1-Week Mongolia Itinerary: The Vast Gobi Desert

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Welcome to Mongolia and the otherworldly landscapes of the Gobi Desert. This is the condensed short and sweet Mongolia itinerary that will show you the most popular and easiest-to-access sights in the country for a short 1-week visit.

This 1 week Mongolia itinerary is designed to be a road map for you to self-drive the country with confidence. The beauty of Mongolia lies in its natural landscapes and raw beauty not in a list of sights and attractions. Using this blog post as a guide you can see exactly what is REASONABLY possible to drive on your own in the country.

For those not looking to drive themselves, you’ll find this post helpful in booking a tour that covers the most incredible Gobi Desert sights and outlines the places you want to go if you hire your own driver.

Obviously, Mongolia is so much more than the red rock and hard-packed scrubland of the sun-baked desert. But with only one week in Mongolia, you’ll be forced to pick and choose. Most travelers choose the Gobi. Not only is it easy to access from the capital of Ulaanbaatar but it’s one of those places that has likely been on your bucketlist since you were a small child.

I think if you have only one week in Mongolia this route through the Gobi Desert, Central Gobi, Yolyn Am Canyon, and both the ancient, and current capitals of the Mongolian empire is the best route for you.

How to Travel in Mongolia for One Week

Before we dig into WHERE to go in Mongolia when you visit, let’s discuss HOW to travel in this remote and vast country.

By far the most popular way is to book an all-inclusive tour that takes care of all the logistics for you. While this blog post is geared toward travelers traveling independently by vehicle or traveling with a local guide, I did link some reputable tours at the end of this post.

If you want to travel independently and without a guide: It’s totally possible. We did it for 3 weeks in the country. Just be sure to read all my blog posts on independent travel in Mongolia especially “Can you Drive Independently Through Mongolia” to make sure that you are properly prepared for the adventure.

Quick Logistics of Traveling in Mongolia for One Week

• Hire your car through Drive Mongolia. He’s the most well-connected and reputable company. His rentals are also more affordable and include all the wild camping and cooking gear you’ll need for the trip.
• These are the things you should bring with you to prepare for your journey. (Coming Soon*)
• If you want to hire a driver/guide then you don’t need to rent a vehicle yourself. Most Mongolians make a living in the tourism sector by leading tours of their country. I recommend staying at either Mongolian Vision Tours or Sun Path Tours in Ulaanbaatar and hiring a guide through them OR finding one ahead of time through one of the Mongolia Travel Facebook Groups.
• You’ll either be wild camping or sleeping in Ger tents hosted by nomadic families. Don’t expect to have full facilities like power and running water every night.
• Mongolia is not an easy place to travel. If you are traveling independently you should always be over-prepared rather than under. Cell service is rare and many roads in Mongolia are not well-traveled enough to rely on others to help you in the event of a breakdown.

Blogs to Help First-Time Visitors Navigate Mongolia

Your Perfect 1 Week Itinerary in Mongolia

I’m going to preface this itinerary with the statement: You should stay longer in Mongolia than just one week. This is not enough time to experience all the bucketlist-worthy adventures this destination has to offer. You really should visit for 3 weeks or longer.

I’ve detailed the best 2-week Mongolia Itinerary and the best 3 to 4-week Mongolia Itinerary for travelers with more time. The more time you can spend in Mongolia the better. Trust me.

Time Saver Tip: If you are REALLY in a time crunch you should hire a local driver. If you hire a driver rather than drive yourself you can save up to three days on this same itinerary laid out below. The only caveat is that you won’t get to stay overnight at off-the-beaten-path destinations like White Stupa + Flaming Cliffs which I highly recommend.

Day 1: Ulaanbaatar

The reason I’m starting this itinerary with a full day in Ulaanbaatar is logistics. No matter how you plan on traveling in Mongolia you’ll likely need one full day to set yourself up with the proper equipment and/or guides.

