Not a tent, not a luxury hotel: the Mongolian ger camp
Accommodation on the Mongolia tour means neither tent nor hotel. It means ger – the traditional round felt houses of Mongolian nomads, unchanged in basic form for centuries. On the tour you stay in established ger camps: fixed locations, multiple gers, full catering included.
What a ger camp actually means
A fixed ger camp is not a single nomad tent on the open steppe. It is a facility with multiple gers, often a main building for meals, toilet facilities and a permanent operator. The gers themselves are equipped: beds or sleeping mats, blankets, a small stove in the centre. Summer nights are cold – the stove provides warmth for as long as it is burning.
Quality varies. Some camps have showers with hot water, others cold, some with communal facilities set slightly apart. This is not poor quality – it is the reality of remote areas in Mongolia.
Atmosphere: what cannot be booked
What sets ger camps apart from any other accommodation cannot be expressed in stars. Waking up to a view of an endless plain. The sound of wind on felt walls. Sharing dinner with the group after a long riding day. The feeling that this structure could be dismantled tomorrow morning and erected somewhere else.
Ger camps in Mongolia are not a backdrop. They are part of a journey that deliberately passes through living landscape – not tourist-packaged landscape.
Route and location: where the camps are
The tour camps sit at chosen points along the route: near striking rock formations like Baga Gazriin Chuluu, along the Orchon river, at the edge of the Khongorin-Els dunes, at lakes including Ugii Lake. The location is not random – it is part of the daily planning and often the first thing that reinforces the day's impression after removing riding gear.
What is included
Breakfast and a warm evening meal are included in the tour price. Tea, coffee and water at no extra cost. During the day there is finger food and snacks on the track. Dinner is freshly prepared – no ready meals, Mongolian and international cooking in rotation.
Not included: alcohol, certain soft drinks and personal extras. This is communicated transparently in advance.
Who ger camps are right for
For everyone who wants to travel, not just holiday. A ger camp is not a comfort compromise – it is a deliberate choice. Anyone who feels the scale of the landscape around them on the first ger camp evening, and wakes up when the steppe lies in morning light, will understand why this accommodation belongs to the tour as much as the track itself.
