The Tuul Riverside Lodge is a small, fully sustainable, traditional Mongolian camp surrounded by a sea of grass and rolling hills, which stretch down to the nearby River Tuul and beyond. Situated within an hour’s drive east of Mongolia’s bustling capital Ulaanbaatar, a warm, and peaceful welcome awaits you. You will stay in beautifully decorated traditional yurts, known locally as gers, with the added advantage of en suite facilities. Gers are constructed from a wooden lattice frame, 88 roof poles, and are covered with layers of felt to insulate against the harsh Mongolian climate. Both strong and reliable, they are perfect places to spend your time in Mongolia. At the Tuul Riverside Lodge there is something for everyone, regardless of age, experience or ability. We offer a wide range of both adventure and cultural activities, allowing you to enjoy and learn about Mongolia to the fullest. Relax around a roaring campfire and marvel as the Milky Way passes overhead. Enjoy the solitude and freedom that is Mongolia, and let your worries fade away. Given the high standards of the lodge, the beauty and tranquility of the area, and its close proximity to the city, make it the perfect place to hold small business meetings, conferences and team building activities. Whatever your needs, the Tuul Riverside Lodge is ready and able to facilitate in any way we can. We look forward to meeting you.
We stayed at Tuul Riverside Lodge with some friends. Making the reservation went very smoothly as did the pick-up and transport to the camp, only an hour outside of Ulaanbaatar.
We were given a complimentary upgrade to a deluxe Kazakh family ger on arrival. All of our hosts were very friendly and highly attentive to our needs enabling archery and horse riding. It was reassuring to see the lodge manager, Telmuun, accompany my daughter and our friend on their horse riding session. This was just one example of the reassuring personal touch that TRL is renowned for.
The food at the camp is astounding and suits all tastes including those with specific dietary requirements. We were all impressed with the quality, quantity and diversity available at the mealtime buffets.
The Kazakh family ger that we stayed in was comfortable though a few improvements would have made it more so. It would have been much better if there had been comfortable seating, adequately sized bedding and a mosquito net that was large enough for the bed.
On the whole, we enjoyed our stay here and felt that with the 40% discount it was good value for money. We would most certainly stay again.
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Date of stay: June 2020Trip type: Traveled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
My mum and I visited the Tuul Riverside Lodge in May 2016 for a short visit whilst visiting Beijing but boy, I wish we could have stayed longer! From the second we stepped off the train, Telmun and his team went out of their way to make us feel comfortable and to give us the best experience possible. The camp was stunning, the food was amazing and each night, the housekeeper came to our Ger to light our fire before bed and bought us hot coffee. During the days we hiked, rode horses, learned to make Mongolian dumplings, helped to erect a Ger and took turns at archery. We even organised a short trip to the Chinggis Khan memorial, which is well worth a visit. Beautiful country, friendly and welcoming people and a great experience at Tuul Riverside Lodge. Id go back in a heartbeat!
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Date of stay: May 2016Trip type: Traveled with family
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Response from Suzan S, Managing Director at Tuul Riverside Lodge
Responded Jun 28, 2016
Dear Paula We are very happy that you and your mother enjoyed your brief stay with us - thank you very much for your great feed-back, which is always a great encouragement to all of us! We wish you a wonderful summer and hope to have you back one day. With kindest regards, Suzan
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This is an incredibly comfortable ger camp owned by Europeans and lovingly managed by locals for an ideal combination of comfort (fantastic food, attached bathrooms with hot showers) and authentic Mongolua (think deluxe gers with stoves, horseback rides into the hills and visits to nomadic herders). We came with a group of families and had the most wonderful time only 2 hours from Beijing by air. Incredible views of the night sky, bonfire, archery ..everything we could have asked for by way of comfort. Worth every penny!!!!