UB is a very metropolitan city. It’s polluted and crowded and honestly, pretty charmless. That being said if you have some spare time to kill in-between organizing your route and gear there are a few attractions worth visiting. More than 1/3 of Mongolia’s entire population lives here– so it’s worth doing a little exploring.

Things to See in Ulaanbaatar

• Zaisan Monument. A communist-era monument with great panoramic views of the city. My favorite of the attractions in the city.
• Gandantegchinlen Monastery. A really cool interior with one of the tallest gold buddhas.
• Bogd Khaan Winter Palace Museum. The outside is more impressive than the inside in my opinion.
• National Museum of Mongolia. There are quite a few museums in UB (like the Natural History Museum of Mongolia) but this one is the only one that contains enough artifacts and information in English to be worthwhile.

What to Eat in Ulaanbaatar

Unfortunately, I was not one of those travelers who found UB’s food scene to be adequate for a city of its size. The food scene in Mongolia is pretty bleak in general with few exceptions. If you happen to be a vegetarian…you’re in an even more dire state. Not everywhere can be a foodie haven.

These were the best of the many places we tried in UB…

• Ajisen Ramen Mongolia. Actually, weirdly good ramen.
• Grand Khaan Irish Pub. Huge portions and good meat.

If You’re Hunting For a More Food Focused Vacation…

Where to Stay in Ulaanbaatar

Here are three accommodations I stayed at and can recommend within the city. The first two budget-friendly options offer easy access to guides and drivers if you aren’t planning on driving yourself. The third is without a doubt one of the most comfortable accommodations in UB and has an epic breakfast buffet.

Day 2: Ulaanbaatar to Terelj National Park

Drive Time: 1 hour & 15 min — 70 KM

Terelj National Park is the most well-photographed destination in Mongolia. The park itself is pretty small with the main allure being rolling green hillside landscapes, massive boulders in the shape of turtles, and short hikes to hillside monasteries.

I recommend leaving UB shortly after breakfast and heading straight to big attractions in the park like Turtle Rock and Ariyabal Meditation Temple. On the way, you can stop by the giant statue of Genghis Khan (pictured above). Then you can check into your ger camp for the night and enjoy the stunning views of the valley as all the day visitors leave the park. Because it’s so close to Ulaanbaatar, this park can get quite crowded during the day. My favorite place to stay BY FAR in Terelj is Apache Eco Camp.

Where to Stay in Terelj National Park

The reason I recommend Terelj as an overnight instead of a day trip is that the park landscape is most impressive around sunset and sunrise when the sun is low on the mountains. This is also my favorite (and most comfortable) ger that I stayed at in all my time in Mongolia. The owners are German Mongolians who go above and beyond to make sure you find the best hiking trails and photo spots in the park. We wished we could have stayed longer than one night.

Apache Eco Camp

This camp is strewn along the hillside in one of the most impressive valleys of Terelj National Park. Each ger sleeps 4 people (some with double beds for couples!) and some have heated floors! Definitely stick around for breakfast after sunrise too because it was some of the best Mongolian food I had in the country.

Read my full guide to Terelj National Park for all the best park attractions and tips for getting the most out of your visit.

Day 3: Terelj National Park to White Stupa

Drive Time: 6.5 hours — 490 KM

Your first long drive day. Unfortunately, this is a rather uneventful drive. But it’s paved nearly the entire way until you leave the road to head to the White Stupa itself.

White Stupa is one of the most impressive sights in all of Mongolia and should not be missed. In the entire Gobi Desert, it’s probably the location I was most surprised and impressed by. And I’ve been to all of Utah’s Big 5 Desert National Parks in the US.

If you’re not driving and you have hired a Mongolian driver who isn’t in a hurry you could conceivably take a little pit stop at the Ikh Gazriin Chuluu Park if you’re really into photographing more big rocks in the vast desert landscape. This will put you driving into White Stupa after dark most likely, but the choice is yours. Due to the distance off-road, if you are driving yourself, I don’t recommend hitting both sites in one day.

Read my full guide on Visiting the White Stupa for tips on where to pitch your tent for the most epic sunrise view and more.

