Step1
Leave after lunch
Collection around one in the afternoon. The drive is around two hours on good road.
Wildlife day trip
The horse that was never broken.
A day at Hustai National Park, where the takhi — the only horse never domesticated — was returned to the wild in 1992 and can be watched coming down to water at dusk.
Hustai lies about 100 km southwest of Ulaanbaatar on sealed road, which makes it the only place in Mongolia where genuinely wild large mammals are within a day of the capital.
The takhi — Przewalski’s horse — was extinct in the wild and was reintroduced here from 1992. It is not a safari park: the horses are free-ranging, they spend the heat of the day high in the hills, and they come down towards water in the late afternoon. Which is why this trip is built around the evening rather than lunchtime.
What you get.
Set out clearly, so you know exactly what is arranged.
Included
- Private vehicle, driver and guide
- Park entrance and conservation fees
- Binoculars, and a spotting scope for the group
- Dinner at the park ger camp
- Time at the reintroduction centre and archive
- Marmot, red deer and steppe raptor spotting en route
Not included
- Overnight accommodation, if you choose to stay
- Personal equipment
- Gratuities
Pricing.
Quoted for your dates and party size, and confirmed in writing before anything is booked.
Includes park and conservation fees, dinner at the park camp, and a spotting scope for the group. Adding an overnight at the park camp roughly doubles your chances, and can be included in your quote.
Prices are confirmed in writing before anything is booked. Payment by bank transfer or on invoice; we do not take cash in the vehicle.
How it works.
Timed around the animals, which means a late finish rather than an early start.
Step2
The visitor centre first
The reintroduction story, told properly — how the takhi went extinct in the wild, where the founder animals came from and what managing a wild population actually involves.
Step3
Out into the park
Down the Tuul valley in the late afternoon, watching the hillsides. Red deer, marmots, gazelle and raptors are all likely; the takhi are the reason you are there.
Step4
The dusk window
The hour before sunset is when the horses move to water. This is the part of the day that cannot be rushed or rescheduled.
Step5
Dinner, then back
A meal at the park camp and the drive back, reaching the city late.
Worth knowing.
The details that decide whether this goes smoothly.
It is a wild population
Sightings are usual rather than certain. Anyone who promises you takhi has not spent much time looking for them.
Not permitted near the horses
Approaching takhi on foot is prohibited, as is camping in the core zone. Viewing is from the vehicle or from distance with a scope.
Late is the point
A midday visit to Hustai is a drive to a hillside. If your schedule only allows the middle of the day, we will tell you to spend it elsewhere.
Strongly recommended
An overnight at the park camp buys you dawn as well as dusk, which roughly doubles your chances and halves the driving.
Questions.
Asked often enough to answer here.
How likely are we to see them?
In the summer months, with the evening window and a scope, sightings are common. We will not put a number on it, and neither should anyone else.
Is this suitable for children?
Yes, for children who can be quiet and still for stretches of time. It is a watching trip, not an activity.
Can we do Hustai and Terelj in one day?
No. They are on opposite sides of the city and both reward being unhurried. Doing both in a day means doing neither properly.
What about winter?
The park is open, but the road conditions and the short daylight make it a harder day, and the horses are harder to find. We run it May to October and suggest alternatives outside that.
Go at the right hour.
Tell us your dates and we will build the afternoon around the light.
Request this serviceOther services.
Most travellers book two or three together, which is simpler for everyone.