Share this...

Facebook

Pinterest

Twitter

Linkedin

MTP Mongolia Eagle Festival Group Tour

Golden eagles, Kazakh horsemen and a couple of nights sleeping in gers in western Mongolia. This is a pretty special way to kick off October, folks. As part of my MTP Chengdu 2027 trip series, we’re heading to Mongolia for the Golden Eagle Festival, with time in Ulaanbaatar either side and an optional extension into the Gobi Desert afterwards.

The main trip runs from 1–6 October 2027. We meet in Ulaanbaatar, fly west to Ölgii for the festival, then return to the capital for the Chinggis Khan statue and a day exploring the city. If you’ve come all this way and want to see more, stay until 11 October for Yol Valley, the Khongor sand dunes and the Flaming Cliffs of Bayanzag.

This is one of the earlier trips in the series. The MTP Summit in Chengdu runs from 21–24 October 2027, so there’s a proper gap afterwards for your own travels or another adventure. Our Mongolia trip finishes in Ulaanbaatar; getting to Chengdu is a separate part of your plans.

It was a HUGE dream of mine, personally, to attend this last year and it lived up to ALL my expectations. This isn’t a human zoo style thing, like the Papua New Guinea tribes at Mount Hagen festival, or the Maasai in Tanzania. You’ll be one of a handful of foreigners for this majestic competition. It’s unreal.

How to join this trip?

You can click HERE, or click the green button below:

TLDR Just Wanna Join

Main trip: 1–6 October 2027, six days and five nights.

Optional Gobi extension: 6–11 October, adding five nights. Eleven days and ten nights in Mongolia altogether.

Start and finish: Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Festival plan: attend on 2 AND 3 October in the Ölgii area.

Main trip price: US$3,299 per person.

Optional Gobi extension: an additional US$2,299 per person.

Total with the extension: US$5,598 per person. DISCOUNTED TO $5,199 IF YOU BOOK BOTH.

Interested? Email johnny@onestep4ward.com with “Mongolia 2027” and let me know whether you’re looking at the festival trip or the festival plus the Gobi.

Who Am I

If you’ve landed here through MTP, I’m Johnny Ward, the Irish travel blogger behind One Step 4Ward. I’ve visited every country in the world, completed the Ultimate Explorer’s Grand Slam and spent years organising group adventures through the contacts I made along the way. These trips are a big part of what I do now.

I’m also an MTP GrandMaster and a sponsor of the Chengdu 2027 Summit. This Mongolia trip is part of the group-travel programme we’re putting together around the conference, giving people more opportunities to explore with others who are just as keen to get out there.

Why the Golden Eagle Festival

The festival takes us to Bayan-Ölgii, in the far west of Mongolia, where Kazakh eagle hunters gather with their birds and horses. The competitions centre on the skills of the eagles and their handlers, with traditional clothing and horsemanship forming part of the occasion. It’s a chance to see a very different part of Mongolia from the capital.

We’re planning our visit around the festival on 2–3 October, with two nights in a ger in the Ölgii area. A ger is the traditional round, felt-covered dwelling you’ll see across Mongolia. Spending the night there keeps the trip rooted in the place we’ve come to see, rather than flying in for a few photographs and disappearing again.

The itinerary below is our planned route. We fly west on the first festival day and spend the whole of the following day there, before returning to Ulaanbaatar.

Trip highlights

• Attend the Golden Eagle Festival in western Mongolia.
• Stay in gers around Ölgii.
• Visit the Chinggis Khan statue outside Ulaanbaatar.
• Explore the capital and get to know the group over dinner and drinks.
• Add the Gobi for Yol Valley, Khongor’s dunes and Bayanzag’s Flaming Cliffs.

Mongolia Golden Eagle Festival Itinerary

Day 1 Friday 1 October Arrive in Ulaanbaatar

Arrive in Ulaanbaatar and settle into the hotel. This is our meeting point before heading west, so today is about getting everyone together and easing into the trip after the international flights. In the evening, we’ll meet for dinner and drinks, get to know the group and talk through the days ahead.