Day 4: White Stupa to Yolyn Am Valley

Drive Time: 2.5 hours — 200 KM

Today’s drive will be a little less than usual because you should account for seeing the White Stupa at sunrise and exploring the knobby multi-colored sand mounds for a few hours in the morning. Then you’ll set off to Yolyn Am Valley, a stunning granite canyon where you can spot unique wildlife like rare endangered Ibex, snow leopards (not a chance), and tiny squeaky pica.

I prefer to visit Yolyn Am in the afternoon hours just before sunset so the short drive gives you ample time to explore the park to your heart’s content and then tuck away in a ger camp near the park.

Read my full blog post on Yolyn Am for all the best things to do and see during your visit to the park.

Day 5: Yolyn Am Valley to Khongoryn Els Gobi

Drive Time: Approximately 4 hours — Approximately 180 KM

If you’ve been using Google Maps up till this point, this is where you’ll completely lose the map.

But don’t fret. Maps.Me is very accurate. The location may be listed as Hongorïn Els. This isn’t the sand dune-covered desert you’re imagining. This is a flat well-traveled area with clearly trodden tire paths cutting across a very flat landscape. It’s easy. Just roughly follow the route described by Maps.Me and you’ll arrive in the vast landscape of Khongoryn Els. The Singing Sand Dunes of the Gobi Desert.

You can essentially just drive right up to the dunes here. You’ll pass numerous ger camps along the way all with similar amenities and price tags. Try to get here before 4 PM so you’ll have plenty of time to get to the dunes before sunset. Keep in mind it takes over 1 hour time climb the dunes for the best sunset view.

Be sure to read my full guide to Khongoryn Els and why you should absolutely climb the tallest sand dune to gaze out over the sea of sand for sunset.

Where to Stay Near Khongoryn Els

I recommend you sleep as close as possible to Khongoryn Els and not one of the other Ger camps scattered throughout the Gobi Desert. Preferably one of the ones you can see from the dune itself. Because you’ll be visiting this site at sunset this means you’ll have to drive to the camp in the dark and the flat desert off-roads can be difficult to navigate with NO light.

But if you are someone who needs to have things booked ahead of time and are planning on hiring a driver in UB rather than driving yourself you can book a stay at the Gobi Mirage.

Gobi Mirage

Day 6: Khongoryn Els Gobi to Ongi Monastery via Flaming Cliffs

Drive Time: 9 hours — 410 KM

This will be your longest and most difficult day of driving on this entire trip. Ideally, it would be broken up into two days. If you have an extra day to spare I recommend staying overnight at the Flaming Cliffs for sunset. I’m assuming that if you are self-driving it is during the summer months otherwise the routes may be inadvisable for foreign travelers.

Read my full guide on the Flaming Cliffs for more detailed information about your visit.

When I say difficult I just mean that the majority of the route will be off-road on hard-packed tracks through the desert. It’s not a hard route to follow on Maps.Me. Getting to the Flaming Cliffs is very well-traveled. Beyond that to Ongi you’ll be in more remote areas but will often have a cell signal in case of an emergency if you have a SIM card like I recommend in my self-driving guide.

On your way to the Flaming Cliffs, you’ll pass through the small town of Bulgan which is a good place to stop for food. And get some proper coffee and supplies.

The reason I combine this into one single day for this itinerary is that the Flaming Cliffs were the least impressive of the desert landscapes for me and lodging near them was actually rather expensive (like it is throughout much of the Southern Gobi). But it’s always better to go slow when you can. If you have a Mongolian driver then you can EASILY combine this into one day with no problems.

Why Ongi Monastery?

The vast desert scenery and avoiding having to backtrack mostly.

Ongi Monastery is set on a river in a sweltering stretch of desert. The monastery itself is interesting but doesn’t offer a whole lot to do once you arrive. It’s really just a spot to sleep about halfway to the ancient capital of the Mongol empire.

