Ten Thousand Camel Festival, held in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia is already one of the most famous winter festivals in the world. This thrilling festival was first initiated in 1997 by the locals of Umnugovi (South Gobi) to celebrate Mongolian camels and protect the species and pass the rich Mongolian camel breeding heritage to the next generation.
It’s an entertaining 2-days of event that features various contests related to Mongolian camel culture and lots of local music and dances. Nomads from far and near wear their best deels and ride their best camels to attend the festival as it’s their pride and a big celebration for them.
The date of the Ten Thousand Camel Festival 2016 is 6-7 March (the weather will be much milder!) and the event will take place in Dalanzadgad town of South Gobi. The organisers “Amazing Gobi” local tourism association promises that there will be a parade of 1000 camel riders for the Guinness World Record Book during the festival!
The confirmed program the Camel Festival 2016 is below:
March 6, 2016 The Opening Ceremony and Fairs
The competitions
07:00 – 09:00 Race of one-year-old camels (venue: horse race finish area of the town)
10:00 – 13:00 The opening ceremony of “MONGOLIAN CAMELS 999”
Event (venue: the AJINAI Square)
13:00 – 15:00 Competitions begin for the “Most Beautiful Couple on Camels”, the “Best Camel Bull” and the “Best Camel Cow”
14:00 – 18:00 “Camel Relay” competition featuring camel breaking and loading and unloading traditional style
The fairs
10:00 – 18:00 Camel market opens for camel products including clothes and diary goods (venue: The Sport Complex of the aimag)
10:00 – 18:00 Camel Exhibition (the “Camel Museum”)
18:00 – 20:00 Gala concert by local artists
March 7, 2016 The “Thousand Camels” Race
09:00 – 12:00 Camels for the competition leaves to the starts line
12:00 – 13:00 The thousand camels race takes place
14:00 – 15:00 The closing and award ceremony for the various winners
How to attend the festival, how to get there:
We’d suggest travellers to contact travel companies in Ulaanbaatar to join existing tour groups or get your own private tour.
Dalanzadgad town is an easy 7-8hr drive from Ulaanbaatar to the south (all paved road), and there’s daily bus service available from Ulaanbaatar. Currently, no airlines are offering flights though.
Where to stay: Once you get to Dalanzadgad there are several hotels and Ger accommodation available. Here’s contact of 2 of them:
- Gobi Oasis Ger camp (comfortable). Tel: 9595-3012.
- Ger camp (basic). Tel: 9905-5955.
For more info about the festival, please contact the organisers (Amazing Gobi tourism association) at: Phone: 976-9514-4470, or email at n.ariunsanaa@yahoo.com.
Prepared only for GoGo Travel by Zola
(Co-founder & Partner of Premium Travel Mongolia LLC.
www.premiumtravel.mn)
Copyright © 2016. All rights reserved.
Ten Thousand Camel Festival, held in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia is already one of the most famous winter festivals in the world. This thrilling festival was first initiated in 1997 by the locals of Umnugovi (South Gobi) to celebrate Mongolian camels and protect the species and pass the rich Mongolian camel breeding heritage to the next generation.
It’s an entertaining 2-days of event that features various contests related to Mongolian camel culture and lots of local music and dances. Nomads from far and near wear their best deels and ride their best camels to attend the festival as it’s their pride and a big celebration for them.
The date of the Ten Thousand Camel Festival 2016 is 6-7 March (the weather will be much milder!) and the event will take place in Dalanzadgad town of South Gobi. The organisers “Amazing Gobi” local tourism association promises that there will be a parade of 1000 camel riders for the Guinness World Record Book during the festival!
The confirmed program the Camel Festival 2016 is below:
March 6, 2016 The Opening Ceremony and Fairs
The competitions
07:00 – 09:00 Race of one-year-old camels (venue: horse race finish area of the town)
10:00 – 13:00 The opening ceremony of “MONGOLIAN CAMELS 999”
Event (venue: the AJINAI Square)
13:00 – 15:00 Competitions begin for the “Most Beautiful Couple on Camels”, the “Best Camel Bull” and the “Best Camel Cow”
14:00 – 18:00 “Camel Relay” competition featuring camel breaking and loading and unloading traditional style
The fairs
10:00 – 18:00 Camel market opens for camel products including clothes and diary goods (venue: The Sport Complex of the aimag)
10:00 – 18:00 Camel Exhibition (the “Camel Museum”)
18:00 – 20:00 Gala concert by local artists
March 7, 2016 The “Thousand Camels” Race
09:00 – 12:00 Camels for the competition leaves to the starts line
12:00 – 13:00 The thousand camels race takes place
14:00 – 15:00 The closing and award ceremony for the various winners
How to attend the festival, how to get there:
We’d suggest travellers to contact travel companies in Ulaanbaatar to join existing tour groups or get your own private tour.
Dalanzadgad town is an easy 7-8hr drive from Ulaanbaatar to the south (all paved road), and there’s daily bus service available from Ulaanbaatar. Currently, no airlines are offering flights though.
Where to stay: Once you get to Dalanzadgad there are several hotels and Ger accommodation available. Here’s contact of 2 of them:
- Gobi Oasis Ger camp (comfortable). Tel: 9595-3012.
- Ger camp (basic). Tel: 9905-5955.
For more info about the festival, please contact the organisers (Amazing Gobi tourism association) at: Phone: 976-9514-4470, or email at n.ariunsanaa@yahoo.com.
Prepared only for GoGo Travel by Zola
(Co-founder & Partner of Premium Travel Mongolia LLC.
www.premiumtravel.mn)
Copyright © 2016. All rights reserved.