13-day Tsaatan Reindeer Festival & Ice Festival Tour 2026
Book this 13-day private winter tour and attend the Tsaatan Reindeer Festival and famous Lake Khuvsgul Ice Festival. During the trip, stay one night with a local herder family, cheer on reindeer races, admire ice sculptures, and immerse in Mongolia’s unique culture and traditions.
2 People = $4,500 USD/person
4 People = $4,400 USD/person 5 People = $3,900 USD/person
6 People = $3,300 USD/person
- Tour Type: Cultural
- Book Now (Private Itinerary)
- No Reviews
Dates: February 22 – March 6, 2026 (13 Days, 12 Nights)
Book For: 2, 4, 5 or 6 People
Languages Available: English, German, French
Stay: Homestay with a Nomadic Herding Family, Park Ranger Cabins, Hotels, and Ger Camps
Tour Type: Cultural, Festival, Homestay, Photographer’s Dream, Family Friendly
Included: Private Drivers, Meals, Accommodation, Airport Transfers
Price to Book:
2 People = $4,500 USD/person
4 People = $4,400 USD/person
5 People = $3,900 USD/person
6 People = $3,300 USD/person
This private winter tour is built around Mongolia’s most popular winter festivals, the Tsaatan Reindeer Festival and the Lake Khuvsgul Ice Festival.
Both of these famous festivals are completely unique local celebrations that honor animals, survival, and life itself during the coldest months of the year. These aren’t festivals put on for tourists, these are festivals put on by locals, for locals! By attending these festivals with us, you’re supporting these local communities as well as the future generations who will keep these traditions alive!
During this guided, experience-driven journey, travel to some of the most remote, and beautiful, corners of the Mongolian taiga. The taiga is close to Siberia and is characterized for its coniferous forests of pines, spruces, and larches. It’s one of the toughest and harshest terrains on earth, and it has made the people here incredibly resilient.
The trip invites you to step away from modern comfort. Cellular data is limited, temperatures are extreme, and accommodations are simple. In return, you experience something increasingly rare: shared moments, presence, and celebration in places where life depends on cooperation and resilience.
For Mongolians, festivals are a way of honoring what sustains us. To witness them in winter, when survival matters most, is powerful, humbling, and unforgettable.
Join us on this unforgettable adventure and experience some of the most unique festivals and cultural events in the world.
This private tour is great for couples and families.
Highlights of this immersive 13-day private winter tour to the Reindeer Festival and Ice Festival include:
- Meet and actively work alongside the northern Park Rangers protecting the reindeer lands and taiga ecosystem. They’ll teach you everything you need to know about surviving in this part of the world.
- Travel through Mongolia’s winter wonderland, where rivers stay alive beneath the intense cold and are known to sing when locals gather around.
- Experience true Siberian winter (-20 to -30°C / -4 to -22°F) and discover what you’re capable of enduring. We’ll provide you with a traditional Mongolian winter deel to help you survive, and you even get to take it home with you!
- Spend the night with a Tsaatan reindeer herder family and hear their stories while sharing meals and milk tea inside their homes during a once-in-a-lifetime homestay experience.
- Attend the Reindeer Festival, a rare and wonderful celebration of reindeer culture, racing, and tradition. This festival is unlike any other in the world!
- Drive across the frozen surface of Lake Khuvsgul, a surreal, silent, and unforgettable ride!
- Join the Ice Festival, where winter itself becomes the celebration. See the immaculately dressed locals, eat local traditional foods, sip on hot milk tea to warm up, ice skate, and watch the festivities while rubbing elbows with this tight-knit local community.
- End the journey at one of Mongolia’s oldest monasteries, grounded in peace and reflection.
Table of Contents
Want to extend your trip? Add-on these Experiences
🐴 Day Trip to Terelj National Park and the Chinggis Khaan Equestrian Statue (Book for any day, it’s the perfect day trip to get into the spirit of Mongolia)
🤝 Check out the Black Market with a Local (Book for any day except Tuesdays (closed), great for gear shopping, souvenir browsing, and feeling like a local)
🚙 Visit Khustai National Park + Mongol Nomadic Camp (search for wile Przewalksi’s horses before learning about ancient Mongolian traditions, available for booking 365 days a year)
13-day Itinerary: Reindeer Festival & Ice Festival Tour
Experience Mongolia’s best winter festivals during this 13-day private winter tour.
