Make 2025 your year to chase your dreams.
Exploration beyond boundaries. Adventure beyond measure.
Explore Mongolia on horseback.
Come ride with us.
Exploration beyond boundaries. Adventure beyond measure.
Explore Mongolia on horseback.
Come ride with us.
Our Signature Charity Endurance Expeditions
Relaxing Adventures for Riders of Every Level
Welcome to Horse Trek Mongolia, the world's premier distance horse trekking company.
Experience Mongolia with Horse Trek Mongolia
At Horse Trek Mongolia, we specialize in expertly guided horseback adventures that offer an authentic connection to Mongolia’s landscapes, history, and nomadic traditions. With nearly three decades of experience, we have developed some of the most renowned and respected equestrian expeditions in the country.
We are the team behind the Gobi Gallop—the world’s longest annual charity horseback ride at 700 km in 10 days—as well as the record-breaking 2022 Blue Wolf Totem Charity Horseback Expedition, an 84-day, 3,640-kilometer journey across Mongolia’s diverse terrain alongside local nomadic herders. These aren’t just long-distance rides; they are deeply immersive cultural experiences that reflect Mongolia’s rich heritage and equestrian traditions and showcase the talent and knowledge of the oldest unbroken horse culture on the planet.
Authentic Journeys Led by Local Experts
Our treks go beyond traditional tourism. They offer an immersive experience, where you’ll ride alongside local horsemen, explore Mongolia’s stunning landscapes, and gain insight into centuries-old traditions that remain a way of life for many nomadic families. Whether crossing the open steppe, riding through mountain passes, or experiencing the vast silence of the Gobi Desert, every journey is designed to offer both adventure and cultural connection.
A Commitment to Safety and Comfort
Adventure should be thrilling, but it should also be safe and well-supported. At Horse Trek Mongolia, your well-being is our top priority. We uphold the highest standards of safety, horse care, and logistical support, ensuring that your experience is authentic, comfortable, and expertly managed. We make sure you have a complete list of what to bring for your adventure and encourage you to ask any and all questions so you can feel confident as to what the experience is going to be like.Whether you're an experienced rider or new to long-distance trekking, our team is here to guide you every step of the way.
An Ethical Choice: Riding with Purpose
When you ride with Horse Trek Mongolia, you’re not just embarking on an unforgettable adventure—you’re making an ethical travel choice. We are committed to the highest standards of horse welfare and responsible stewardship of Mongolia’s wild landscapes. But beyond that, fully 20% of every ride booked with us directly supports the Veloo Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to improving the lives of children and families in need in Mongolia.
Through this partnership, your journey helps provide education, food, and care to nearly 400 children at Veloo Foundation’s two kindergartens, with an additional building underway to increase capacity by 150 more children. Your support also contributes to a community library that fosters academic success for older students and the development of a free medical facility to provide essential healthcare to those in need.
By choosing Horse Trek Mongolia, you’re not just exploring Mongolia—you’re giving back to its people in a meaningful way.
Join Us for an Unforgettable Mongolian Experience
We invite you to experience Mongolia as it was meant to be explored—on horseback, alongside those who call this land home. As locals, we take pride in sharing our country, our history, and our culture with you. Whether you’re looking for an adventure of a lifetime or a deeper cultural journey, we’re here to make it happen.
Come ride with us. Discover Mongolia. Create memories that will last forever.
|
|
|
Check out our brand new Mongolia travel blog!
|
Welcome to
Mongolia Unfiltered: The Stories Behind the Rides By Julie Veloo Expeditions Chief Mongolia is a land that refuses to be tamed—a place where history isn’t just remembered but lived, where nomadic traditions stretch back thousands of years, and where every corner of the landscape holds a secret waiting to be uncovered. For the past 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of calling this place home. |
I have worked hard to learn the language and every day I immerse myself in this astonishing culture. I find myself spending my days chasing the stories hidden in the vast steppes, high mountains, and remote desert landscapes - mostly on horseback but sometimes from my trusty Landcruiser 76 or a horse drawn sleigh. The more I explore, the more I realize Mongolia still has so much to teach me about horses, humanity history and more than anything, about myself.
Through this new blog, I invite you to journey with me into the wild, unfiltered heart of Mongolia. This isn’t the Mongolia of tour brochures—this is the Mongolia told by the land itself, by the herders who have roamed it for generations, by the frozen rivers and shifting dunes that shape its spirit.
From galloping across open plains to crossing a frozen lake in a one-horse sleigh, from riding alongside the last reindeer herders to sitting by a fire under a sky dense with stars, these are the stories of a world I am honoured to be able to ever experience firsthand.
