All activities / Overlanding / Expedition Driving / Gobi Desert
Overlanding / Expedition Driving in Gobi Desert
The vast desert and semi-desert steppe of southern Mongolia, a landscape of gravel plains, singing sand dunes, ice-filled canyons and dinosaur-bearing cliffs. Crossing it by vehicle, camp to camp, is one of the last great overland journeys.
Why here
The Gobi is where Mongolian overlanding earns its name. There are almost no sealed roads across the south, so a Gobi expedition means days of driving braided tracks between gers and seasonal camps, navigating by land and local knowledge. The route strings together the singing dunes of Khongoryn Els, the ice-filled gorge of Yolyn Am, and the red Flaming Cliffs of Bayanzag, where Roy Chapman Andrews found the first known dinosaur eggs in the 1920s. Nights are in ger camps or under a sky with no light for hundreds of kilometres. This is expedition travel: long distances, self-sufficient vehicles, and camel- and horse-herding families as your only neighbours for days at a time.
Best months
May to September is the practical window; midsummer days are hot and nights cool, while spring and autumn bring sharp cold and the risk of dust storms. Distances are large and fuel and supplies must be carried, so Gobi routes run as guided vehicle expeditions with a driver-mechanic. Roads are unmarked tracks, and a breakdown far out is a real consideration, which is why local operators travel with a support plan.
Getting there & around
Gobi trips usually start with a domestic flight to Dalanzadgad or a long drive south from Ulaanbaatar, then run point to point by 4x4 over unmarked tracks. There is no fuel or resupply for long stretches, so expeditions carry their own with a driver-mechanic. Accommodation is ger camps and mobile camping; distances mean most itineraries run a week or more.
Skill levels: beginner, intermediate
Schools & guides (2)
Juulchin Tourism Corporation
OutfitterMongolia's first tour operator, established in 1954 and based on Peace Avenue in Ulaanbaatar, Juulchin ran the country's tourism before private travel existed and still operates its own vehicle fleet and ger camps. Its Gobi programmes cover Bayanzag's Flaming Cliffs, Yolyn Am and the Khongoryn dunes, and decades of state-era logistics experience show in the remote-desert routing. A fully Mongolian-owned licensed operator.
Nomadic Expeditions
OutfitterAn expedition outfitter founded in 1992 by Mongolian-American Jalsa Urubshurow, with offices in Mongolia and the United States. In 2002 it built Three Camel Lodge, the country's original luxury ger camp, in the Gobi, and it runs vehicle expeditions to the Flaming Cliffs and Khongoryn dunes. It has designed research trips for Stanford, Harvard's Museum of Natural History and National Geographic. Note the US registration; its camps and ground operations are Mongolian-run.