Arriving at Ulaanbaatar airport.
We give you a lift to the base camp of the local paragliding club where you can move into your first traditional Mongolian ger. :-) The base camp is located in an area called Khar Usan Tokhoi which is a part of Gachuurt of Bayanzurkh district. The GIN Team stayed here as well when they shot their films and catalogues in Mongolia.
As planes usually arrive at dawn, we have a breakfast and a pre-flight talk, giving more information on the tour and features of free flight in Mongolia.
In the afternoon we fly from Bayanzurkh Mountain (1883 m)

the adventure:

Flying in Bayanzurkh Mountain and visiting Terelj National Park, which is extremely rich in flora and fauna. The average elevation is about 1600 m, with peaks reaching 2900 m. The park has many rock formations, and includes two famous formations named for things they resemble: Melkhii Khad (Turtle Rock) and the Praying Lama Rock.

We make our way to the town of Hatgal (nearby Lake Hovsgol) passing Bulgan and Moron.
We spend the following days flying the sites around Lake Hovsgol at the foot of eastern Sayan Mountain.
Lake Hovsgol is 1,645 m above sea level, 136 km long and 262 m deep. It is the second-most voluminous freshwater lake in Asia, and holds almost 70% of Mongolia's fresh water and 0.4% of all the fresh water in the world. The lake is surrounded by several mountain ranges. The highest mountain is the Bürenkhaan /Mönkh Saridag (3,492 m), which has its peak north of the lake exactly on the Russian-Mongolian border. The Park is home to a variety of wildlife such as ibex, argali, elk, wolf, wolverine, musk deer, brown bear, siberian mouse and sable. 
There are still shamanist and nomadic tribes raising reindeers living around the lake.

The next location to go is Terkhiin Tsagaan Nuur (White Lake). We spend a night camping on the way in some gers. There are several sites to fly around the lake and we also visit the famous Khorgo volcano pot.

We leave back to Gachuurt, and follow the way of Genghis Khan till Kharkorin.
On the way we camp a night nearby Ikh-Tamir, in the Taikhar Camp, which is the most luxury ger camp I have ever seen… 
Kharkhorin is located at the lower end of the upper valley of the Orkhon River that is part of the World Heritage Site Orkhon Valley Cultural Landscape. Nearby are the ruins of the ancient town of 'Karakorum' (city of ruin), which for a short time served as the capital of the Mongol Empire under Ogedei Khan.
It is impossible to miss the Erdene Zuu monastery, which is probably the most ancient surviving Buddhist monastery in Mongolia. Sometime 100 temples and 1000 lamas lived here. Today Erdene Zuu remains an active Buddhist monastery as well as a museum that is open to tourists.
Salkhit Mountain is located on the west side of River Orkhon and it is a potential site to fly and watch the ancient stupas from above.

the last day

Some farewell flights in Bayanzurkh Mountain, an especial farewell dinner in the paragliding base camp of Gachuurt and visiting Ulaanbaatar.

Leaving home…    

Even though we do follow a pre-planned route, we are quite flexible to change the route during the travel (e.g. weather-wise) to make our best for you.

- This is an adventure of a lifetime that changes the way you see the world indeed. We go back to the untouched nature, meet people who are free from the civilisation stress and still feel the manes. The predominant religion in Mongolia is Tibetan Buddhism but shamanism has left a mark on Mongolian religious culture, and continues to be practiced.

- Returning from the 3 week trip, after flights up to 4000m, Gin Seok Song (Gin Gliders designer) commented : 'The Mongolian people are a true reflection of their country: wild and native.'

 - Mongolia is the 19th largest and the most sparsely populated (1,78 person / km²) independent country in the world, with a population of around 2.9 million people.Ulaanbaatar (red hero), the capital and largest city, is home to about 38% of the population.

- There is hot and cold water at most of the base camps but some more remote places may offer just a river-bath or a lake-bath. As the saying goes the water of the rivers is also hot and cold: hot to drink and cold to swim :-) (in my opinion it is not hot to drink at all...)

- Mostly, it is no problem to charge batteries (radios, cameras etc.), because the voltage in Mongolia is 220 VT.

- It is wise to bring a sleeping bag with you. One might need it in the gers when the fire dies out during the night.  

- Weather in Mongolia is variable. In this season the nights are quite chilly, between 0 and +10 degrees, while daytime temperature is really unpredictable, changing day bay day between +15 and +30 degrees. The climate is extremely dry, rains are very rare in the country.  

- Food can be bought in every city. You do not need to worry about it. Breakfasts and dinners are organised and included in the price. At lunchtime we usually stop at a local place where we can eat.    

- Do not forget that we are in Mongolia. So expect the unexpected!