Foreigners require special permission to even enter this area.  Guests arrive via 4×4 to our upper ger camp.  The drive up to the remote top camp is on rough dirt tracks and crosses some spectacular mountains.  You’ll see plenty of traditional families and grand views along the way.

We pack the entire camp – boats and all – onto camels.  The next day, your crew of cooks, camp staff, wranglers and guides load all the gear onto camels and we hike or ride into the back-country to reach the headwaters. 

We gradually fish our way back downstream over the next few days, staying in great nordic tent-tipi camps.  The river here is extremely isolated and strikingly beautiful.  The camp crew uses rafts to move our gear to the next camp.  We fish meticulously, quietly walk/wading accompanied by a professional guide periodically using a raft to reach water. 

The last couple of days we float between “eco” ger camps.  The river starts to get a bit bigger so we fish primarily from inflatable drift boats or fishing frame equipped rafts.  The last days we stay in very comfortable traditional ger camps. 

Interacting with traditional Mongolian herders is a great part of the angling experience.  Mongolia has a strong and vibrant nomadic horse culture that very few outsiders have an opportunity to experience.  The isolated families who live at the gates of the headwaters help us to guard and protect the river.  These families provide the camels and horses that support our expeditions.  It is a fascinating to witness a week’s worth of gear and boats loaded onto a camel caravan like merchandise bound for the Silk Road.

You must be in very good physical condition to participate in this expedition.  Anglers must be able to hike or ride horses several miles into the back country.  Anglers must be accustomed to wilderness conditions.  The level of exposure up here is high and weather can easily force trip adjustments.  Guests must be able to wade-walk along a river with a rocky bottom.  Anglers should be proficient with a two-handed rod (spey or switch) or have a solid double haul to adequately cover the water.

Guests often combine a Headwaters Expedition with a Classic Canyon trip.  By linking both journeys, guests are able to fish for nearly two full weeks exploring a new stretch of river almost every day.

You can see photos and read more about the meals and camps here.

Information covering rates and trip details can be found here.

Please send us an email or call anytime to chat about these trips.

Nomads.  Camels.  Horses.  Boats.  Tipis.  Gers.  Taimen. 

It’s an adventure!