MONGOLIA FOUNDERS TRIP
ROBERT COMSTOCK
Robert Comstock creations are inspired by the designer's global expeditions, adventure travels, and his career-long conservation efforts in emerging countries worldwide. All three provide remarkable experiences that profoundly influence his life, work, and success, and the fact that he personally designs and hand-signs and numbers each garment is unique to the industry. Personal adventures in the arctic, neo-tropics, high deserts and savannahs make Robert Comstock a distinctly original designer. His creations are often one-of-a-kind. The sourcing and
production of his apparel in Italy's preeminent mills, tanneries and contemporary, high-tech factories serves to distinguish, protect, and ensure the quality, integrity, and value of the inimitable Robert Comstock brand.
JALSA URUBSHUROW
Jalsa Urubshurow is a Mongolian-American with a deep
love and respect for his ancestral homeland, firmly
committed to culturally and ecologically responsible tourism. Having founded Nomadic Expeditions in 1992, he has earned a number of awards for his work in sustainable tourism and hospitality. Year after year, he is named the top travel specialist for Mongolia by Condé Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure, and Wendy Perrin. He serves on the board of both The Peregrine Fund and the Captain Planet Foundation. In
the three decades since he created Nomadic Expeditions, it has developed into the premier tour operator for Mongolia, India, Nepal, Tibet and Bhutan-establishing the benchmark for sustainable tourism.
INAGURAL TRIP TO MONGOLIA
Join Robert Comstock and Jalsa Urubshurow on an expedition that will jumpstart your curiosity, gratify your geographical wanderlust, and expand your sensorial boundaries-an 11-day adventure in the Land of Eternal Blue Sky. Discover colorful cultural traditions older than Genghis Khan in a diverse natural environment as unique, spellbinding, and spectacularly beautiful as any on earth: endless horizons of steppe, pristine lakes and streams, the majestic alpine peaks of the Altai Mountains, and the wild and mystical Gobi Desert.
JOURNEY HIGHLIGHTS
In Mongolia's westernmost province, experience the hospitality and culture of the native Kazakh people, discovering how they train and hunt with golden eagles that soar on eight-foot wings and dive at speeds up to 150 miles-per-hour.
Travel with field biologists and ornithologists of the Wildlife Science and Conservation Center of Mongolia (WSCC) to observe aeries. A percentage of trip revenue will support the golden eagle conservation project, a multi year program launched by Nomadic Expeditions in partnership with the WSCC and the Peregrine Fund.
Explore the legendary Gobi Desert. Join a paleontologist to uncover dinosaur fossils in an escarpment abundant with paleontological marvels. Sightsee seas of dunes from helicopter and trekking on camel-back. Discover ancient petroglyphs.
Tour the cultural marvels of Mongolia's capital of Ulaanbaatar. And be treated to a private concert by local jazz musicians.
DAYS 1 & 2
EXPLORE THE CAPITAL
MONGOLIA -BUDDHIST HERITAGE
Arrive in Mongolia's modern capital of Ulaanbaatar on Day 1. Mongolia is 18th largest country in the world, it is almost 1,500 miles east to west (about half of the length of the United States) and 800 miles north to south and has only 3.2 million people as it is entire population. It is often called the last remaining wilderness frontier destination. It is a home to ancient nomadic culture where 30% of the population is nomads. It is also a country with rich Buddhist heritage. Mongolians have been protectors of Tibet historically and Mongolians gave the title Dalai Lama, “dalai” means ocean in Mongolian language and “lama” if teacher or guru and it is often translated as “ocean of wisdom.”
In Ulaanbaatar, we will visit Gandan Monastery, the most important Buddhist monastery of Mongolia and meet its head lama and receive private blessing. We will also witness mandala making by local monks.
