Reindeer Herders of the Taiga vs Khuvsgul Lake
The shapes a Mongolia trip comes in, compared on days, driving, season and price band. For specific products, use Find a tour.
Typical length
7–11 days
3–13 days
Difficulty
demanding
easy
Driving per day
a full day between Murun and Tsagaan Nuur; horseback for the taiga legs
2-2.5 hours between Murun and the lake; 6-7 hours on the long overland transfer days if you drive from Ulaanbaatar
Total distance
Roughly 1,100 km of flying each way plus several hundred km of driving in the north; the horseback legs are two riding days in each direction
Fly-in version: roughly 200 km of driving around Murun and the lakeshore plus the Ulaanbaatar-Murun flight each way. Overland northern circuits run well over 2,000 km.
Best months
Jun–Sep
- Jan: not a best month
- Feb: not a best month
- Mar: not a best month
- Apr: not a best month
- May: not a best month
- Jun: a best month
- Jul: a best month
- Aug: a best month
- Sep: a best month
- Oct: not a best month
- Nov: not a best month
- Dec: not a best month
Jun–Sep
- Jan: not a best month
- Feb: not a best month
- Mar: not a best month
- Apr: not a best month
- May: not a best month
- Jun: a best month
- Jul: a best month
- Aug: a best month
- Sep: a best month
- Oct: not a best month
- Nov: not a best month
- Dec: not a best month
Per person, per day
275-300 USDPrices as published for 2026
205 USDPrices as published for 2026
Stops
3
7
Good for
- travellers who want a genuinely remote experience
- people comfortable on a horse and in a tent
- documentary and portrait photographers with permission
- anyone already going to Khuvsgul who has three extra days
- travellers who want forest, water and cool air
- hikers and kayakers
- people combining the lake with a reindeer-herder visit
- photographers after alpine scenery
Not for
- first-time visitors on a short trip
- anyone who cannot ride for two consecutive days
- travellers who need daily washing facilities
- people expecting a guaranteed, scheduled encounter — the herders move
- travellers on under five days who are not willing to pay for the domestic flight
- anyone visiting outside June-September expecting the summer product
- people who dislike cold nights
Vehicle
Round-trip Ulaanbaatar-Murun flights are included, with 15 kg checked and 5 kg cabin baggage; a van covers the northern driving; small Mongolian horses with local wranglers cover the two-day taiga leg in each direction. A border-area entrance permit is part of the package because the herders live in a restricted zone.
4WD van seating 4-5 passengers is standard for the north; the lakeshore track and the Jigleg pass are not van-friendly in wet weather. The Ulaanbaatar-Murun domestic flight is the main decision — it saves two full driving days, with 15 kg checked and 5 kg cabin baggage.
Accommodation
On the 8-day summer version: 1 hotel night, 1 basic guesthouse night, 3 tent nights in the taiga and 2 ger camp nights at the lake. Tent nights have outdoor squat toilets and no running water. Ulaanbaatar hotel nights are typically excluded from the price.
Lakeshore tourist ger camps, shared bathroom blocks, in a short summer season. Longer circuits mix ger camps with one or two local-hotel nights in Erdenet or Murun. Nights are cold here even in summer; camps use wood stoves.
Typical length
- Reindeer Herders of the Taiga
- 7–11 days
- Khuvsgul Lake
- 3–13 days
Difficulty
- Reindeer Herders of the Taiga
- demanding
- Khuvsgul Lake
- easy
Driving per day
- Reindeer Herders of the Taiga
- a full day between Murun and Tsagaan Nuur; horseback for the taiga legs
- Khuvsgul Lake
- 2-2.5 hours between Murun and the lake; 6-7 hours on the long overland transfer days if you drive from Ulaanbaatar
Total distance
- Reindeer Herders of the Taiga
- Roughly 1,100 km of flying each way plus several hundred km of driving in the north; the horseback legs are two riding days in each direction
- Khuvsgul Lake
- Fly-in version: roughly 200 km of driving around Murun and the lakeshore plus the Ulaanbaatar-Murun flight each way. Overland northern circuits run well over 2,000 km.
Best months
- Reindeer Herders of the Taiga
- Jun–Sep
- Jan: not a best month
- Feb: not a best month
- Mar: not a best month
- Apr: not a best month
- May: not a best month
- Jun: a best month
- Jul: a best month
- Aug: a best month
- Sep: a best month
- Oct: not a best month
- Nov: not a best month
- Dec: not a best month
- Khuvsgul Lake
- Jun–Sep
- Jan: not a best month
- Feb: not a best month
- Mar: not a best month
- Apr: not a best month
- May: not a best month
- Jun: a best month
- Jul: a best month
- Aug: a best month
- Sep: a best month
- Oct: not a best month
- Nov: not a best month
- Dec: not a best month
Per person, per day
- Reindeer Herders of the Taiga
- 275-300 USDPrices as published for 2026
- Khuvsgul Lake
- 205 USDPrices as published for 2026
Stops
- Reindeer Herders of the Taiga
- 3
- Khuvsgul Lake
- 7
Good for
- Reindeer Herders of the Taiga
- travellers who want a genuinely remote experience
- people comfortable on a horse and in a tent
- documentary and portrait photographers with permission
- anyone already going to Khuvsgul who has three extra days
- Khuvsgul Lake
- travellers who want forest, water and cool air
- hikers and kayakers
- people combining the lake with a reindeer-herder visit
- photographers after alpine scenery
Not for
- Reindeer Herders of the Taiga
- first-time visitors on a short trip
- anyone who cannot ride for two consecutive days
- travellers who need daily washing facilities
- people expecting a guaranteed, scheduled encounter — the herders move
- Khuvsgul Lake
- travellers on under five days who are not willing to pay for the domestic flight
- anyone visiting outside June-September expecting the summer product
- people who dislike cold nights
Vehicle
- Reindeer Herders of the Taiga
- Round-trip Ulaanbaatar-Murun flights are included, with 15 kg checked and 5 kg cabin baggage; a van covers the northern driving; small Mongolian horses with local wranglers cover the two-day taiga leg in each direction. A border-area entrance permit is part of the package because the herders live in a restricted zone.
- Khuvsgul Lake
- 4WD van seating 4-5 passengers is standard for the north; the lakeshore track and the Jigleg pass are not van-friendly in wet weather. The Ulaanbaatar-Murun domestic flight is the main decision — it saves two full driving days, with 15 kg checked and 5 kg cabin baggage.
Accommodation
- Reindeer Herders of the Taiga
- On the 8-day summer version: 1 hotel night, 1 basic guesthouse night, 3 tent nights in the taiga and 2 ger camp nights at the lake. Tent nights have outdoor squat toilets and no running water. Ulaanbaatar hotel nights are typically excluded from the price.
- Khuvsgul Lake
- Lakeshore tourist ger camps, shared bathroom blocks, in a short summer season. Longer circuits mix ger camps with one or two local-hotel nights in Erdenet or Murun. Nights are cold here even in summer; camps use wood stoves.
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