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Alaya Expeditions · For the body
The Heart of Mongolia: The Great Gobi Desert: A small-group Gobi Desert expedition in Mongolia
Dunes, red cliffs, and a night sky you’ll remember. A small team crossing one of Asia’s great deserts together.
- DatesTo be announced
- Group sizeSmall group, capped
- WhereMongolia
Trip overview
You wake up to a sky with nothing between you and the stars, and a team who crossed the same sand to see it.
The Gobi is not one landscape but many: singing dunes, red sandstone cliffs, gravel plains that run to the horizon, and nights darker than most of us have ever seen.
This expedition is being built for a small team who want to cross something real together. Dates, route, and price are still being set. Join the early list to be first in line.
Led byConfirmed with itinerary
Trip DNA & Lenses
What this trip is really made of.
Every Alaya Expedition is built and checked against the same 5 lenses. Here’s what each one looks like on this trip.
Terrain
The real physical challenge: elevation, distance, temperature swing, days without a road.
The Reckoning
The exact moment the trip pushes a real limit, where discomfort is the point.
The Team
The interdependence moment: shared camp duties, the hour someone needed the group.
The Wild
The species, the behaviour, the natural phenomenon. Named, not generic.
The Local Thread
The guides, herders, and communities at the edges, and what they pass on.
The full Trip DNA (named people, places, and moments for every lens) is published with the final itinerary.
What you’ll bring home
You’ll come home having done something your body didn’t think it could. Proof, not a photo.
Day by day
The route is being scouted.
We don’t publish an itinerary until one of us has walked it. Here’s where this trip stands.
- Concept & line
Destination chosen, trip designed around its Trip DNA.
- Scouting & host vetting
Every guide and host is met in person before their name reaches an itinerary.
- Itinerary, price & dates
Published to the early list first, then to everyone.
- Booking opens
Small group, capped. Early-list members get first right to a spot.
Your guides
Who you’ll travel with
Designed and scouted by the two of us. Tour leaders are confirmed with the final itinerary.
Questions
Questions & FAQs
What does joining the early list mean?
You’ll get the full itinerary, final dates, and price before they’re announced publicly, plus first right to a spot. There’s no payment and no obligation.
How big will the group be?
Small, always. Every Alaya departure is capped, the exact number is confirmed with the itinerary, and it won’t move once it’s published.
How do deposits usually work?
On our open departures, a 30% deposit holds your place and the balance is due 60 days before departure. Final terms for this trip are confirmed when booking opens.
Can you help with flights and insurance?
Yes. Our Concierge team handles flights, extra nights, and insurance matched to the trip, including altitude and trekking cover for Expeditions.
Can I do this as a private trip instead?
Yes, through Alaya Reserve we can build a private version around your own dates and group.
Join the early list
Be first when The Heart of Mongolia opens.
Itinerary, final dates, and price go to this list before they’re announced anywhere, along with first right to a spot. No payment, no obligation.
You’re on the early list.
We’ll send the full The Heart of Mongolia: The Great Gobi Desert itinerary to your inbox before it goes public.
Want the full itinerary to read later or share?
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The early list
Hear about new departures first.
Dates, prices, and open spots reach the list before they’re announced anywhere else. Once or twice a month, never filler.
You’re on the list.
Watch your inbox. New departures reach you before they reach anyone else.