If you’re driving yourself and you would rather have predictable paved roadways than an off-road adventure you can go back to UB the way you came in a single SUPER long day (or two reasonable ones) from Khongoryn Els and then head to Kharkhorin on the main paved road from UB. This is a much longer route but it is well-traveled and paved the whole way. That being said…I really don’t recommend it unless you have been struggling with this itinerary a lot so far. Off-road is all part of the adventure in Mongolia.

Day 7: Ongi Monastery to Kharkhorin

Drive Time: 6 Hours — 300 KM

Your last off-road of the trip!!

The road from Ongi Monastery traverses a few rivers and crosses some vast expanses of grassland on the way to Kharkhorin the ancient capital of the Mongol empire.

This small town feels no different than any other town in Mongolia other than its (relatively) large size and loads of tourists. This is because of the main attraction…Erdene Zu Monastery.

Read my full guide on where to stay in Kharkhorin visiting Erdene Zu and all the interesting things to do while you’re overnighting in the city.

Assuming you make it this far…congratulations you have officially conquered all the off-road driving you’ll need to do on this 1-week Mongolia itinerary.

Day 8: Kharkhorin to Ulaanbataar via Hustai National Park

Drive Time: 6.5 Hours — 385 KM

Back on the pavement and back to good ol’ Google Maps navigation.

If you leave early enough in the day you can reach UB by nightfall and visit the wild Przewalski’s horse of Hustai National Park along the way.

Read this full guide to Hustai National Park before you visit. As I outline in this post, it’s ideal to stay overnight at Hustai National Park but for those in a hurry…a daytime visit is possible just maybe not totally worthwhile.

This drive is easy and uneventful for the most part.

Map of Your 1-Week Mongolia Itinerary

To extend your trip be sure to check out my 2-Week Itinerary and my 3 to 4-Week Itinerary.

Here’s a quick look at your 8 days on Google Maps. Notice that the driving route does not connect all the sights. This is because there are portions of off-road that Google does not recognize. Don’t be discouraged, however, the road is pretty clearly marked and Maps.Me will guide your way.

You won’t want to use Google Maps always while navigating in Mongolia. Instead, Maps.Me has the most accurate network of roads. Google Maps works for anything paved, but off-road or dirt is usually maps.me.

Important: Maps.Me Off Road Route Map

As I have stated Google Maps can be a little unreliable in off-road situations. Fortunately, I detailed the EXACT route we took on Maps.me and downloaded it for you here. Keep in mind we road-tripped for 4 weeks and this is only the southern off-road section that wasn’t always super clear on Google Maps. If the route is not listed here then you can assume that Google Maps or the Maps.Me basic directions feature has the correct road.

I took a screenshot of what the route will look like when you have downloaded it correctly onto Maps.Me so there is no confusion.

In particular, for this one-week Mongolia itinerary, this downloadable maps.me route will show you the off-road section through the Gobi Desert to Yolyn Am and then up to Kharkhorin. But as you can see this map continues on to Khorgo Volcano rather than heading straight back to UB via Hustai. This is not the route for one week.

If you want to head to Khorgo Volcano and the Amarbayasgalant Monastery instead, read my 2-week Mongolia itinerary.

The only way for me to send you the maps.me files of my 1-week Mongolia itinerary is for you to join this Mongolia email list! I won’t send you anything else, just one quick message with the Maps.Me files and if you have any trouble viewing it at all be sure to reach out to me at geena.truman@gmail.com

Love The 1-Week Mongolia Itinerary But Don’t Want To Hassle With Driving Yourself?

As promised here are a few reputable tours heading to all (or most) of the places detailed above for those who aren’t interested in hiring their own driving or self-driving the country.

This is the best and most diverse 1 week Mongolia itinerary on the internet. You CAN drive this route yourself as a beginner or simply hire a driver to take you to my recommended places. Obviously, I want you to stay longer in the country but the price can be prohibitive here in the remote region of the world. Be sure to check out all my guides to independent travel in Mongolia before your next trip to the land of big skies and fuzzy camels.

Save This 1-Week Mongolia Itinerary For Later!