Five-star Bulgan sum, about 70 km from Dalanzadgad airport, Gobi Desert
Three Camel Lodge
Forty felt gers in the South Gobi, painted by hand, each with a wood stove and its own bathroom, a short drive from the Flaming Cliffs where dinosaur fossils were found.
Opens the hotel's own website. We have no arrangement with the hotel.
- Gers
- 40, each with its own bathroom
- Opened
- 2002
- Season
- Early May to November
- From the airport
- About an hour from Dalanzadgad
The hotel
A camp built by Gobi hands.
Jalsa Urubshurow, a Mongolian-American who founded the travel company Nomadic Expeditions in 1992, opened Three Camel Lodge in 2002 at Bulgan in the South Gobi. Local craftsmen built it without nails, from timber and stone, after the lines of Buddhist temples, and painted the gers by hand on site. Each of the forty is made of pine, larch and felt, with a smaller ger attached for the bathroom. The camp opens from early May to November.
Almost everything came from within fifty miles. The slate in the bathrooms was carried down from a nearby mountain, solar panels light nearly the whole camp, and the kitchen uses dairy from herding families and vegetables grown locally. The lodge was a founding member of Beyond Green, a group of hotels working for conservation and for the people around them.
- Flaming Cliffs Bayanzag, where dinosaur fossils were found, is about thirty minutes away by car.
- Dunes and canyon The Moltsog Els dunes are fifteen minutes off, and the Yol Valley about an hour.
- Arshaan Spa A small spa with two treatment rooms for couples.
Dining
Dinner in the orange ger.
As listed by the lodge and its agents. Shown for information.
- Bulagtai Restaurant Mongolian, regional and Western Set menus at lunch and dinner, in a large painted ger
- Thirsty Camel Bar Whisky, cocktails, beer and wine In a cool room below the restaurant
Good to know
Before you go.
- Season Open from early May to November.
- Flights Some flights to the Gobi stop in winter, and schedules change at short notice. Leave room in the plan.
- Meals Lunch and dinner are set menus of several courses.
Getting there
Flying to Gobi Desert.
MIAT flies from Ulaanbaatar to Dalanzadgad, and the lodge is about an hour from there by car across open desert. A private jet from abroad clears customs at Chinggis Khaan International first, then flies on to Dalanzadgad. By road, Ulaanbaatar is seven to eight hours away.
- Ulaanbaatar 1 h 00
- Beijing 1 h 45
- Shanghai 3 h 05
- Hong Kong 3 h 40
- Tokyo 4 h 30
Questions
What guests ask first.
- When is Three Camel Lodge open?
- From early May to November. Flights to the Gobi are fewer in winter.
- Do the gers have private bathrooms?
- Yes. Each ger has its own bathroom with running water, in a smaller ger attached to it.
- How far is the lodge from the airport?
- About an hour by car from Dalanzadgad, much of it off the paved road.
- Can SkyCourtage arrange the flight to the Gobi Desert?
- Yes. We arrange Business and First Class seats on scheduled airlines and private jet charter to the Gobi Desert, with one final price, our margin included. The hotel is booked with the hotel or through our booking partner.
Staying at Three Camel Lodge?
Book the room, then the flight.
Rates and availability come from the hotel itself. For the journey to Gobi Desert, a Business or First Class seat or an aircraft of your own: tell us the date and we come back with one final price, our margin included.
Opens the hotel's own website. We have no arrangement with the hotel.