Kharkhorin and Elsen Tasarkhai in Two or Three Days
The central loop from Ulaanbaatar: the Elsen Tasarkhai dunes (282 km) and Kharkhorin with Erdene Zuu (79 km more). Which 2- and 3-day tours include tickets, meals and the ger night.
The central loop from Ulaanbaatar runs 282 km by road west to the Elsen Tasarkhai dunes, the Mini Gobi, and 79 km more to Kharkhorin, the old capital, with Erdene Zuu monastery. Two days do it with one night in a ger. For most travellers the trip to book is CentralMongoliatour .com’s From Ulaanbaatar: Semi Gobi and Ancient Kharkhorin Tour, from $250 a person (checked November 2026): the camel ride, the ger night with dinner and the museum and monastery tickets are all in the price.
The calendar above is the 2-day trip, with 191 reviews (checked November 2026).
The road and the two stops
From Ulaanbaatar to Kharkhorin is about 359 km by road, with the dunes on the way. Elsen Tasarkhai is a band of sand dunes beside grassland and granite hills, known as the Mini Gobi or the Semi-Gobi; the trips stop there for a walk on the sand and a camel ride. Kharkhorin, also written Karakorum, was the capital of the Mongol Empire in the 13th and 14th centuries, and Erdene Zuu, its 16th-century monastery, stands beside the town with the Kharkhorin museum nearby.
On CentralMongoliatour .com’s 2-day trip, day 1 brings lunch, the camel ride at Elsen Tasarkhai and a first look at Kharkhorin, and the night is in a ger camp with dinner; day 2 is breakfast, Kharkhorin and lunch, and the drive back. Pickup is one by one in central Ulaanbaatar between 8:00 and 9:30; there is no airport pickup, and the trip runs in all weather.
What each trip includes
The difference between the trips on this loop is what you pay on the spot.
| Trip | Days | Tickets | Meals | The night | From |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Semi Gobi and Ancient Kharkhorin Tour (CentralMongoliatour .com) | 2 | Kharkhorin museum and Erdene Zuu included | 1 breakfast, 2 lunches, 1 dinner | A ger camp, included | $250 |
| Central Mongolia Budget 3-Day Tour (CentralMongoliatour .com) | 3 | Kharkhorin museum, Erdene Zuu and Khugnu Tarna National Park included | 2 breakfasts, 3 lunches, 2 dinners | Shared gers of 1 to 6 beds, one night with a nomad family | $390 |
| From UB: 2-Day Tour to Kharkhorin and the Semi-Gobi (MJ Travel LLC) | 2 | Extra, paid on the spot | Extra | Not included | $247 |
Card From prices per person; a single traveller can pay more (GetYourGuide checked November 2026). Treat them as the shape of the market, not a quote.
MJ Travel LLC's trip is a car, fuel, tolls and an English- or Russian-speaking driver-guide, with at most four in the car. Everything else is cash on the day. The extras, in tugrik: Erdene Zuu 10,000, the Kharkhorin museum 15,000, a camel or horse ride of about 45 minutes around 40,000 paid to the owners, dishes around 20,000 to 25,000, and a ger at a guest house in Kharkhorin 75,000 to 100,000 per person. It suits a small party that wants a car of its own and is happy to pay as it goes; for anyone else the all-in trips are simpler.
Three days, or two?
From Ulaanbaatar: Semi Gobi and Ancient Kharkhorin Tour
The camel ride at Elsen Tasarkhai, Kharkhorin with its museum and Erdene Zuu tickets, a ger-camp night with dinner. Pickup in central Ulaanbaatar between 8:00 and 9:30.
Check dates →From Ulaanbaatar: Central Mongolia Budget 3-Day Tour
The same two stops at a slower pace, a night with a nomad family and a horse ride in the Khugnu Tarna mountains. The camel and horse rides depend on the animals being found that day.
See the tour →From UB: 2-Day Tour to Kharkhorin and the Semi-Gobi
A car and driver-guide for at most four. Tickets, meals, the rides and the ger night in Kharkhorin are paid in cash on the spot.
See the tour →Prices, ratings and review counts from the listings (GetYourGuide checked November 2026). Operators price by date and season, so treat the figures as the shape of the market, not a quote.
The third day buys time: on the 2-day trips you reach the dunes at midday after a morning in the car, and the drive back fills the second afternoon. The 3-day budget tour adds a nomad family and a horse ride, though the camels and horses roam free and are not always found on the day, so neither ride is guaranteed. If you want the loop with a private car and guide, Meet Mongolia Join Tours LLC’s 3 Day Tour to Kharkhorin and Mini Gobi with Camel and Horse Ride on Viator costs from $750 a person (checked November 2026), with the entrance fees and meals included.
A night in Kharkhorin on your own
If you travel in MJ Travel LLC's car, or drive the loop another way, the night in Kharkhorin is yours to book. That guest-house ger costs 75,000 to 100,000 tugrik a person, with public toilets, showers and a restaurant on site. To compare rooms in the town, search hotels in Kharkhorin , an Expedia search through Stay22; the listings and prices there are Expedia’s.
None of these trips reaches the South Gobi, the dunes of Khongoryn Els or the Flaming Cliffs. For those, see Mini Gobi or the real Gobi.
More Ways into the Gobi
Gobi and Central Mongolia Tours with Open Dates
Tours from Ulaanbaatar with live availability. Where each one sleeps, what it includes and the cancellation terms are shown before you book.
Two Days: the Dunes and the Old Capital
CentralMongoliatour .com's 2-day trip from Ulaanbaatar: a camel ride at Elsen Tasarkhai, Kharkhorin with its museum and Erdene Zuu tickets, a ger-camp night with dinner.
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