Overnight: hotel in Ulaanbaatar.

Day 2 Saturday 2 October Fly to Ölgii and the Golden Eagle Festival

We fly from Ulaanbaatar to Ölgii and head to the Golden Eagle Festival after arrival. This is the day the journey takes us right across the country and into Mongolia’s Kazakh west. We’ll spend the time available watching the festival before settling into our ger accommodation for the evening.

Once the day’s events are over, we have our first night in a ger and a full day at the festival still to come tomorrow.

Overnight: ger in the Ölgii area.

Day 3 Sunday 3 October A Full Day at the Festival

Today is all about the Golden Eagle Festival. With no flight to catch, we can spend the day following the competitions and enjoying the atmosphere around the festival grounds. There’s time to watch properly, take photographs and see more of the skills that have brought everyone here.

Afterwards, we return to our ger for a second night in western Mongolia. There’s plenty to talk about after a day watching the eagles and their handlers in action.

Overnight: ger in the Ölgii area.

Day 4 Monday 4 October Back to Ulaanbaatar and the Chinggis Khan Statue

We fly back to Ulaanbaatar, with a visit to the Chinggis Khan statue planned for later in the day. The enormous figure on horseback stands outside the capital and is one of the sights we’ve built into this part of the trip.

Then it’s back to the hotel, with some downtime before the evening. After two nights in the west, there’s space to catch up, sort through the camera roll and head out for drinks if you fancy it.

Overnight: hotel in Ulaanbaatar.

Day 5 Tuesday 5 October Explore Ulaanbaatar

We have a full day for the capital today. A city tour gives us time to explore Ulaanbaatar beyond the airport and hotel, followed by an evening activity together. After travelling to the far west for the festival, it’s good to have time to see the capital properly too.

It’s also the last full day for anyone joining only the festival trip. For the Gobi group, there’s time to get ready for the next stretch before we head south tomorrow.

Overnight: hotel in Ulaanbaatar.

Day 6 Wednesday 6 October Finish or Continue to the Gobi

The six-day Golden Eagle Festival trip finishes in Ulaanbaatar today. If you’re heading home or travelling elsewhere, this is where the main itinerary ends. For everyone staying on, the adventure continues with a flight south to Dalanzadgad and the start of the Gobi extension.

Optional Gobi Desert Extension

If you’ve got another five nights, this is your chance to see a very different side of Mongolia. We swap the festival in the west for a road trip through the Gobi, travelling between Yol Valley, the Khongor sand dunes and Bayanzag before returning to Ulaanbaatar on 11 October.

The extension includes a full day based around Khongor, so there’s time to enjoy the dunes without immediately packing up for the next stop. Accommodation is mainly in gers, with a local hotel in Dalanzadgad before the return flight. The drives are part of the experience, and some days cover a fair distance.

Day 6 Wednesday 6 October Fly to Dalanzadgad

We leave Ulaanbaatar for a flight to Dalanzadgad, the starting point for our Gobi route. The current plan is an evening arrival followed by the drive to our ger camp. If the final flight lands too late for that transfer, the first night will be in a local hotel instead.

Overnight: ger camp, or a local hotel depending on the flight schedule.

Day 7 Thursday 7 October Yol Valley to the Khongor Sand Dunes

Our first full day in the Gobi takes us through Yol Valley on the way to the Khongor sand dunes. It’s a driving day, with roughly 220 kilometres in the current plan, so there’ll be plenty of time watching the landscape change as we head towards the dunes.

We finish at Khongor, where we’ll stay for two nights. That means tomorrow can be spent around the dunes rather than on another long transfer.

Overnight: ger camp in the Khongor area.

Day 8 Friday 8 October A Day at Khongor

We stay around the Khongor sand dunes today. There’s time to explore, take photographs and enjoy the setting at a more relaxed pace. Camel riding around the dunes is an optional activity for anyone interested; the arrangements and any extra cost should be checked before joining in.

This extra day is a big reason to add the extension. You’ve travelled a long way to get here, so it makes sense to have time at the dunes rather than squeeze everything into a quick stop.