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Date of stay: June 2015
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Response from Suzan S, Managing Director at Tuul Riverside Lodge
Responded Jan 27, 2016
Dear Ann Thank you so very much for taking time to sharing your experiences at the lodge with the broader community. And thank you for having enjoyed our twinkling stars that thickly cover our night skies! Your party was great fun and we all enjoyed very much to hosting you, your friends and kids! Best wishes for the upcoming year of the monkey, which promises to bring some major celebrations! Telmuun and Suzan
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Tuul Riverside Lodge is Mongolia's best ger experience, offering a peaceful escape for city-dwellers in UB, Beijing, Hong Kong, etc, as well as a rugged outdoors experience for those seeking it.
The gers themselves are the best in Mongolia - we stayed in a deluxe family ger which featured red timber floors and three beds: one king, one twin, and one for a small child. Each featured an extremely comfortable mattress and duvet as well as a mosquito net, and there were two huge wrought iron candelabras on either side of the wood-burning stove that provided light in the evening. The stoves themselves are all custom made and the furniture in each ger is typical, traditional Mongolian.
While the bathrooms are very basic, this is the only ger camp I've been to (of about a dozen) to feature individual bathrooms with toilets and showers.
Now, the meals. This is some of the best food I have had in Mongolia. Ribs, lamb, chicken, meatballs, fresh vegetables, and delicious soups - you will forget you are staying in a camp in the wilderness. Meals are served in a communal ger and provide an excellent opportunity to meet your fellow travelers, many of whom are gathered from all over Asia and the world.
Friendly, reliable, and - most importantly - responsive service are frequent complaints among visitors to Mongolia. Suzan and her team are not just pros - they offer a sincere friendliness and warmth that is second to none. We had a small child traveling with us, and Suzan and her colleagues were quick to offer to babysit should the parents want to explore the countryside. On cooler days, staff frequently offer to start and rekindle wood fires for the stoves.
On a clear night, gaze up at literally thousands of stars on the lounges outside each ger. In the morning, rent a mountain bike, take a hike or ride a horse on the steppes, or paddle a canoe along the Tuul River. The lodge has plenty of activities, including long-bow archery.
Many have remarked on the overnight costs associated with Tuul Riverside Lodge, but all I can say is, you get what you pay for. This is by far the most comfortable ger experience one can have in Mongolia.
This is still a camp on the edge of the wilderness - wedged between a steep cliff and a several spurs of the Tuul River - and there are bound to be occasional inconveniences. But all told, when you consider the comfort of the gers, the quality of the food, the variety of activities and the outstanding staff, this is the camp to visit in Mongolia. I highly recommend it!
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Date of stay: July 2013
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Trip type: Traveled with friends
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Response from Suzan S, General Manager at Tuul Riverside Lodge
Responded Aug 19, 2014
Dear William, Thank you so much for your visit and for your review on trip advisor. It is very encouraging to read not only such a positive but such a detailed review of your stay at the lodge; it is especially valuable to our potential guests to have a critique from someone who is so well traveled in Mongolia and internationally- I am certain that they will appreciate this feedback as much as we do! We trust that you are well and are looking forward to welcome you back in Mongolia one day!
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We (dad and two preteens) spent a few nights with Tuul Riverside Lodge, both at the lodge and at a private glamping experience organized by them in a more remote area. Having stayed at high end glamping properties in other parts of the world (South Africa, Kenya, etc), we are accustomed to a very high level of service and Tuul was right there with the best of them. Our interactions with Suzan by email were consistently excellent, and she was very good at adapting our schedule to our late arrival due to bad weather and flight cancellations.
Tuul Riverside Lodge is in a stunning location that is fairly close to Ulaanbatar and yet feels quite remote due to the lack of other habitation within viewing distance. It is adjacent to a river, which is great for boat rides (which we took) and swimming / bathing. The Lodge is surrounded by rolling hills and the view is spectacular in all directions. Tuul also arranged a private glamping trip for us in Khustai Nuruu national park, which was even more amazing, surrounded as it was by water on all sides.
