Just think Mongolia and images of wild horses galloping across the mountain steppes, of Bactrian camel trains crossing the Gobi Desert and of yurt encampments peopled by traditional nomads immediately spring to mind.
Eight hundred years after Genghis Khan and his Mongul hordes exploded from the east in an orgy of violent conquest, this distant land in the heart of Asia still resonates with echoes from a different time. And even today, outside of the capital, Ulaan Baatar, you will feel as though you are travelling in another century.
For the adventure tourist Mongolia has the lot: stunning mountain scenery, vast and spectacular deserts, a fascinating and ancient culture, and a warm and welcoming population.
Group Adventure Tours, Horse Trekking and Tailor-Made Holidays in Mongolia and along the Old Silk Road.
Mongolia was the center of the Mongol Empire in the thirteenth century and was later ruled by the Qing Dynasty from the end of the seventeenth century until 1911, when an independent government was formed with Russian assistance. The Mongolian People's Republic was proclaimed in 1924, leading to the adoption of communist policies and a close alignment to the Soviet Union. After the fall of communism in Mongolia in 1990, Mongolia adopted a new constitution which was ratified in 1992.
Mongolia is the nineteenth largest, and the least densely populated independent country in the world with a population of around 2.9 million people. The country contains very little arable land as much of its area is covered by arid and unproductive steppes with mountains to the north and west and the Gobi Desert to the south. Approximately thirty percent of the country's 2.8 million people are nomadic or semi-nomadic. The predominant religion in Mongolia is Tibetan Buddhism, and the majority of the state's citizens are of the Mongol ethnicity, though Buriats, Kazakhs and Tuvans also live in the country, especially in the west. About 38% of the population lives in Ulaanbaatar.
So join us in the footsteps of Ghengis Khan to experience the amazing natural landscapes and the traditional nomadic lifestyle of this distant eastern land.
We will be running a special trip to Mongolia in 2008 to witness a total eclipse of the sun.