Winter is when life in Mongolia is most honest. Resources are scarce, conditions are harsh, and community matters more than ever. Winter festivals are not just celebrations, they are acts of gratitude.
For generations, Mongolians have gathered around their animals in winter to honor what sustains them: reindeer, horses, and livestock that make survival possible. These festivals acknowledge resilience, celebrate life, and strengthen bonds between people, animals, and land.
To experience these gatherings as a guest is to witness Mongolia at its core: present, communal, and deeply connected to the natural world.
During this tour you’ll experience it all, including a homestay with a nomadic herding family where you’ll get to know them better. Ask them about their way of life, share stories from your own home, and connect on the deepest, purest level with strangers who instantly become family.
Be sure to keep reading for what to pack for this adventure. With temperatures reaching -20 to -30°C (-4 to -22°F), preparing for this trip with the right gear will be essential to enjoying every moment of what this experience has to offer.
If you plan to join this trip you need to arrive in Ulaanbaatar on or before February 22, 2026. You can book your departing flight anytime on March 6, 2026, the day this tour ends. We will arrive back in Ulaanbaatar the evening before and you’ll have a hotel room in the city center that evening. We will arrange your airport transfers both ways (arrival and departure). Checkout from the hotel is 11 am on March 6.
Many travelers choose to arrive in Ulaanbaatar early to adjust to Mongolian time and shop for warm clothes. If you’d like to arrive a few days early, we are happy to help you make arrangements at the hotel under our corporate rate for the extra nights.
Check out our Ulaanbaatar day tours to make the most of your time in the capital before this adventure begins.
Below you’ll find a day-by-day breakdown of this winter festival itinerary and what it includes.
Meals included in this tour are indicated below. Vegetarian options are available and we are able to accommodate most dietary restrictions.
Day 1 / February 22: Arrival in Mongolia
Welcome to Mongolia!
Today your adventure begins! Arrive at Chinggis Khaan International Airport where you’ll meet your airport transfer driver. He’ll be waiting for you in the arrivals hall with your name on a sign. From there, enjoy your comfortable transport into the city center.
Check into the hotel and enjoy the day at leisure.
In the evening, meet your guide at 6:30 pm and walk to your Welcome Dinner. During dinner your guide will tell you more about the transformative journey ahead!
- Stay: Hotel in Ulaanbaatar (Double Occupancy)
- Meals: Welcome Dinner
Day 2 / February 23: Domestic Flight to Northern Mongolia (Murun)
This morning, you’ll fly north and begin your journey toward Mongolia’s taiga region.
After arriving in the north, you’ll gather supplies and visit a local monastery to understand the spiritual foundations of this sacred and spiritual area. The evening is quiet and intentional with a group dinner before resting up so you can fully enjoy the experience ahead.
- Stay: Hotel in Murun (Double Occupancy)
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 3 / February 24: Drive to Meet the Park Rangers of the North
Today’s drive will give you your first glimpses of the taiga and this remote and rugged sparsely populated area.
Arrive at the headquarters of the northern Park Rangers, the protectors of the reindeer lands and fragile taiga ecosystem. From them, you’ll learn firsthand how they monitor wildlife, protect migration routes, and maintain balance in one of Mongolia’s most remote regions.
- Stay: Ranger Cabin, Ulaan-Uul Headquarters (Shared Accommodations)
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
- Accommodation Notes: Accommodations along this journey will be basic in nature. Rooms will be shared and bathrooms may be located outside. Outlets and electricity may be limited or non-existent. You will need a warm, winter sleeping bag and sleeping pad for this part of the journey.
Day 4 / February 25: Polar Plunge Challenge & Day in the Field with the Park Rangers
After an optional cold-water plunge to awaken the senses, you’ll spend a full day alongside the Park Rangers in the field.
This is about understanding daily life in extreme winter: tracking animals, reading the land, and sharing tea with locals who know this environment intimately. Temperatures often reach -20 to -30°C (-4 to -22°F), and today is about acclimation and respect.
- Stay: Ranger Cabin, Ulaan-Uul Headquarters (Shared Accommodations)
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 5 / February 26: Sing to the Duut River, Winter Lodge Arrival, Evening Bonfire
Today’s drive takes you deeper in the magical winter wonderland of the north, where the landscape is wrapped in white, yet rivers continue to mysteriously flow.
