Central Mongolia

Central Mongolia is where the Mongol Empire was born. The Orkhon Valley — a UNESCO World Heritage site — stretches between the Khangai mountains and the open steppe, dotted with herder gers, hot springs, waterfalls and the haunting ruins of the 13th-century capital Karakorum.

This is the easiest part of Mongolia to reach (a day's drive from Ulaanbaatar) and the richest in history. Erdene Zuu monastery, the Tövkhön hermitage perched on a forested ridge, and the Orkhon waterfall are all within a single loop.

You will sleep in family ger camps, drink fresh airag during the summer, and ride horses across grass that stretches uninterrupted to the horizon.