Overnight: Shangri-La Hotel
ULAANBAATAR - TREASURE ROOM
One of the places we will visit in Ulaanbaatar is the exclusive visit of the Treasure Room, that is off limits to the public at the National Library and the State Archives. The treasure room has the impressive collection of Mongolia’s rarest books and sutras. Among which, most notably, the Declaration of Independence from 1911 along with the family tree of Chinggis Khan’s Golden Lineage
DAY 3
DISCOVER BAYAN-ULGII
WESTERN MONGOLIA - ULGII PROVINCE
Accompanied by leading ornithologists and biologists, we will fly on a private chartered jet to one of the remotest region of Mongolia. Bayan-Ulgii is the western-most province of Mongolia, where 90% of the local population are Kazakhs who have lived here for centuries. We will have ample opportunities to experience this region of the high Altai Mountains, the tallest in Mongolia and to interact with Golden Eagle hunters.
Overnight: Private Camp
DAYS 4 & 5
KAZAKHS & GOLDEN EAGLES
GOLDEN EAGLE HUNTER - DALAIKHAN
Explore the Altai Mountain ranges for Golden Eagle nests with ornithologists, observing the birds in the wild and experiencing the WSCC preservation efforts among pristine alpine terrain. Learn the ancient art of falconry from local Kazakhs who have trained and hunted with these magnificent raptors for a millennium.
Overnight: Private CampThis eagle hunter’s name is Dalaikhan. He is one of the most experienced eagle hunters in Western Mongolia and has been practicing falconry for over 30 years now. Rob Comstock met Dalaikhan in 1998 when Rob was traveling with Bill Burnham, President of the Peregrine Fund at the time to this remote region of Mongolia. There were at that time less than 20 or 30 falconers who trained golden eagles in this part of Mongolia.
Overnight: Private Camp
DAY 6
DISCOVER BAYAN-ULGII
THREE CAMEL LOGDE - BASE CAMP
Private charter whisks you across the undisturbed breadth of Mongolia to the mythical Gobi Desert to explore the highlights of this storied nomadic land.
Three Camel Lodge is an award winning sustainable luxury lodge in the Gobi Desert. It was voted as the 10th best hotel in Asia by the Conde Nast Readers Awards in 2018.
It is a proud founding member of Beyond Green, a collection of Planet Earth’s most sustainable hotels.
This image was taken at sunrise and the sunrises and sunsets are most spectacular in the Gobi. 100% of the staff are local Mongolians and the lodge is a truly a part of the local community. It has a dedicate well to water animals of local herders that live unary the lodge during the summer season and the lodge waters
Overnight: Three Camel Lodge
GOBI DESERT - BULAGTAI MOUNTAIN
From Altai Mountains, we will fly on a privately chartered jet to the legendary Gobi Desert. What surprises people the most about the Gobi Desert is that it is not all sand. The term desert conjures images of vast rolling dunes—and the Gobi certainly has these—yet this splendidly tranquil ecosystem covering more than half-a-million square miles contains fertile tracts as well. Perhaps more surprising still is that this arid landscape was covered in conifer forests and lush with lakes and streams about 80 million years ago.
The Gobi, the fourth largest desert in the world, occupies territories of Mongolia and northern China. The terrain is wonderfully varied as well, with formations of undulating dunes, deep ravines, panoramic plains, steep cliffs and narrow canyons.
DAYS 7, 8 & 9
EXPLORING THE GOBI
Accompanied by a paleontologist, uncover dinosaur fossils in Tugrugyn Shire, an escarpment from which the "fighting
dinosaurs" were found locked in fatal combat. Visit the iconic Flaming Cliffs, where the first nest of dinosaur eggs in the world was discovered by Roy Chapman Andrews, Director of the AMNH in 1923
Overnight:Three Camel Lodge
YOUR ACCOMMODATION - GER
Ger is the Mongolian name for the portable, round tent dwelling used by distinct nomadic groups in the steppes of Central Asia. Also called a yurt (from the Turkic lnaguages), ger are traditionally constructed of a supported crown (roof ring), roof poles, wood latticework walls, and covered with felt—the dome skylight is open, with a wood stove chimney, and the door faces south. A marvel of ingenuity, the ger heartily withstands harsh winter winds, and radiates warmth within its insulation.
