunset from panoramic locations with an overview of the flaming cliffs. At sunset, they turn to a deep red color. After the sunset shooting, we drive to Dalanzadgad city and check in at our accommodations. We will stay overnight in a tourist camp.
Day 5 –
Drive to UB from Gobi
Departure from Dalanzadgad back to Ulaanbaatar with photo stops along the way. We will spend the night in a comfortable hotel in the very center of the city and we’ll have dinner in one of the local restaurants.
Day 6 –
Fly to Western Mongolia
Next, we'll fly to Western Mongolia on a 3-hour flight. Upon arrival, we will drive to an Eagle hunter's family. In the afternoon, we’ll work with eagle hunters in traditional attire along with their eagles, inside a Yurt. After this, we’ll go to the nearby mountains and small valleys to do the evening shoot. The hunters will take positions on the top of the rocky hills with their eagles. They will be here for us, so we can direct them. We will spend the night at the hotel in town, about 1½ hour drive away. Dinner will be at a local restaurant.
Day 7 –
Eagle photography and drive to Altai Tavan Bogd National Park
We will meet different hunters around 10am with their eagles and traditional hunting coats for the morning shoot. After the morning shoot, we will ask the hunters to show us their magic with their eagles, so we can shoot the eagles in-flight as they approach the hunters. After we finish here, we will witness another tradition: horseback games. After lunch, we will visit a nearby shallow lake with the eagle hunters to do a reflection shoot with galloping action through a small river. After this event, we will drive to Altai Tavan Bogd National Park (6hrs) to overnight in a Ger or nomadic winter house camp.
Day 8 –
Early morning shooting Altai mountains
We wake up early to shoot the Glacier before we drive to the Khoton Khurgan lakes. (6 to 7hrs).
If the road is not blocked by snow, we will take the vehicle to drive to the glacier. If it’s blocked, we will ride horses and use camel guides to help to transfer our gear. We will stay the night with a nomadic family in a Yurt or winter house.
Day 9 –
Drive to Altai Tavan Bogd. Khoton Khurgan lakes.
Tavan Bogd Mountains. After an early breakfast, we will start our 6-hour drive to the Khoton Khurgan lakes where we will meet an eagle hunters family and do some evening photography. We will spend the night in a ger or winter house.
Day 10 –
Photography with eagle hunter in this region
We’ll join the eagle hunter the following day for an environmental portrait photography shoot in nice spots like mountaintops, valleys and creeks.
Day 11 –
Drive back to Olgiy
Today we will drive back to Olgii (6 hours) via beautiful valleys and do plenty of photo stops before we check in at the local hotel. In the evening we will enjoy a traditional musical performance.
Day 12 –
Departure to Ulaanbaatar
Departure to Ulaanbaatar. We will be transferred to the airport and say goodbye to our drivers and cooks. In Ulaanbaatar, we will be picked up from the airport and transferred to the hotel. Time to freshen up before our final dinner at a local restaurant.
Day 13 –
Departure from Ulaanbaatar
After breakfast, we bring you to the airport to continue your travels or return home.
Accommodation
Where do we stay?
We’ll stay in a nice hotel in UlaanBaatar. In Olgii, we stay in bit more basic hotel, but still the best in town. The hotel in Olgii has private shower in each room, electricity, wifi, and a private toilet.
During the Gobi desert part of our trip, we will stay in heated Ger tents, sleeping in beds. Women sleep in one Ger, men in the other Ger. There is electricity in every tent in Gobi, and in there is a kitchen in the Flaming Cliffs area. Facilities are camp-style, outside in a sheltered normal toilet. Some camps have modern toilet facilities outside, some have a basic hole in the ground with shelter around.
Dining happens in a separate Ger tent. There is no WiFi for the Gobi part of the trip, but slow cellular internet connection is partially available. There’s a possibility to buy a local SIM card fairly inexpensively prior to the start of the trip. There are no hotels in Gobi, only nice Ger camps . This experience might be a bit out of your comfort zone, but the amazing unspoiled nature around will definitely make up for it!
Please note that we will bring an amazing cook for this trip. Even vegetarian options are available. It’s hard to get veggies in Mongolia, but you can be sure that we will take care of good food during this trip. For example, for breakfast we may have eggs, toast with nutella, sausages, juice, coffee etc. For lunch and dinner, we may have salads, nice soup and meat/pasta/rice.
Included
- Fully loaded program of photography practice, with personalized help based on your needs and interests
- One dedicated, experienced instructor who has your photos as his top priority
- Snacks / Water during the day
- Sharing twin accommodation in hotels where available
- Ger camp /All accommodations
- All transportation: 4 Domestic flights and ground transport by Toyota Land Cruisers, 3 people per car
- Drivers
- Fuel
- Guides and Tour leader services
- National park fees
- Meals
- Chef’s services
- Private Eagle hunting mini festival, Eagle hunting activity – all stages and model fees
Additionally, we will prepare an electric cord line and power generators for remote places with no electricity.
Not included
- Your flights to and from Mongolia
- Medical insurance
- Alcoholic beverages
- Visas (but we will prepare all needed documents for your visa – invitations, supporting letters, etc.)
Your instructor
Osan Altun
Altun PhotographyLanguage: Anglais, Français
Osan left his corporate career in 2013 to follow his passion of photography. After graduating from New York Film Academy, he founded Swiss Photo Club to share his passion and create a community.
He is specialised in Studio, Portraits, Events, Wedding and landscape photography. He is also a certified Adobe Photoshop instructor.
Osan continuously strives to create a personal connection with his subjects, to add that personal spark to each photo. His teaching style is crisp, to the point, and focused on getting the participant practice what she/he learned.
