Anak Ranch of Mongolia

You are invited to the Anak Ranch of Mongolia to experience a unique way of life.

At the ranch, you can ride unfenced, wide-open steppe and taiga in the last great wilderness of the world. You might ride out to look for the horses, ranging somewhere on the open steppe or in the hills. You might ride north for a few days to spy the Russian Orthodox monastery across the border, or southwest to the lost Buddhist monastery in the hills.

You will sleep in a ger, the traditional Mongolian nomad’s home. You will eat home-grown and all-natural food, including roast meat, cheese, stew, vegetables, milk, yogurt, and airag. You will learn to drink vodka the Mongolian way, accepting a proffered glass with honor and blessing the land in the directions of the four winds.

You can herd horses and goats and sheep and cattle, rope, milk, make cheese and airag, horse ride and trek, feed the animals, cut firewood, hike, eat, sleep, and relax. You may get caught up in delivering baby animals, moving a ger, fishing in the Orkhon River, visiting, singing, and celebrating. You will be amazed at such simple and enjoyable living.

You will never forget your adventure at the Anak Ranch of Mongolia.

** The year 2006 is the 800th anniversary of the founding of the Mongolian state by Genghis Khan. In Mongolia this year, you will be part of the celebration of one of the oldest and most astonishing histories of any nation in the world. On horseback and around the fire, you will have the opportunity to learn the intricate story of the largest empire in history and how it began 800 years ago with horsemen who rode the same rangelands that you will be riding. **

Our daily rate includes accommodation in a ger, all meals, horse riding, and adventure at the ranch.

A portion of all income of the Anak Ranch is donated to improving conditions at Gantskhudag Prison, the largest prison in Mongolia. In 2005, US$70,000 were raised and invested in digging a well and building a water main to the prison.

*Spring
Temperate, though it can get a bit muddy. There are occasional dust storms in spring, when it is said that everybody has a little bit of the Gobi in their ger. Activity at the ranch re-awakens in the spring, and you will have plenty to do with new babies and new adventures. The land greens, and fresh grazing grounds need to be sought.

*Summer
Mongolia is most visited in summer. The weather is fine and the Naadam Festival occurs in early July. There is a local Naadam celebration in Orkhon, in which horses from the Anak Ranch race. You can ride out from the ranch and be gone for days, sleeping under the stars, seeking out or herding the livestock, or simply exploring the wide, dramatic land.

*Autumn
Quite pleasant, with occasional rain showers. You will feel the coming chill and be part of the winter preparations at the Anak Ranch.

*Winter
Lasting from about October to March, winter is the quintessential Mongolian season. It is very cold, but the cold winter is an important part of what makes Mongolia extraordinary. There are few visitors to Mongolia in winter, which creates the strong feeling that you are in a secret corner of the world. Tsagaan Sar—the “White Month,” also celebrated in China and other parts of Asia as the Lunar New Year—takes place in January or February, and is the biggest holiday of the year. At the Anak Ranch, you will enjoy a sense of comfort unlike any other while sleeping in a ger warmed by a fire in the stove, the light flickering over the felt walls, as the steppe wind blows outside. You will be warmed by delicious food, hot from the fire, when you come in from an exhilarating ride through the snowy hills. You will live hearty and well, as the descendents of the Mongol hordes have for hundreds of years in the heart of Asia.