The service standards are wonderful throughout the Lodge and in their private camping sites. The staff seem genuinely interested in guests having a good experience and, in some ways, it feels like staying with family rather than with a commercial hospitality organization. Of course, the family type service cuts both ways and we sometimes had to remind a few people for things that they forgot. We would particularly like to appreciate the service of the chef at the Lodge, who did a brilliant job accommodating our vegetarian diets, and Egi at the private camp, who is perhaps the nicest camp host we have come across in our extensive travels.
The hard product - the tents and gers - are very interesting. The gers at the Lodge are an authentic but upgraded version of the ones we saw nomads using. Ours had proper floors, an attached full bathroom, etc. One of the reasons we chose Tuul was because they seem to be the only ones offering a ger with an en suite bathroom in the Ulaanbatar area, and we were glad we had that convenience. One downside of the ger is that it is not very suitable for people with allergies as the entire thing is felt and fabric, but then we wanted an authentic Mongolian experience. The private camp was altogether spectacular with a beautiful lotus-shaped tent, a separate dining tent just for us, and a fully functional bathroom tent that even had a rainshower!
In terms of activities, the lodge kept the kids super-busy with archery, hiking, ox cart riding, nomad visits and playing with the nomad kids, horse riding, going in the air boat, seeing wildlife in the national park, etc. Our only disappointment was that we wanted to go on more horse-back rides but we did not give the lodge sufficient notice and they were not able to arrange the ride the second time. Next time, we will plan our itinerary better as we understand the lodge does not always have the nomad / horse herder available.
Overall, Mongolia is a stunningly beautiful country with friendly people, and Tuul does a great job of providing sincere, family-style service in a well-located ger camp that has en suite bathrooms. Their private camping experience is even better and highly recommended.
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Date of stay: June 2019
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Trip type: Traveled with family
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My husband and I stayed overnight at Tuul in mid-September 2016 as a one-night break from the Trans-Mongolian train from Beijing. Although our stay at Tuul was only for one night, we absolutely loved being able to get away from Ulan Bator and enjoy the beautiful countryside. From the beginning, when we were met by a very friendly fellow (I'm sorry I don't know his name) at the train station, through a very long traffic jam in Ulan Bator and (unavoidable) bone-jarring ride over dirt roads, it was all part of the adventure to get to the camp. We especially loved being picked up by Telmuun (I hope I'm spelling his name right) in the airboat and jetting down the river to Tuul -- what a fun way to arrive at camp!
There were three or four other families there when we visited, all with small children, so in all honesty it wasn't quite the quiet and peaceful stay we had thought it was going to be. However, we were happy to see the children enjoying themselves, and we were able to take long walks away from camp, both down to the Tuul river, and up the hillside on the other side of camp.
The food, served buffet style in the meal tent, was both delicious and plentiful. Our ger was a real treat, especially in the way it was furnished, with wonderful painted furniture and fluffy comforter, and the ensuite bathroom was very much appreciated. The ger is heated only by a stove in the center of the tent, and in hindsight we should have opted for an extra visit by staff to re-stoke the stove during the night, since by the time we woke up in the morning we were so cold we had to put our heavy coats and hats on, and jump back into bed while we waited for the morning visit by staff to get the stove going again -- it gets really cold at night!
Suzan was a delight to deal with by email, and answered all my questions promptly before our visit. She also made sure that the train tickets from our travel agent were there waiting for us at the camp when we arrived. We really hope to visit again some day, mostly to experience the wonderful hospitality of everyone at Tuul!
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Date of stay: September 2016
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Trip type: Traveled as a couple
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Response from Suzan S, managing director at Tuul Riverside Lodge
Responded Oct 10, 2016
What a wonderful, delightful feedback! Thank you so very much for taking time to write such a detailed review - thank you very much for having enjoyed your super-short stay with us and for planing to return some time again. to our lodge. We wish you a beautiful winter. Thanks again for your visit! Very best, Suzan
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We stayed at the Tuul Riverside lodge in December 2015. 2015 was the first winter season that the lodge had been open to visitors and they were doing a fantastic job of making a comfortable fun winter experience.