Overnight: ger camp in the Khongor area.

Day 9 Saturday 9 October Bayanzag and the Flaming Cliffs

We leave Khongor and drive towards Bayanzag, better known as the Flaming Cliffs. The planned journey is around 180 kilometres, taking us to another of the Gobi’s best-known landscapes. We’ll spend time exploring the cliffs before another night in a ger camp.

Overnight: ger camp in the Bayanzag area.

Day 10 Sunday 10 October Dalanzadgad and the Gobi Museum

We return to Dalanzadgad today, a journey of approximately 100 kilometres in the current route. There’s a visit to the Gobi Museum of Nature and History before checking into a local hotel for the night. It’s a chance to put some of the landscapes we’ve travelled through into context before leaving the desert.

Overnight: local hotel in Dalanzadgad.

Day 11 Monday 11 October Fly to Ulaanbaatar

The extension finishes with a flight back to Ulaanbaatar. An early departure is currently planned, but the flight time is still to be confirmed. Check the final domestic schedule before arranging your onward flight, and leave room for delays rather than building the whole journey around a tight connection.

How This Fits With MTP Chengdu 2027

The Mongolia trip sits before the MTP Chengdu Summit on 21–24 October, with a gap between the two. If you finish on 6 October, you have two weeks before the Summit starts. If you stay for the Gobi and finish on 11 October, you still have ten days.

That leaves room to travel elsewhere, make your way towards China or look at another trip in the series. The Pakistan to China overland trip runs from 10–19 October, so it overlaps with the end of the Gobi extension. The Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan trip starts on 12 October, just one day after the extension ends. Check the actual connections before trying to combine them.

The Mongolia route ends in Ulaanbaatar. It doesn’t include travel through the gap to Chengdu or a Summit ticket, so arrange those separately if you’re attending.

Mongolia Tour Dates and Cost

• Golden Eagle Festival trip, 1–6 October 2027: US$3,299 per person.
• Optional Gobi extension, 6–11 October 2027: an additional US$2,299 per person.

The total for the main trip plus the optional extension is US$5,598 per person (discounted to $5,198 if you join both sections, $500 off). You can join the festival trip on its own; the Gobi is an add-on for those who want to continue south afterwards.

How to join this trip?

You can click HERE, or click the green button below:

Questions About the Mongolia Trip

Can I Join the Festival Trip Without the Gobi

Yes. The main trip finishes in Ulaanbaatar on 6 October. The Gobi is an optional extension for people who want to stay until 11 October.

Where Does the Trip Start and Finish

Both options start and finish in Ulaanbaatar. Arrive for the start of the trip on 1 October. For the festival-only trip, the finish is 6 October; for the full route, it is 11 October after the return flight from Dalanzadgad.

What Is the Accommodation Like

The plan combines hotels in Ulaanbaatar with two nights in gers around Ölgii. On the Gobi extension, most nights are in ger camps, followed by a local hotel in Dalanzadgad. Expect a mix of city hotels and ger accommodation rather than the same setup every night. If you have particular rooming or bathroom requirements, get in touch before booking.

How Active Is the Trip

The planned itinerary centres on festival visits, sightseeing, flights and road travel. The Gobi extension adds time around the valley, dunes and cliffs, with camel riding optional. Tell us about any mobility or access needs before booking so the walking, vehicles and accommodation can be checked against what you need.

Should I Book My Flights Now

Wait for the final trip arrangements and domestic flight schedule before buying non-refundable tickets. This matters especially for the flight to Ölgii on the first festival day and for your onward journey after the Gobi flight returns to Ulaanbaatar.

How to Join

If the Golden Eagle Festival has been on your list, this is a good reason to make 2027 the year you finally get to Mongolia. Come for the six-day trip, or add the Gobi and give yourself eleven days to see more of the country.

Email johnny@onestep4ward.com with “Mongolia 2027”. Let me know how many people are inter ested and whether you want the festival only or the Gobi extension too. We can go through the latest arrangements from there.