Join World Expeditions, and Australian adventurer and writer Tim Cope for a unique moderate-challenging camels assisted trek among remote Khoton and Kazakh nomads in the Kharkhiraa and Tsaast Uul mountains of Western Mongolia.

The focus of this trip is spending less time crossing the vast landscape of Mongolia by jeep, and more time trekking off the beaten track immersed in the landscape and culture of the legendary horsemen and women of the mountains and steppes. Travelling with nomads, and their camels and horses, we hike for 11 days in this lesser known corner of the Mongolian Altai. Horse riding is an option to complement walking, or as your main mode of travel.

Tim is passionate about the nomadic way of life and the history of the Mongolian people whose ancestors were among the first in history to tame the horse. The itinerary takes us from Ulaanbaatar by plane to Ulaangom in the west where we begin the trek in the Kharkhiraa (also known as “Harhiraa”) Mountains – part of the greater Altai range. In this region lives a small and intriguing ethnic group of Mongolians called the ‘Khoton.’ Tim first visited here in 2004 during his ride from Mongolia to Hungary.

Unlike many nomads of Mongolia who have adopted the motorbike and truck as part of their nomadic existence, the Khoton still make their annual journey up into the high passes of the Kharkhiraa with just camels, yaks, and horses. Our trek follows the migratory routes of these Khoton families along the Kharkhiraa river gorge and eventually up to the spectacular high pass at 3000m between Kharkhiraa and Turgen peaks.

Along the way we will pass evidence of ancient nomadic people in the form of Turkic gravestone markers, and hear from Tim about the many legends and stories that tell much about the Mongolian connection to their animals and the land. Travelling with us will be a small caravan of local horsemen and their horses and camels that will be taking our luggage and equipment.

There will be an opportunity to encounter the nomadic people most days, and from the high pass, weather permitting, there will be an optional return walk up to a high ridge at about 3600 metres.

The second half of the Kharkhiraa trek takes us on a descent towards the Khovd river where we will be met by vehicle support. The landscape of the Kharkhiraa is dominated by open slopes dotted with nomad tents, deep river gorges, alpine lakes, and the inspiring, glacier capped peaks of Kharkhiraa and Turgen.

Although it is very rare and unlikely to spot one, it is worth noting that these mountains are renowned as one of the refuges for the endangered snow leopard.

The second, less demanding part of the journey takes us to Olgiy, capital of the Kazakh province of Western Mongolia, and the spectacular mountain of ‘Tsaast Uul.’ Here we will experience Kazakh people, another of Mongolia’s ethnic peoples.

Two more days of trekking will give us a rich insight into the diversity of the people who living on the vast and fenceless land of Mongolia. After an afternoon reflecting on the shores of Tolboo Nuur lake, we return to Olgiy and fly to Ulaanbaatar.

Trekking days involve 6-8 hours of walking, and although there are no technical parts to the trek, a medium to high level of fitness is required.