The highlight of today is visiting the mystical Duut River, a sacred river known for its deep cultural meaning and connection to motherhood. The day ends at a warm lodge, with a bonfire in the evening, offering rest before the celebrations to come.
- Stay: Comfortable Lodge (Shared Accommodations)
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 6 / February 27: Tsaatan Reindeer Festival Day 1 (Reindeer Races & more)
The Tsaatan Reindeer Festival begins today! Here you’ll witness a small but powerful celebration organized by local tribes. You’ll cheer on reindeer races, admire everyone in their traditional clothing, listen to music, and enjoy this community gathering. Be sure to bring local currency for these days, handmade crafts and local delicacies will be available for purchase right from the people who make them!
This festival is a display of local pride, honoring the animals that sustain life in the north.
- Stay: Comfortable Lodge (Shared Accommodations)
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 7 / February 28: Tsaatan Reindeer Festival Day 2 (Homestay)
The Tsaatan Reindeer Festival celebrations continue!
More races, performances, and free time to meet and chat with the local reindeer herding families. Once the festival starts to wind down, head out with a local family to spend the evening with them in their home.
Sip on salty milk tea and indulge in other traditional foods you can only find in this part of Mongolia (and the world!). Learn how the nomadic people’s traditions set them apart from other regions, from the reindeer or horse-hair boots they wear to the dialect they speak.
This is one of the most intimate cultural moments of the journey.
- Stay: Nomadic Herder Family Homestay
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
- Homestay Notes: Nomadic families homes are not well insulated. While there are wood-fired stoves inside, we will do our best to keep them lit throughout the night but it is likely the fire will go out for several hours. It’s essential you pack a very warm, preferably down (for easier packing), sleeping bag (like this Mammut -21C sleeping bag) and an insulated sleeping pad (like this Exped 8R -40 degree wide insulated sleeping pad) for these nights with the family.
Day 8 / March 1: Driving Adventure Across a Frozen Lake Khuvsgul
Saying goodbye to your host family, set off on the most scenic and surreal drive of the trip.
Emerge from the forests of the taiga to drive across the frozen surface of Mongolia’s most sacred lake, Lake Khuvsgul.
Vast, silent, and otherworldly, this crossing is both nerve-wracking and unforgettable. You’ll arrive at camp by evening and settle in under the winter sky.
Walk on the Lake in the evening and see the milky way sky stretch above. Watch for shooting stars and make a wish!
- Stay: Ger Camp (Shared Accommodations)
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 9 / March 2: Ice Festival Opening Day
The celebrations continue! Welcome to the Ice Festival, where winter becomes a celebration.
Locals arrive dressed in vibrant winter deels, and the frozen lake transforms into a festival ground of games, performances, and craftsmanship. While temperatures will be cold, the hospitality is warm.
Take in the color, laughter, and beauty of this truly unique festival and the people who make it possible.
- Stay: Ger Camp (Shared Accommodations)
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 10 / March 3: Ice Festival Closing & Drive to Murun
After enjoying the final moments of the Ice Festival, you’ll begin the journey back toward Murun town.
Along the way, there’s time to stop at the biggest Deer stones, burial monuments from 1400 BCE to 700 BCE.
In Murun, warm up with dinner together and melt into the gradual return to comfort.
- Stay: Hotel in Murun (Double Occupancy)
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 11 / March 4: Visit to Amarbayasgalant Monastery
On the journey south, you’ll stop at one of Mongolia’s oldest monasteries, Amarbayasgalant Monastery.
After days of celebration and immersing in nature, this visit offers stillness and reflection. It’s a quiet, meaningful way to close the northern chapter of the journey.
- Stay: Guesthouse Near the Monastery (Double Occupancy)
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 12 / March 5: Drive to Ulaanbaatar
Wake up refreshed, rejuvenated, and ready to return to civilization!
Finish your drive back to the capital, carrying the memories of the last several days with you. This is a return not just to the city, but to warmth, perspective, and gratitude, ending the journey with a deeper understanding of Mongolia and yourself.
Check into your warm and comfortable hotel room, take a hot shower, and catch up on calls and text messages. The rest of the day is at leisure for shopping and enjoying your last few hours in Mongolia.
