Cycling in Mongolia

Cycle off-road across the vast expanse of the Mongolian steppeland

Mongolia remains a mysterious presence in the heart of Central Asia, a traditional country where visitors are still an unusual sight. Nomads wander the grasslands, setting up their white gers (tents) where the pasture is lush for their horses. On our bikes, we follow good trails across wide-open steppe, into expansive mountain scenery and through larch and pine forests. Camping wild under the wide skies adds an adventurous edge to what is one of our most intrepid cycle tours.

Responsible Travel

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Every time we travel, we are part of a global movement that creates jobs, builds more sustainable societies, encourages cultural understanding and safeguards common natural and cultural heritage. To learn more about what Responsible Travel means to Exodus click here…

Visa

Mongolia

Travellers from UK, US, CA and EU normally do not need a visa to enter Mongolia. Please note, visa requirements often change and it is your responsibility to obtain any required visas for this trip. Therefore, we recommend that you check with the nearest embassy or consulate of your chosen destination(s), including any countries you may be transiting or transferring through.

Some local governments provide guidance on what visas their citizens need. To help, we’ve gathered a selection of useful links below.

• Australia: www.smartraveller.gov.au/destinations/asia/mongolia
• Canada: www.travel.gc.ca/destinations/mongolia
• United Kingdom: www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/mongolia/entry-requirements
• USA: www.travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Mongolia.html

Vaccination

Mongolia

There are no required vaccinations. However, you may want to consider vaccinations for tetanus, typhoid, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, rabies, tuberculosis and tick-borne encephalitis.

Dengue fever, a tropical viral disease spread by daytime biting mosquitoes, is a known risk in places visited. There is currently no vaccine or prophylaxis available; therefore, we recommend you take the usual precautions to avoid mosquito bites.

Eating and Drinking

All meals are included.

In the countryside, our support vehicles carry the kitchen, food supplies and kitchen staff including a professional chef. Meals are Western style with a strong Asian influence. Breakfasts are typically cereals, toast and a hot dish. Lunches on the road are sandwiches, cheese, meats and salad. Dinners are a variety of vegetables, meat, rice, potatoes and pasta dishes. Filtered or purified drinking water is supplied on all cycling days, as are tea, coffee and fruit drinks. Dining in Ulaanbaatar is excellent and includes Mongolian, Indian, French, Chinese and Mexican restaurants. If you follow a vegan diet, expect that the variety of food may be limited on this trip. As this kind of diet is relatively uncommon in this region, we cannot guarantee the hotels and restaurants will provide meals that have the necessary variety to be considered satisfying.

Weather

June to August is summer in Mongolia, characterised by daytime temperatures of 20C-30C (68F-86F) and evenings around 15C (59F). Summer is also the wet season and rainy days are certain over a two-week journey. September is the start of autumn (fall), expect daytime temperatures of 15C-25C (59F-77F), nights 5C-10C (41F-50F). Mongolia is a land of tremendous seasonal change, as temperatures plummet to -40C (-40F) in winter. It can snow on any day of the year and there is the potential that very cold weather could be experienced on these trips.

Is this trip for you?

This is an Activity Level 4 (Moderate/Challenging) cycling trip and classified as off-road. We advise that you are reasonably fit and a confident cyclist, with some off-road cycling experience. Please also take the number of nights camping into consideration; hotels are only used in Ulaanbaatar. We believe that camping allows you to experience the wonderful remoteness of Mongolia.

• Average daily distance: 31mi (50km)
• Number of cycling days: 11 (including two half days)
• Vehicle support: 100 percent

Terrain and route: We take good quality, vehicle-width, hardpack dirt tracks across rolling forest and steppe. Roads vary from paved to rocky in places with some short, steep passes.

Two vehicles support the trip (depending on group size) including a 4x4/standard minivan for people and a separate one for bikes and equipment. You may ride as much or as little as you like. The only things you need carry with you on the bike are your valuables, sunscreen, extra top, camera and water bottle etc. One vehicle travels at the front of the group and one at the rear. The bikes return from Karakorum with the support vans at the end of the trip.

The terrain is best described as rolling. Our route mostly follows jeep tracks along river valleys and over ridgeline mountain passes, with some better quality paved roads in the early stages of the trip. Trails are mostly hardpacked dirt tracks; however, mountain passes often have loose gravel on the descent, requiring extreme caution. Sandy patches are hazardous in places, particularly at the base of small dips in the road. Our route passes through some more mountainous areas where roads follow rivers upstream and occasionally cross up and over into the neighbouring watershed. The passes referred to in the itinerary are universally low – usually requiring just 330ft-655ft (100m-200m) of vertical rise/descent. Some of the descents can be rocky. Typically, there are four to six hours of riding each day.

This trip will appeal to anyone who is physically fit, enjoys riding off road and who is happy to camp in beautiful and wild places (we use good quality camping equipment, but home comforts are not a feature of this trip). Our tented camps include a kitchen tent, communal dining tent, wash tent and toilet tents. Mongolia is a country with just 930mi (1,500km) of sealed roads and these tend to be heavily trafficked and in poor condition. By far the most appealing travel is away from the main transit corridors and this is where our route takes us.

If you are bringing your own bike, please ensure that suitable off-road tyres are fitted – if in doubt please contact our office for clarification. Due to the open nature of the country and the fact this is a fully supported trip, it is best to be flexible and to adjust the daily itinerary according to circumstances. The exact location of campsites can be changed, as circumstances require, but weary cyclists are free to join the support vehicle. If you have any queries about the difficulty of the trip, please do not hesitate to call us.

Please note, the route and distances described in the itinerary are fluid. Depending on local conditions and how the group feel, plus the potential encounters with locals along the way, we may cycle further or less far that day.