DINO HALL - THREE CAMEL LODGE
One of travelers’ favorite places at the Three Camel Lodge is the Dino Hall. The lodge has an impressive collection of books on Mongolia, including a collection covering 60 years of National Geographic magazine.
The Dino hall is also where the Thirsty Camel Bar is situated. One would not expect to find Asia’s best whiskey bar in the heart of the Gobi Desert. And that is why this ultimate hideaway is so incredibly rewarding. Sip a wide selection of premium spirits, wines, and beers. The mixologist can concoct anything you please. Or take a glass from the bar’s exquisite whiskey selection, featuring the finest batches from Scotland, Japan and American craft distilleries.The Forbes magazine named it one of the top whiskey bars in Asia.
GOBI DESERT - EXPLORATIONS
On this trip, we will encounter vastly different ecosystems. We will meet our camel wranglers and trek on Bactrian camels across the magnificent sand dunes of Moltsog els, surreal formation of sands and pasture lands.We will hike a the valley carved by an ancient river which is the habitat of indigenous vulture-like lammergeier, mountain goat and mountain sheep.
We will hike up to a vantage point dotted with flat rocks that serve as canvas to hundreds of petroglyphs left by early Gobi settlers for more than 5,000 years ago. The Bronze Age images depict horses pulling carts, hunting game, the animals of the
FLAMING CLIFFS - DINOSAURS OF GOBI
The Gobi is composed of sediment from the erosion of volcanic rocks including granite and basalt, as well as from ocean sediments. These layers can be seen very well in the clay of the iconic Flaming Cliffs. Scientifically known as the Djadokhta formation, the Flaming Cliffs dates to the Cretaceous Period 84-75 million years ago. A must-see for visitors of the Gobi, it has preserved major paleontological discoveries—including the first confirmed finding of dinosaur eggs.
Bayan Zag, commonly known as the Flaming Cliffs for the orange glow of its rock at dawn and dusk. It was here in 1923 that Dr. Roy Chapman Andrews and his exploration team from the American Museum of Natural History found the first nest of dinosaur eggs. We will visit and dig for dinosaur fossils with a leading paleontologist during our visit. The dinosaurs discovered in Mongolia are of Greataio
SPECTACULAR OUTDOOR MEALS
From Altai Mountains, we will fly on a privately chartered jet to the legendary Gobi Desert. What surprises people the most about the Gobi Desert is that it is not all sand. The term desert conjures images of vast rolling dunes—and the Gobi certainly has these—yet this splendidly tranquil ecosystem covering more than half-a-million square miles contains fertile tracts as well. Perhaps more surprising still is that this arid landscape was covered in conifer forests and lush with lakes and streams about 80 million years ago.
The Gobi, the fourth largest desert in the world, occupies territories of Mongolia and northern China. The terrain is wonderfully varied as well, with formations of undulating dunes, deep ravines, panoramic plains, steep cliffs and narrow canyons.
PERFORMAING ARTS OF MONGOLIA
During the course of your adventure, you will explore cultural horizons and witness outstanding musical performances of local students and professional artists.
The young students on this image are from a local village called Hanhongor which is 70 km from the Three Camel Lodge. The lodge has been supporting their education in traditional music and dance since 2008 and these talented students will perform during the trip. The lodge has a scholarship program it support 5 students who are pursuing their education in traditional perming arts on the college level.
DAY 11
EXPERIENCE ULAANBAATAR
Fly to Ulaanbaatar by charter to explore Mongolian art, visiting galleries, and meeting influential young artists. Enjoy a gala farewell dinner showcasing gourmet Mongolian cuisine and an experiential tour of the nation's culture -from ancient to modern-featuring an unforgettable performance by a marquee ensemble.
Overnight:
Shangri-La Hotel
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