- Stay: Hotel in Ulaanbaatar (Double Occupancy)
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 13 / March 6: Depart Mongolia
Book your international departure for anytime today. We will arrange an airport transfer for you from the hotel.
This isn’t goodbye, this is see you again soon!
- Meals: Breakfast
What's Included
- A custom Flames winter deel to keep you warm throughout this expedition.
- English, German, and French-speaking Mongolian guides available.
- Domestic flight (one way).
- All airport transfers (international arrivals, domestic flights, international departure).
- Transportation during the trip dates.
- All accommodation during the trip dates, including a hotel in Ulaanbaatar (Best Western Premier Tuushin or similar), special eco-camps, and one night with a nomadic herding family.
- All activities listed on the itinerary.
- Meals* (breakfast, lunch, dinner) as outlined on the trip itinerary.
*Please let us know of any dietary restrictions before booking.
What's Not Included
- International flights.
- Visa costs and fees.
- Travel Insurance that covers medical evacuation and cost of participation (required).
- Personal expenses such as laundry, alcoholic beverages, telephone calls, optional activities, and meals which are not included in the trip itinerary.
- A winter-rated sleeping bag and sleeping pad are required for this trip. These items will not be provided and should be brought from home. These should be rated for -20 to -30 C degree weather.
- Tips and additional gratuities.
Visit our tour cancellation policy page if you have any additional questions.
Book Now
The price to book this Reindeer & Ice Festival Private Winter Tour is:
2 People = $4,500 USD/person
4 People = $4,400 USD/person
5 People = $3,900 USD/person
6 People = $3,300 USD/person
Highlights of this immersive 13-day private winter tour include:
- This is an intimate experience to be shared by couples, friends, and even families. Travelers of all ages are able to join this journey.
- Attend the Reindeer Festival, a rare and wonderful celebration of reindeer culture, racing, and tradition. This festival is unlike any other in the world!
- Drive across the frozen surface of Lake Khuvsgul, a surreal, silent, and unforgettable ride!
- Join the Ice Festival, where winter itself becomes the celebration. See the immaculately dressed locals, eat local traditional foods, sip on hot milk tea to warm up, ice skate, and watch the festivities while rubbing elbows with this tight-knit local community.
- Experience true Siberian winter (-20 to -30°C / -4 to -22°F) and discover what you’re capable of enduring. We’ll provide you with a traditional Mongolian winter deel to help you survive, and you even get to take it home with you!
- Spend the night with a nomadic herder family and hear their stories while sharing meals and milk tea inside their homes during a once-in-a-lifetime homestay experience.
How to Pack for this Winter Adventure Tour
Average temperatures in Mongolia during February are -20 to -30°C (-4 to -22°F).
But, don’t let those numbers stop you from coming, we promise it’s not as bad as it sounds!
In fact, our past clients who listened to our packing advice for surviving winter in Mongolia and followed our recommended packing lists had no complaints while joining our previous winter tours! They even complained that it wasn’t cold enough, and they thought it would be colder!
After you sign up for this winter adventure we’ll send you a complete packing list, but this will give you a great idea on what you’ll need to bring to thrive during this expedition.
- Hot hands and heated insoles (these are essential!)
- Base layers (cashmere or merino wool)
- Appropriate shoes (without plastic bottoms!). We love: Alaska Gear Company Bunny Boots, Sorel Caribou Boots, and Meindl Classic Winter Boots.
- Chapstick, face sunscreen and wind block, and hand lotion
- Heated vest or other insulated down vest to keep your core warm
- Nalgene water bottle to put hot water in at night to keep in the foot of your sleeping bag
Basically, prepare for this trip like you would for a skiing trip. Conditions will be cold, wet, and windy. You’ll be going to the bathroom outside, so it’s better to avoid ski bibs and overalls.
Things you can buy for cheap in Ulaanbaatar, when you arrive:
- Cashmere and yak wool socks (yak wool is considered by many to be the warmest)
- Cashmere and yak wool leggings and sweaters. These make great base layers because they don’t smell and they will keep you extremely warm. Yak wool will be more durable than cashmere, which will be softer.
- Cashmere and yak wool beanies, scarves, and extra gloves
- Wool-lined leather boots, reindeer, or horse hair boots, to get you through this winter experience. These are what the locals wear!
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