Discover Mongolia - Eagle Festival

Mongolia is a stunningly beautiful country. Miles and miles of vast open vistas, dotted with the occasional ger and nomad herds of animals. The Gobi desert was fascinating, including a visit to the place where the first dinosaur eggs were discovered! We visited many interesting and fabulous places, including several beautiful Buddhist temples. Wherever we went, the people were charming and very hospitable. The Eagle Festival was a spectacle I will never forget, with 120 eagle hunters competing to win the honour of being the champion. Dressed in their finest traditional clothing, riding their sturdy horses at speed, they called their massive golden eagles down from the rocky hillside to land on their arm.

The Mongolian Adventure trip exceeded all my expectations. It took me back to a time when people were more interested in humanity than in possessions. I thought Mongolians would be similar to Chinese but they aren't. They are open and friendly. Ulaanbaatar is a pleasant city and we were there for the spectacular Nadaam Festival, The opening ceremony, the wrestling, archery and the horse race were great but the day before the public turned out in national dress! The desert, the gir camps and the nomadic families were experiences to be savoured.

I'd wanted to see Mongolia and the Gobi Desert since hearing about them in Geography class when I was 18. I wanted to see the wide open spaces. The nothingness. The vastness of the country. And that's what I saw.

Interesting trip to a VAST country that makes you realise what "nothing" - landscape wise - really is .

Excellent trip. It was a nice mix of big city (Ulaanbaatar) and Naadam festival and countryside/desert. Well-organized and planned. Long distances travelled by Russian van, but the scenery was beautiful and very diverse, our driver Sandam made it fun, and we had a great group of people in our van. Fun staying in ger camps.