Excellent communications and responsiveness during the pre- and post-booking process. We were provided all the information we needed in advance. Tent accommodation in gers will spoil you for other rustic “camping” experiences. Food everyday was delicious and personalized to our schedule and wishes. They were especially accommodating of our dietary restrictions. We had to ask them to actually scale back portions for us since we felt bad wasting such good food. Bathroom attached to each ger and has first rate products. Tours and activities also highly customizable in terms of content and timings (we wanted to avoid being out in the heat of the day).
Also, the bar is something to behold — perhaps the most remote location in the world to order Pappy Van Winkle.
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Date of stay: July 2023Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Stay here. We were here for two nights while touring the Southern Gobi. Excellent ger with full bath. Nice bar and restaurant. Many activities. Well located for touring. Horse riding, mountain bikes, camel riding nearby. Many on staff speak English.
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Date of stay: May 2019Trip type: Traveled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
After a long drive, we finally, finally we arrived at the Three Camel Lodge. The first thing we saw was a large herd of horses milling about a water trough. Then behind the horses were the gers, all lined up with their brightly painted orange doors. This was not your usual ger camp. This was a place that “offers a luxurious take on the traditional nomadic lifestyle.” That’s what the website said. But I don’t think any nomads live like this.
The lodge is owned and operated by Jalsa (rhymes with salsa, as he said) Urubshurow, a Mongolian who grew up in New Jersey. He felt he wanted to give back to his homeland, so he moved here and in 2002 opened up the first and only luxury eco-lodge in the Gobi, making sure to carefully consider the preservation of the environment, culture and people of the Gobi. Most of the staff were raised in the Gobi so they all had plenty of stories to tell us. Many grew up in nomadic families. And although the lodge is closed in the winter, they are paid their salaries year round.
The local nomads also greatly benefit from Jalsa’s vision as he helps out those nomads who have lost their animals and he rebuilt the community water well which is now used by nomads and local families to water their herds of livestock. And watching (and photographing) the nomads and their animals at teh well in different lights throughout the day was one of the highpoints of being here.
The lodge itself is modeled after traditional Buddhist temple-style architecture, which means in part that it was built without any nails or ironwork. The paths and buildings are made of unprocessed natural stone.
But I am getting ahead of myself. We climbed out of our cars, glad to have finally arrived. We entered a large, very large ger which was the reception area and gift shop. We were welcomed with warm towels and a glass of iced juice. And Jalsa came and introduced himself. He told us his story (as I relayed above) and made us feel at home. And he taught us the following trational Mongolian proverb, which I really liked: “While your father is alive, make as many friends as you can. While your horse is alive, travel as many lands as you can.”
We were each assigned a ger, which had the name of one of the local animals, not a number, and then directed to the large map on the wall to find the location. Our ger was the Sable. But of course we were also guided by the staff (who at night carry flashlights to help light your way).
The gers were lined up along paths that crisscrossed each other. And in-between the gers were solar panels. The strength and power of the sun. You can sure feel that in the desert.
We entered our ger and just stood there in amazement. It was a traditional Mongolian felt ger, but much more luxurious. And there was a second ger attached to the first. The main ger had a large double bed, the ever present stove for heat (which we did not need), two comfortable chairs, a red saddle and other pieces of art that Jalsa has collected over the years. And electricity and outlets! The second, attached ger was our bathroom, with a stone floor, stone shower, stone wall partitions and plenty of hot water. We did need to be mindful of water usage, but still, it was a lovely shower. There were slippers and robes and of course shampoo and soap. And in keeping with Mongolian tradition, each ger has a southward-facing entrance, so we could look out at the unobstructed views of the desert and the Gobi-Altai Mountains.
We settled in, unpacked and headed to the common lounge/bar area. The lounge is decorated with all the artifacts that Jalsa has collected over the years, including Mongolian musical instruments and dinosaur bones. There was a full bar and I went over to order a glass of wine. Turns out, like in the other camps, you can only order wine by the bottle. But Jalsa was sitting there and he told the bar-tender that I could have just a glass and in fact, all in our group could have wine by the glass. And then he told me that my wine today was on him, and he winked and said, “but don’t tell everyone else.” Jalsa and I had a lovely conversation. What an interesting man he is. And a good, honest man. I felt like he was the epitome of Mongolian people. Kind. Generous. Welcoming. Gracious.
