Our 7 days, 6 nights discovery tour of Alashan will let you discover the best of Alashan.
Trip highlights
- Have a true experience of the desert : discover amazing oasis deep in the desert, drive like on the “Paris-Dakar”, ride camels, sleep under the moonlight
- Experience the Mongol lifestyle : sleep in a Yourt (“Ger”), ride horse and/or camels, make Mongolian dumpling and traditional milk-tea…
- Checking out authentic Tibetan Buddhist Monastery
- Admire ancient rock carvings
- Attend traditional festival (lamma monks singing, Horse or camel races, wrestling…)
Day 1
- Pick-up at Yinchuan (capital of Ningxia province) airport
- 1 hour drive to visit ancient mausoleums of the XiXia civilization ( once one of the 3 most important civilizations of modern China territory, it was almost completely wipe out by the Mongols and Genghis Khan)
- 2 hours transfer to your hotel in Bayanhaote (capital city of Alashan)
- Welcome drink and dinner
Day 2
- Local Breakfast
- Head to a remote buddhist monastery
- Climb the mountain and picnic on the way to the top (4 hours hike)
- Late in the afternoon head to a local ranch where you will plant trees to combat desertification, learn how to make mongolian dumplings and enjoy a traditionnal dinner
- Going back to the hotel in Bayanhaote
Day 3
- Breakfast at hotel
- Visit of Alashan museum (the visit is particularly interesting to learn more about the nomadic lifestyle, the local fauna, the history of Mongols and most notably Genghis Khan as well as ancient rock carving findings in the region)
- Head to the old city and have lunch
- Stroll through the old streets and witness local craftman at work
- Head to the grasslands with the local mountain chain in the backgrounds
- Take a hike through the grasslands, admire the AoBao (small temples made of rocks), ride horses
- Enjoy local dinner on the grasslands
Day 4
- Breakfast at hotel
- Hop on in a special car and get ready for your desert adventure
- Trail through the dunes to reach our one night base camp
- Arrive to the first lake where we can enjoy several activites
- Admire the sunset
- Enjoy roasted sheep or dinner around a bonfire
- Experience sleeping in a yourt (“Ger”)
Day 5
- Sunrise in the desert
- Simple breakfast
- Rallye-raid in the desert and cross several desert lakes
- Eat lunch at local herdsman location
- Ride camels until reaching the biggest local oasis
- Sunset
- Sleep in a ecotourism hotel in the middle of the desert or sleep at local herdsman place
- Dinner and rest
- Admire the stars
Day 6
- Admire the sunrise
- Breakfast
- Enjoy sliding on singing sands, swimming in the lake, riding a motorbike
- Hop in your Jeep and exit the desert
- Return to Bayanhaote
- Enjoy a free afternoon in the old city or the other attraction of the city
- Goodbye dinner
- Enjoy Bayanhaote famous watershow
- Rest at hotel
Day 7
- Breakfast at hotel
- Transfer to Yinchuan airport
Additional information about the discovery tour :
- Hotels
We recommend sleeping in traditional yourt or sleeping at local herdsmen when exploring the desert (2 nights – more confortable resting options on demand).
The rest of the time, we will ensure you have the best confort in town.
- Food
Eating mutton is a must of Mongol gastronomy. During important family or group reunion, the host will typically prepare a banquet that will be highlighted by serving a whole mutton.We strongly encourage you to experience local roasted mutton meat as it tastes like nowhere else!
At Dragon Caravan, we do care about the wellfare of animals and can guarantee you that animals are raised in a respectul manner. In Alashan, sheeps and muttons are traditionally raised outside and let to wander freely for most of their lifes.For Vegetarian people, we will propose you a vast variety of local vegetable dishes.
Dragon Caravan 