This isn’t just a blog - It's a field journal from the last frontier of true adventure. If you’ve ever dreamed of stepping off the map and into the raw beauty of Mongolia, you’re in the right place.
Welcome to Mongolia Unfiltered.
Through this new blog, I invite you to journey with me into the wild, unfiltered heart of Mongolia. This isn’t the Mongolia of tour brochures—this is the Mongolia told by the land itself, by the herders who have roamed it for generations, by the frozen rivers and shifting dunes that shape its spirit.
From galloping across open plains to crossing a frozen lake in a one-horse sleigh, from riding alongside the last reindeer herders to sitting by a fire under a sky dense with stars, these are the stories of a world I am honoured to be able to ever experience firsthand.
This isn’t just a blog - It's a field journal from the last frontier of true adventure. If you’ve ever dreamed of stepping off the map and into the raw beauty of Mongolia, you’re in the right place.
Welcome to Mongolia Unfiltered.
|
|
|
Crossing Mongolia’s Frozen Frontier: My Journey to the Last Reindeer Riders
March 4th, 2025
Join me as I set out to explore Mongolia and create adventures like no other. Mongolia’s history, culture, and people continue to captivate me, and just when I think I’ve seen it all, a new experience—something rare and extraordinary—unfolds before me urging me to make it into an adventure that you all can join in on. Last month, I set out to Northern Mongolia to undertake a journey that few people ever get to experience. The journey to the Blue Pearl Ice Festival and nomadic Tsaatan reindeer herders. These are my impressions.
The sleigh moves effortlessly across the frozen expanse of Lake Khovsgol, its runners gliding over the translucent blue ice. Beneath the surface, air bubbles and cracks form intricate patterns, a reminder that this glass-like road is alive, shifting beneath us. The only sounds are the steady rhythm of hoofbeats against the ice and the soft jingle of sleigh bells, a cheerful contrast to the stark, endless beauty of Mongolia’s winter frontier. Covered in the rich, thick fur of a long since gone yak and with fox fur hat and scarf to match my reindeer hide boots I am snug and warm in my chariot and I marvel at the unbearably blue sky stretching out as far as the eye can see. It is almost impossible to see where the blue ice ends and the sky begins - with the only break in this riot of cerulean is the vivid colours hand painted onto the horses harness and the blindingly beautiful silk of our driver's deel ( traditional Mongolian long coat - pronounced "dell")
For centuries, this frozen highway connected the people of Hatgal to distant border communities, where traders once braved the bitter cold to exchange goods. Sitting with Lhavgaa, my fearless driver, we chat about how he used to, not that long ago, make the trip regularly to buy Russian flour from Khankh at the north end of the lake. Today, I’m retracing the first 20 or so kilometres of that path in a one-horse open sleigh, feeling the weight of history in every gust of wind. As we move away from the town of Khatgal and out into the vast expanse of ice, the feeling of having fallen through a looking glass becomes more pronounced. I have experienced this feeling before - but there is no getting used to it. This is unfiltered Mongolia—vast, wild, and full of untold stories waiting to be lived.
As we reach the land and transition to the forest - and my Landcruiser 76 - a hearty vehicle built to take on all adventures and graciously donated to my foundation, Veloo Foundation which the ride that will come from this adventure will support - the landscape transforms. The glistening ice gives rise to wild, rolling steppe and the thick, ancient forests of the Siberian taiga, where the last of Mongolia’s reindeer riders still move with the seasons. Here, among the frost-laden trees, the Tsaatan people continue a way of life that exists in only a handful of places on Earth. And as they are now in their winter camp and the roads are well and truly frozen, we can navigate there more easily than when we come in summer. I am looking forward to seeing my friends there again soon.
The first time, every time, I see them, it’s surreal—riders on reindeer, moving like spirits through the snow, their traditional deels bright against the endless white. Smiles as big as the sky and solemn dark eyes take in every detail of the land and the herd. Their way of life is both ancient and fragile, and I wonder how long it will remain unchanged. Later, I sit with them inside a tipi warmed by a central fire, the smoke drifting upward to disappear into a sky so full of stars, it feels endless. Tomorrow we will visit the Reindeer Festival - a sumptuous riot of colour and history all wrapped and loaded onto pack reindeer to illustrate how the spring and fall migration goes. Children race on their reindeer and women in elegant deels play reindeer games ( not even kidding...there are actual reindeer games at the festival!) The tipis are taken down as each family demonstrates how they are hauled and rebuilt at new camping grounds. Wonderful examples of birch bark tipis from the times before canvas and delicate carvings of reindeer antler spread thick upon a yak wool blanket on the piercing white of the snow as the locals offer their goods for sale.