It was then time for dinner. Our group had one long table that was reserved for us for all our meals. The restaurant, called the Bulagtai, is run by Chef Munkhsetseg. It is built like one very large ger, beautifully painted with a stunning toonu (opening) at top. I had thought that I would lose weight in Mongolia. But the food was fabulous, especially here. There was a Russian influence for some of the dishes. In general, Mongolian cuisine is rooted in the nomadic history, which means there is lots of dairy (from sheep, goats and cows) and meat (from sheep, goats, cows and horses), but very little pork, chicken or vegetables. Two of the most popular dishes are Buuz (a meat filled steamed dumpling) and Khuushuur (a sort of deep-fried meat pie). Milk is almost sacred in Mongolia. The nomads have developed a number of unique dairy products made from goats, sheep, cows, yaks and mares. Milk is also used in rituals such as tossing milk into the air or sprinkling it on a person or animal or object as an offering to the spirits. Cheese is made from cattle, yaks, goats and sheep.
But the food we had at the Three Camel Lodge could challenge any high ranked restaurant anywhere in the world. And while vegetables and salads are not common here, the Three Camel Lodge has it own greenhouses and constructed small family-run farms to provide supplies of fresh vegetables, meat and eggs for its guests as well as for the local ger camps (another way they give back to the community).
After dinner some of us wandered up the mountain to watch the sun set. There was an ovoo at the top along with 360 degree views. On one side were the mountains and the watering hole full of sheep and goats and horses. On the other was a valley with a few horses grazing. And the tufts of grass were literally glistening as the sun fell and reflected on them.
We watched the sun set for a bit (not the most beautiful sunset we’ve seen here) and then wandered back down the mountain and walked over to the watering hole. A nomad family was there, herding their animals, with motorcycles and trucks. Once all the herding was on a horse. Now that horse has been replaced with a motorcycle. The children smiled at us and posed. The adults did too. The light would have been perfect had we walked over a bit sooner (as some of our friends did), but we still got to observe nomadic life on the desert at dusk. Not a bad thing at all.
For breakfast the next day there were fresh eggs of our choice, fabulous homemade bread, gambir (a Mongolian pancake made from basic dough), cheese, oatmeal, jams, fruit and wonderful coffee. There would no losing weight here.
After breakfast most of the group drove to Havtsgait Valley, site of ancient petroglyphs (rock drawings) left by early Gobi settlers. But we were told it could be a rough hike we stayed behind. But we were not bored nor were we left to our own devices. One of the young men working here, who grew up here, took us on our own hike to see the petroglyphs right on the grounds of the Three Camels. These rock inscriptions date back to the Mongolian Hunnu State which reigned from 3000 BC and 2 AD. These ancient people practiced a form of nomadic pastoralism that closely resembles the lifestyle of contemporary herders. Some of the etchings looked quite new, more like graffiti. But some were clearly old and resembled the Argali sheep, camels and horses. We stood there, the sun beaming down on us, the valley at our backs and just imaged being a nomad thousands of years ago carving your story onto a rock. Did they ever wonder if there would be anyone to see it in the future? Do we ever wonder if our accomplishments will be seen in our future? We can only hope that these great antiquities continue to survive.
We walked back down the mountain to our valley. It was hot. Scorching hot. The ground was yellow. And the tracks stretched endlessly. Lizards were scurrying everywhere. And then there was this rabbit. At first he was just jumping between the rocks. And then he headed towards the gers. And while we watched, he explored the area where the felt met the ground, found an opening just big enough, and jumped into the ger! Luckily it wasn’t ours! I guess it felt cooler in there for him too.
In addition to the petroglyphs, there were also some burial mounds near the lodge, but these were burial mounds but only horse skulls and bones were found there. The horse if the most treasured possession here. Horses are currency. Horses are survival. So it was no surprise that there would be a horse cemetery.
