heymongolia
Festivals

Thousand Camel Festival

Gobi herders gather with their camels for camel races, camel polo and a parade of a thousand camels.

This festival in the South Gobi celebrates the Bactrian (two-humped) camel and the herders who raise them. There are camel races, camel polo, the best-dressed camel and rider, and a parade of hundreds of camels, along with music and food.

It's a good reason to visit the Gobi in winter, when it's cold, clear and almost empty of tourists.

  • When: Usually early March
  • Where: Bulgan, Ömnögovi province
  • Region: Gobi Desert

Tips

  • Gobi nights in March are very cold: pack for −15 °C
  • Many tours combine it with a winter Gobi trip

Tours for Thousand Camel Festival

  • Thousand Camel Festival (8 days · Several regions · Nomadic Expeditions · from $6,550)
    An 8-day winter group trip from Ulaanbaatar to the Gobi for the Thousand Camel Festival, with camel races and polo, herder visits and lodge and ger stays.
  • Mongolian Gobi Camel Festival Tour (10 days · Gobi Desert · Stone Horse Mongolia · from $3,500)
    A 10-day winter road trip from Ulaanbaatar to the South Gobi timed for the camel festival, returning via Ongi and Kharkhorin, with hotel, ger and heated tent nights.
  • Thousand Camel Festival | Small Group Winter Trip | 9 Days (9 days · Several regions · Eternal Landscapes Mongolia · from $2,095)
    A 9-day small-group winter trip by 4x4 from Ulaanbaatar to the Gobi for the Thousand Camel Festival, staying in winterised gers and with herding families.
  • Thousand Camel Festival & Winter Gobi Expedition (8 days · Gobi Desert · Nomadic of the Blue Sky · from $2,490)
    An 8-day winter trip to the South Gobi for the Thousand Camel Festival near Bulgan, with visits to Yolyn Am and Bayanzag and hotel stays in Dalanzadgad.
  • Thousand Camel Festival (7 days · Several regions · Budget Tours Mongolia (Tamiryn Khuleg))
    A winter trip to Bulgan soum in the South Gobi for the Thousand Camel Festival, with camel races, a night with a nomadic family and an Ulaanbaatar city tour.
  • Thousand Camel Festival (8 days · Several regions · Wild Mongolia Partners · from $4,100)
    An 8-day small-group winter trip flying to the South Gobi for the Thousand Camel Festival, with a herder homestay and a finish in Gorkhi-Terelj National Park.
  • Winter Camel Festival (6 days · Several regions · Juulchin Tourism)
  • Thousand Camel Festival Tour (6 days · Several regions · Genco Tour Bureau)
    A 6-day winter trip to the South Gobi for the Thousand Camel Festival, with Dalanzadgad's dinosaur museum, Bayanzag and a camel herder family visit.

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