Not far from here, another marvel awaits—the Jargant River, a mystery of nature. Everything around it is locked in ice, yet this river flows untouched by the brutal cold. The day I'm there it is close to -30..and yet, the river freely flows. Trees and brush along its banks are coated in shimmering hoar frost, delicate ice crystals forming a breathtaking contrast against the deep winter landscape. The water moves steadily, unfazed by the brutal cold, a living, breathing current in a world locked in ice. My local guide tells me that the legend is that deep in the centre of the nearby mountain, the molten core is close to the surface and water from high up on th mountain melts and runs in to keep warm. From there as the water flows out from the base of the mountain, it is perpetually warm enough not to freeze for several kilometres. For generations, here in the corner of Mongolia with the harshest weather, herders have settles near the marvel to provide water for their animals year round - a true luxury in a frozen land.
By the time I return to Lake Khovsgol, it has transformed into something else entirely—a festival ground of ice and fire. The Blue Pearl Ice Festival is in full swing, and the energy is electric. Horses thunder across the ice in chariot races, their riders urging them forward with fierce determination. Ice sculptures—massive, intricate, and glowing in the winter sun—stand as testaments to Mongolian artistry. Locals and travelers alike test their skill in traditional Mongolian games, and I find myself swept up in the sheer joy of it all.
I came here looking for an adventure, but what I found was something deeper—a connection to a land and a culture that few will ever experience. I rode a sleigh across a frozen lake where generations before me had traveled and heard the echo of their tales in the jingling of the harnesses.I met the last of Mongolia’s reindeer herders and sat beneath a sky that has witnessed their way of life for centuries. I watched a river defy winter itself.
And now, as I prepare to leave, I know that this place—this frozen frontier—will stay with me forever and I know it is an experience unlike no other for the intrepid adventurers who will choose to come each year and join us to once again relive this magical land with these timeless people.
Join the next adventure in March 2026—limited spots available.
March 4th, 2025
Join me as I set out to explore Mongolia and create adventures like no other. Mongolia’s history, culture, and people continue to captivate me, and just when I think I’ve seen it all, a new experience—something rare and extraordinary—unfolds before me urging me to make it into an adventure that you all can join in on. Last month, I set out to Northern Mongolia to undertake a journey that few people ever get to experience. The journey to the Blue Pearl Ice Festival and nomadic Tsaatan reindeer herders. These are my impressions.
The sleigh moves effortlessly across the frozen expanse of Lake Khovsgol, its runners gliding over the translucent blue ice. Beneath the surface, air bubbles and cracks form intricate patterns, a reminder that this glass-like road is alive, shifting beneath us. The only sounds are the steady rhythm of hoofbeats against the ice and the soft jingle of sleigh bells, a cheerful contrast to the stark, endless beauty of Mongolia’s winter frontier. Covered in the rich, thick fur of a long since gone yak and with fox fur hat and scarf to match my reindeer hide boots I am snug and warm in my chariot and I marvel at the unbearably blue sky stretching out as far as the eye can see. It is almost impossible to see where the blue ice ends and the sky begins - with the only break in this riot of cerulean is the vivid colours hand painted onto the horses harness and the blindingly beautiful silk of our driver's deel ( traditional Mongolian long coat - pronounced "dell")
For centuries, this frozen highway connected the people of Hatgal to distant border communities, where traders once braved the bitter cold to exchange goods. Sitting with Lhavgaa, my fearless driver, we chat about how he used to, not that long ago, make the trip regularly to buy Russian flour from Khankh at the north end of the lake. Today, I’m retracing the first 20 or so kilometres of that path in a one-horse open sleigh, feeling the weight of history in every gust of wind. As we move away from the town of Khatgal and out into the vast expanse of ice, the feeling of having fallen through a looking glass becomes more pronounced. I have experienced this feeling before - but there is no getting used to it. This is unfiltered Mongolia—vast, wild, and full of untold stories waiting to be lived.
As we reach the land and transition to the forest - and my Landcruiser 76 - a hearty vehicle built to take on all adventures and graciously donated to my foundation, Veloo Foundation which the ride that will come from this adventure will support - the landscape transforms. The glistening ice gives rise to wild, rolling steppe and the thick, ancient forests of the Siberian taiga, where the last of Mongolia’s reindeer riders still move with the seasons. Here, among the frost-laden trees, the Tsaatan people continue a way of life that exists in only a handful of places on Earth. And as they are now in their winter camp and the roads are well and truly frozen, we can navigate there more easily than when we come in summer. I am looking forward to seeing my friends there again soon.