And then we noticed that the staff were putting up a ger as a demonstration. So we got to watch how the nomads do it, over and over again as they move from one grazing spot to another. They start with the lattice work being stretched around until the ends meet. Then the slats are attached, reaching up and attaching to the crown. Then the felt is draped over the whole thing. I make it sound simple. And to the nomads it is, with everyone in the family participating in building and rebuilding their home.
We walked back over to the watering hole as the animals and the herders were back. There was one young man in his deel leading his horse to water. Watching him was almost surreal as most of the herders wore blue jeans and t-shirts with some American slogan on it. But he was in his traditional, indigenous clothes (although with a baseball cap). Maybe because the Nadam festival was beginning later that day. Maybe just because that’s how he liked to dress. I don’t know. But it is the way I had imagined that all the Mongolian men would be dressed. And so I watched him. I photographed him. And I just enjoyed the view of the man with his horse and the desert behind them. And then he headed off with all his horses.
There was also a big truck there, yet another way that the horses are herded and brought from place to place these days. The family had four young children and they all crowded into the cab of the truck and smiled at us. The oldest one was sucking on a lollipop, so in his photograph, although it looks like he is smoking, it is just the lollipop stick. In fact, I did not see one Mongolian in the desert smoking.
It was time for lunch – pizza and Russian borsch, and then one of the highlights of the trip, the reason we came to Mongolia at this particular time of year. The Nadam festival. Jalsa sponsors the local Nadam so that is another great reason to stay here!
That evening, after dinner, Jalsa had a surprise for us. One he has for all his guests. We were entertained by a group of musicians, singers and a contortionist. One of the musicians played an instrument I had never seen before and it made the most beautiful sound. It was a surnai or ever buree, a sort of wind instrument played with a reed like an oboe but with a conical body made of wood (such as black ebony) or horn (which is what ever buree means). At the end it gets wider again, like a clarinet. That bell shape is slipped underneath the player’s right arm. But the sound it made was absolutely beautiful, and to my hear, nothing like a clarinet (which can also be beautiful, don’t get me wrong, but it just sounded different).
There are also massage facilities which we took advantage of. Wonderful massage! And after traveling in the desert, you can have your laundry done.
All in the all, staying at the Three Camel with all its amenities and connections was the high point of our trip to Mongolia.
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Date of stay: July 2017Trip type: Traveled as a couple
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
As soon as you come close to it, you can tell this is a different ger camp. Being owned by Americans clearly sets it apart from the others. This lodge offers efficient service, a nice restaurant with very good food, spacious, clean and beautiful bathrooms with little L'Occitane soap bars waiting for you to wash the desert dust off your hands. On the other hand, of course, there´s not much of the Mongolian feel to it, which is one of the best things about staying at the smaller, family owned ger camps. And the gers are basically the same in any of them. But the opportunity to sip good wine overlooking the Gobi desert, comfortably sitting on a chaise longue... well, this was unique to the Three Camels Lodge! Nice bar too! And do watch the video of the first expeditions to the Gobi in search of dinousaur skeletons and eggs, it´s very interesting!
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Date of stay: May 2013Trip type: Traveled with family
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
On an REI tour in September 2011, after a few days of staying at a Ger camp in Khustain Nuruu National Park and camping right outside of Ulaanbaatar, we flew to the Gobi for a hike through the Yolyn Am. We were pretty tired and although we were looking forward to our next adventure many of us needed a break.
Three Camels was an oasis for the weary travelers in our group. The Gers are well fitted and many are available with attached bathrooms/showers. Even without those luxuries, the lodge bathrooms are well appointed, clean, comfortable and easy to get to.
The onsite amenities, the lodge, restaurant and bar, are all extremely nice and enjoyable. For those who would rather hang out and enjoy the property there are plenty of opportunities to hike about, and in the lodge you can watch movies and play Shagai. As a launch point for other campling adventures or other ger camps, you'll wish you never left Three Camels :)
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Date of stay: December 2011Trip type: Traveled solo
Room Tip:Get a ger with a bathroom, as it gets quite cold at night.
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.