About 8 Lakes Tours
8 Lakes Tours is a small-group horse trekking journey through the Orkhon Valley and Naiman Nuur / Eight Lakes region, hosted with nomadic families and guided by people who know the land from the inside.
The idea
The trip exists because Rob travelled through Mongolia, met Ganbold's family, rode with them, stayed with them, and saw that this valley could host something deeper than a standard sightseeing product.
Guests do not come here to consume a polished show. They come to live closer to the family rhythm for a short time: ride, eat, adapt, rest, laugh, get cold, drink tea, look at the sky, and remember what simplicity feels like.
That includes embracing variance. In steppe life, the plan is shaped by weather, distance, animals, and the people you meet along the way. The old hospitality logic of the ger — offer tea, food, shelter, and help to the traveller who appears at your door — is part of why uncertainty here can feel human rather than hostile.
Who you're booking with
Rob leads the 8 Lakes Tours experience and customer communication. He is the bridge between international guests and the Mongolian host family relationship behind the trip.
His role is not to over-polish the experience into something fake. It is to make the booking, preparation, expectations, safety, and communication clear enough that guests can arrive ready for the real thing.
How it works
Rob met Ganbold and the Sandagdorj family while travelling through Mongolia, then returned to shape this trip with them directly. This is not a generic route bought from a distant operator — it is a small hosted journey built around people Rob knows.
Guests stay close to local life: gers, horses, shared meals, weather, tea, work, rest, and the rhythm of the valley. The local family portion of the price is paid directly in cash to the hosts because many families cannot reliably receive online transfers.
8 Lakes Tours is not a polished resort product. It is built around real environments over artificial comfort, movement over passive consumption, and a host-family experience that asks guests to arrive open, flexible, and ready for the land as it is.
Fit before fantasy
Weather can shift, horses and roads can change plans, and group dynamics matter in wild country. You should arrive mentally prepared for simple conditions, physical discomfort, and flexibility. You may be invited outside your comfort zone, but nothing is forced. You can say no, rest, or stay closer to nomadic life for the day.
The steppe feels vast and far from city life, but it is not empty. A simple story explains the culture well: when travellers lost their way between distant gers, they could stop at another family home for tea, food, shelter, directions, or supplies. Hospitality was not decoration — it was how people crossed uncertain land together.
Traditional Mongolian meals are usually meat- and dairy-heavy: milk tea, yoghurt, cheese, meat, and animal products are normal. Vegetarian guests may be possible with advance notice, but strict vegan diets or serious dairy/lactose issues may make this the wrong tour.
Transparent payment
Many nomadic families live outside reliable online banking. The online payment confirms your place with 8 Lakes Tours. The local family portion is paid directly in clean USD cash in Mongolia so the host payment reaches the family clearly.