Stone Horse Mongolia guides small groups deep into Gorkhi-Terelj National Park and the pristine Khan Khentii Wilderness — forest steppe rolling into alpine meadow, rivers carving valleys inaccessible by any vehicle, and trails that once carried Chinggis Khaan himself. Run by back-country veterans Keith Swenson and Sabine Schmidt, the outfit has spent more than two decades mapping these routes, partnering with local herders, and hand-building custom saddles engineered for both horse and rider to comfortably cover twenty to thirty kilometres a day.
Every ride is personally led by Keith or Sabine, both fluent in Mongolian language and culture, which means guests get genuine insight into nomadic life alongside the riding itself — not a curated performance of Mongolian tradition, but real contact with people who still follow the seasons much as their ancestors did. Camps are packed in and out entirely by horse, leaving no trace on some of the last genuinely untouched wilderness in Asia.
The Experience
Your journey begins with a flight into Ulaanbaatar and a night’s rest before the real adventure starts: a two-hour transfer northeast by 4×4 to the Terelj trailhead, the city skyline giving way to granite tors and larch forest along the way. From there, a sturdy 13–14hh Mongolian horse — famed for stamina and sure-footedness — carries you across open steppe and through forest, with lessons on the first day if you need to build confidence before the trail proper begins.
Your days alternate between genuine wilderness immersion and welcome comfort: nights in cosy dome tents or traditional gers pitched on river bends or hilltops, a heated group tent for dining when the weather turns, evenings that might bring Mongolian milk tea by the fire or a Dutch-oven goulash after a long day in the saddle. Wildlife sightings become part of your daily rhythm — golden eagles, marmots, and, in the right season, herds of horses running genuinely free across the open steppe.
If you extend your trip, July’s Naadam Festival brings horse racing, wrestling, and archery — Mongolia’s great annual celebration — or you can spend a day in Ulaanbaatar exploring the National Museum and Gandan Monastery. On certain departures, you’ll even help with plant surveys and river-quality testing that feed directly into government park management, leaving something behind besides hoofprints.
About Stone Horse Mongolia
Stone Horse Mongolia has spent more than two decades building an intimate knowledge of the Khan Khentii region, a partnership between American expedition veteran Keith Swenson and Sabine Schmidt that has produced one of the more thoughtfully run wilderness riding operations anywhere in Asia. Their custom-built Western saddles, developed specifically for long days on Mongolian terrain, reflect a level of practical attention that only comes from genuinely knowing the ground being covered.
The outfit’s commitment to low-impact travel is total rather than performative: camps leave no trace, kitchen waste is composted, and solar power runs what limited lighting and communication equipment the trips require. Beyond logistics, Stone Horse Mongolia actively funds ranger wages and wildlife camera traps, and partners directly with local herder families for pasture access — an arrangement that keeps land open for wildlife corridors while supporting the very communities whose knowledge makes these rides possible.
What distinguishes Stone Horse Mongolia within the small world of Mongolian riding outfitters is this rare combination of genuine wilderness expertise, deep cultural fluency, and a conservation commitment that goes well beyond marketing language — an operation built, quite literally, from the ground up by people who have spent their lives learning this particular corner of the world.
Our Stewardship
Stone Horse Mongolia funds ranger wages and wildlife camera traps in the Khan Khentii region and partners directly with local herder families for pasture access, an arrangement intended to keep land open as wildlife corridors. The operation’s low-impact camping practices, including composting and solar power, are treated as a core operating standard.
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