Everything we could want was provided, the food was brilliant and the staff are the warmest we met on our travels. We were travelling with a 5 month old baby which was a breeze in such a comfortable and friendly environment. Do not be concerned about being cold in the rooms.... They were very easy to keep warm!
We will revisit again in the coming years, and hopefully in winter again.
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Date of stay: December 2015
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Trip type: Traveled with family
Room Tip:Â If you get the chance to visit in winter... do it!
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Response from Suzan S, managing director at Tuul Riverside Lodge
Responded Oct 14, 2016
Many thanks for having enjoyed your stay with us so much that you wish to return in again - in the middle of an other Mongolian winter!!! It was wonderful to host you - your tiny daughter enchanted all of us. We are looking forward to welcome you back at any time!
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Although the accommodation here was nice, having a private bathroom is great and the staff was very friendly I am not sure if I would choose this lodge if going again as it was closer to UB and other villages than I was expecting. We spent two nights (but only one day) and I would not want to stay any longer at a yurt camp (any - not just this one) as there isn’t that much to do.
The positives were; -nice rooms and it was very nice to have your own toilet and shower. I think this is the only lodge where you get a private bathroom. -the food was great. It is not traditional Mongolian food but has been adopted a bit for western taste. After a few days on the Trans-Siberian it was very nice to get some vegetables… -the service is also very good. There is one English speaking manager but everyone is very friendly and looks after you very well. We loved getting biscuit and tea/ coffee served to our room in the afternoon.
The reasons I might not choose this lodge again are; -the excursions are far too expensive. They are significantly more expensive than any other lodge and I don’t think it was worth it. We paid $60 for a very short horse trip for two (which would have been $100 had we wanted to have an English speaking guide with us), we probably went about one kilometre to a yurt had some tea and back again. For any excursions such as the Gengis Khan statue it is significantly cheaper to arrange this from UB. -the lodge is quite close to UB, it took us less than an hour to get here. As UB is growing this means that you are very close to a small village which is expanding on the other side of the river. You can’t see the village from the camp which is still peaceful but if you go around the corner you can. I think I was just expecting it to feel a bit more isolated and if I was to go back I would probably look for somewhere in Terelji national park.
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Date of stay: September 2014
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Trip 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 as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We spent a few days there after being in UB for a day or so. The gers are beautifully furnished and comfortable, the service brilliant and the staff so helpful and friendly. The food was delicious and we never had the same thing twice. The surrounding area was amazing for hiking, riding, biking and all kinds of outdoor activities. The off roading truck journey into the camp is great fun and a welcome relief after sitting in the traffic of UB. Its a peaceful and refreshing place to be which is fab for travellers needing a couple of nights of comfort, families and couples. The camp manager, Inghyer was particularly friendly and Suzan at the office was really helpful.
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Date of stay: August 2013
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Trip 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 as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I had read the reviews of TRL and contacted Suzan by email requesting accommodation in August. She responded quickly advising that space was available and provided a list of options that we may like to participate in. Having chosen I was then presented with an invoice and an account to credit. I have to say that it takes a leap of faith to transfer money to someone with whom the only contact has been by email. However it was done and we arrived in UB, stopped at the Sunjin grand and on the appointed day checked out and waited for the transport to turn up.
Bang on 1100, the agreed collection time, a minibus arrived and we were taken to the Hotel Mongolia where we stopped for 20 minutes awaiting the arrival of the 'bigger vehicle'. We took time out to stretch legs and generally mess about whilst we waited. Everything was quiet in the car park..... And then the Unimog rocked up.
Now I have bashed round the world and know and love Landcruisers and Defenders however when things get serious, a Unimog is what some might consider as a bit of a Carlsberg moment.
The ladder (yes they are that high) was attached and we all climbed into the back and off we shot. Initially a Unimog seemed a bit of overkill, however as we left UB and the terrain changed it became the logical choice as the roads faded away and rutted tracks became the norm.
To get to the camp (location 47 53 07.45N 107 14 13.87E) we had to cross the Tuul river and it was funny watching the wife and kids experience this. After the river crossing we did a couple more streams before heading off into the hills to get to the camp. The driver was excellent and the Unimog didn't falter.