The first time, every time, I see them, it’s surreal—riders on reindeer, moving like spirits through the snow, their traditional deels bright against the endless white. Smiles as big as the sky and solemn dark eyes take in every detail of the land and the herd. Their way of life is both ancient and fragile, and I wonder how long it will remain unchanged. Later, I sit with them inside a tipi warmed by a central fire, the smoke drifting upward to disappear into a sky so full of stars, it feels endless. Tomorrow we will visit the Reindeer Festival - a sumptuous riot of colour and history all wrapped and loaded onto pack reindeer to illustrate how the spring and fall migration goes. Children race on their reindeer and women in elegant deels play reindeer games ( not even kidding...there are actual reindeer games at the festival!) The tipis are taken down as each family demonstrates how they are hauled and rebuilt at new camping grounds. Wonderful examples of birch bark tipis from the times before canvas and delicate carvings of reindeer antler spread thick upon a yak wool blanket on the piercing white of the snow as the locals offer their goods for sale.
Not far from here, another marvel awaits—the Jargant River, a mystery of nature. Everything around it is locked in ice, yet this river flows untouched by the brutal cold. The day I'm there it is close to -30..and yet, the river freely flows. Trees and brush along its banks are coated in shimmering hoar frost, delicate ice crystals forming a breathtaking contrast against the deep winter landscape. The water moves steadily, unfazed by the brutal cold, a living, breathing current in a world locked in ice. My local guide tells me that the legend is that deep in the centre of the nearby mountain, the molten core is close to the surface and water from high up on th mountain melts and runs in to keep warm. From there as the water flows out from the base of the mountain, it is perpetually warm enough not to freeze for several kilometres. For generations, here in the corner of Mongolia with the harshest weather, herders have settles near the marvel to provide water for their animals year round - a true luxury in a frozen land.
By the time I return to Lake Khovsgol, it has transformed into something else entirely—a festival ground of ice and fire. The Blue Pearl Ice Festival is in full swing, and the energy is electric. Horses thunder across the ice in chariot races, their riders urging them forward with fierce determination. Ice sculptures—massive, intricate, and glowing in the winter sun—stand as testaments to Mongolian artistry. Locals and travelers alike test their skill in traditional Mongolian games, and I find myself swept up in the sheer joy of it all.
I came here looking for an adventure, but what I found was something deeper—a connection to a land and a culture that few will ever experience. I rode a sleigh across a frozen lake where generations before me had traveled and heard the echo of their tales in the jingling of the harnesses.I met the last of Mongolia’s reindeer herders and sat beneath a sky that has witnessed their way of life for centuries. I watched a river defy winter itself.
And now, as I prepare to leave, I know that this place—this frozen frontier—will stay with me forever and I know it is an experience unlike no other for the intrepid adventurers who will choose to come each year and join us to once again relive this magical land with these timeless people.
Join the next adventure in March 2026—limited spots available.
For more information:
Lake Khovsgul Sleigh Trek & Ice festival
More views of what riding in
Mongolia looks like --- enjoy!
Stunning scenery, unending vistas, wild horses, great new friendships...
Your voyage of personal discovery awaits as you
explore the storied Mongolian steppe with Baagii, Saraa and their excellent & well experienced team.
Immerse in Authentic Mongolian Treks with Baagii and Saraa's Expert Team
Joining Baagii and his team of exceptional guides for a trekking adventure in Mongolia is like becoming a part of an extended family. With us, you're not just a visitor; you're an integral part of a rich, cultural tapestry. Experience the warm hospitality of local communities, visit friends in the neighbourhood, and ride along mountainsides steeped in generations of Baagii's family history. Each step with us is a journey into the heart of Mongolia's captivating culture and storied past and true "Welcome Home".
Experience the Majesty of Mongolia from Your Tent or Ger
Awaken each day to breathtaking panoramas right from the doorway of your traditional Mongolian tent or ger. Feel the thrill as you thunder across the vast plains once roamed by Genghis Khan, creating a connection with the legendary conqueror himself. Trace the ancient paths of the Silk Road, immersing yourself in history and adventure. Our treks offer more than just scenic views; they are an invitation to absorb the serene energy of one of the world's last enduring horse cultures.
We live here and we are looking forward to sharing it with you all!
|
|
For more information or to book a trek please email
[email protected]
