Things to do in Gobi Desert
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Gobi Desert
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Late May to June brings warm days, cold nights, long light and fully open camps, with June the sweet spot.
Peak summer, every camp open and Naadam in July, but hot desert days, full flights and unreliable Yolyn Am ice.
September to early October brings clear skies, golden light, fewer visitors and nights already warning of winter.
Spring brings the camel festival and the worst dust and sandstorm season, with many camps still closed.
Winter extreme cold shuts most camps and ends the standard loop, with nights at minus 30 or below.
What's on
- Thousand Camel Festival Early March, dates vary
Camel races, polo and herder contests around Dalanzadgad and Bulgan. Check the exact dates and host town locally.
- Naadam 11 to 13 July
National games centred on Ulaanbaatar, with smaller local Naadam in Dalanzadgad in the same season.
Best things to do in Gobi Desert
Khongoryn Els
A dune wall over 100 km long with a river oasis at its foot, climbed best late in the day for gold light.
Yolyn Am
A shaded gorge in the Gurvansaikhan mountains where winter ice can last into summer and lammergeier circle.
Bayanzag
Red cliffs that glow at sunset, where the Andrews expeditions found the first recognised dinosaur eggs.
Tsagaan Suvarga
Wind carved white and pink cliffs from an ancient seabed, the best stop on the drive from Ulaanbaatar.
Ongiin Khiid
Extensive monastery ruins across the Ongi River, destroyed in 1939 with one temple rebuilt in 2004.
Museum of Umnugovi Province
The Dalanzadgad provincial museum for Gobi wildlife and dinosaur context before you visit Bayanzag.
Where to stay in Gobi Desert
Near Yolyn Am and Bayanzag
fly-in trips and first Gobi loop
Within reach of the park, the cliffs and Dalanzadgad airport, with the luxury lodges and larger camps.
Khongoryn Els
dune sunset and sunrise
Camps at the northern foot of the dunes near the river, at the far end of the loop from Dalanzadgad.
Dalanzadgad
flight connections and a reset night
A working provincial capital with the airport, a hotel, a bank and a pharmacy, not a Gobi base.
Ongi River, en route
driving loop overnight
One camp area serving the Ongiin Khiid ruins, placed to make the overland route humane.
Think twice about
- Dalanzadgad as a sole base
Every sight becomes a very long day trip and you lose the desert nights that are half the point.
- Khermen Tsav on a standard loop
Far west and fully remote with no services. It needs a dedicated expedition, not a single added day.
Best restaurants in Gobi Desert
Bulagtai Restaurant
The Three Camel Lodge restaurant, the widest and most polished full board table in the South Gobi.
Dream Gobi Lodge Restaurant
Lodge dining with two restaurants and a buffet breakfast, a step above the standard tour camp set menu.
Gobi Erdene Ger Camp Restaurant
The dunes camp kitchen guests remember kindly, with hearty meals and greenhouse produce in season.
Gobi Mirage Tourist Camp Restaurant
A large restaurant ger serving good, filling tour food with a bar, praised by recent group guests.
Khan Uul Hotel & Suite Restaurant
The most predictable table in Dalanzadgad, with an English menu and shared platters if you order ahead.
Yuna Korean Restaurant Dalanzadgad
A small Korean place in Dalanzadgad, the change of flavour travellers ask for after days of camp mutton.
Outdoor things to do in Gobi Desert
Moltsog Els
Small friendly dunes near Bayanzag and the best place for a first Bactrian camel ride with a herder family.
Seruun Bulag
A green river oasis at the foot of the great dunes, the gentle morning half of a Khongoryn Els day.
Dungenee Am
The quieter second Gurvansaikhan gorge, visited on foot or horseback for a half day without the crowds.
Havsgait Petroglyphs
Ancient rock carvings of animals and hunters on a hillside above the Bulgan plain, best seen in raking light.
Tugregiin Shiree
Remote badlands where the fighting dinosaurs fossil was found in 1971, for serious dinosaur visitors only.
Khermen Tsav
A vast maze of red canyons far west of Dalanzadgad, a dedicated expedition and not a standard loop stop.
Best hotels in Gobi Desert
Three Camel Lodge
The Gobi luxury benchmark since the early 2000s, deluxe en suite gers with a stone lodge and full excursions.
Dream Gobi Lodge
A large lodge camp with en suite gers, pool and spa, aiming at lodge comfort at below Three Camel prices.
Gobi Mirage Tourist Camp
A well established mid range tour camp with upgraded en suite gers, a big restaurant ger and a bar.
Gobi Erdene Ger Camp
The strongest mid range base at Khongoryn Els, a short drive from the dunes with en suite options.
Secret of Ongi Ger Camp
The standard monastery overnight camp by the Ongi River, built to make the driving loop humane.
Khan Uul Hotel & Suite
Dalanzadgad best known town hotel near the airport, the sensible cheap night around a domestic flight.
Is Gobi Desert expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | MNT 325,000 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | MNT 720,000 a person |
| Splurge | MNT 3,600,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Dungenee Am: a few days ahead
- Havsgait Petroglyphs: a few days ahead
- Tugregiin Shiree: weeks ahead
- Khermen Tsav: weeks ahead
- Three Camel Lodge: weeks ahead
- Dream Gobi Lodge: weeks ahead
- Gobi Mirage Tourist Camp: weeks ahead
- Gobi Erdene Ger Camp: weeks ahead
- Book the tour, not the pieces, with every camp, meal, park fee and flight responsibility named in writing.
- In June to early September good operators and the better camps fill weeks ahead.
- Confirm your exact camp is operating on your exact dates, as most camps close in winter.
Is Gobi Desert safe?
- Distance and weather are the real risks: serious medical care means evacuation to Ulaanbaatar.
- Serious medical care means evacuation to Ulaanbaatar, so insurance covering remote air evacuation is essential.
- Carry cash in MNT and water beyond the tour supply. Coverage is patchy to absent for hours in the desert.
Gobi Desert travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Yolyn Am summer ice is not guaranteed and in warm years is gone by late July or August.
- A 3 day everything tour by road is mostly windscreen. Fly in short, or give the loop 5 to 8 days.
- Fossil material offered near Bayanzag may be illegal to export. Look, photograph, leave it.
Getting around Gobi Desert: public transport and more
- Fly Ulaanbaatar to Dalanzadgad in about 1.5 hours on limited days, or drive the paved road in most of a day.
- Beyond Dalanzadgad drivers follow unmarked tracks. There are no buses or hire cars serving the sights.
- Keep a day of flexibility before any international flight, as domestic flights can be retimed for weather.
Who Gobi Desert suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Gobi Desert your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
Get Swearby on the App Store