Having arrived at the camp we were met by the camp manager ENKHEE (Enkh-Yeah) who was able to answer any questions we had and showed us to our Ger. Our Ger was semi-deluxe and had a queen sized bed along with a separate double which was idea for the kids. The beds had mosquito nets fitted above them. In the centre of the Ger was a very efficient wood burning stove that was lit in the evening and in the morning by one of the camp staff - it proved to be a very efficient space heater. The Ger had a bathroom unit fitted to the side in which there was a nice warm water shower, sink, and toilet.
Meals were eaten in a communal Ger and the food was well prepared, good quality and sufficient quantity for the number of guests staying at the time.
For our time there I had booked archery and fishing and planned to take time out hill walking with the wife and kids, however horse riding and evening fires were arranged through Enkhee at short notice. No request seemed to be too much for him.
The night before we left the heavens opened and it rained solidly. When we left at 1100 the small streams we had crossed on the way to the camp had become rivers and the river was swollen and more of a challenge, however the driver was competent and the Unimog did what it needed to.
We stopped once again at the Hotel Mongolia and transferred to the minibus however, before being dropped off at our hotel, I made a point of going to meet Suzan to thank her for such a wonderful experience.
On the whole a great family experience and one that I would recommend to anyone.
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Date of stay: August 2013
Value
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Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Suzan S, General Manager at Tuul Riverside Lodge
Responded Aug 20, 2014
Dear Adam, Thank you so much for your positive review. Reading it makes me smile: your review is not only a pleasure to read, but also a vivid account of traveling to the lodge, which is valuable to all readers. To immerse your two children in different cultures is of great benefit to them and to their future environment, were ever that may be. Seeing you at the office after your visit to the lodge filled me with joy, I remember it well. We look forward to welcoming you to the lodge again some time. I trust and hope that you and your family are well.
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Greetings from the Tuul Riverside Lodge,
My regrets that it is so hard to find our prices in the web, despite the fact that we have an own homepage, where they are published. Even harder to imagine that we hired an IT specialist to get our prices on trip-adviser but even to him it seems challenging! But we are working on this challenge and I hope that soon we can offer you our prices here. After all, TripAdvisor is a great tool with the focus on customer service, I believe. ;-)
Good evening, many thanks for your interest - Please contact me via our homepage or send me a phone number and time when to give you a ring. Or consider to contact me at sky p : mongolia-suzan.
Looking forward to be of assistance!
With kind regards, Suzan
Dear David
Greetings to you from Tuul Riverside Lodge!
Thank you very much for taking interest in our accommodation. Best way to communicate with us is to email at telmuun@tuulriverside. com. Please visit our website tuulriverside. com for additional information about the lodge as well!
Best regards,
Telmuun
Greetings from Mongolia!
We would be delighted to welcome you on the requested date for an overnight - the winter rate for a single standard ger is 50$, including breakfast. A pick-up for one traveler can be arranged from any spot within UB to the lodge at 40$. Usually, our clients love to extend their stay with adding a lunch (20$) or a dinner (25$). Please feel free to text or call be at +97699099365 for more information.
Again, thank you very much for your interest in visiting Mongolia with us!
With kind regards,
Suzan
Dear Jenna
Thank you very much for your inquiry!
Summer time in Mongolia, spending two days with us, sounds like a wonderful mini break to me! We would be delighted to welcome you on the requested dates.
I'm a computer dino, so not very good with this - my sincere apologies. There was a time in which Trip-adviser forwarded requests in a manner that I could respond - this seem to have changed. Clients now contact me directly (+976 99099365) or via our homepage.
Again, thanks for your interest and I do hope that we will have the pleasure of hosting you!
With kind regards,
Suzan
There are more places to choose from in the Gorkhi Terelj National Park area.
LOCATION
MongoliaTov ProvinceGorkhi Terelj National Park
NUMBER OF ROOMS
16
Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.
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