Saraa's Guesthouse & Tourguide

Saraa's Guesthouse is ran by an incredible owner who does all of the arranging for treks to the Tsaatan people from Murun. All other people offering the tours go through her. The guesthouse has a shower and kitchen, and is close by to markets and a small Khuushuur restaurant. It is located away from the city centre and is less touristy. The staff is friendly, helpful, and fluent in English.

Saraa is a really helpful lady and she helped us organize (quickly!) a horseback trip to Northern Mongolia. In one day since we met her she organized for us: a guide with horses, border permits and a driver to get us there. Her guesthouse is also nice and has a hot shower! She speaks good English which makes everything so much simpler!

I booked a 5 day trek to the reindeer people through Saraa's GH. The way it was conducted was absolutely irresponsible and dangerous. I had no prior experience riding a horse. I also didn't have any specialized equipment nor food with me, since I just arrived with the night bus from UB. Saraa guaranteed me this was not an issue. They often took absolute beginners on treks without problems. Also the saddles were comfortable Russian saddles and the guides would give me proper instructions on how to ride the horse. The drive on the first day took 4 hours more than planned (12h total). Such things can happen, no problem. When arriving at the horses, we were put on a tiny saddle with worn leather. I have an average build, 76kg for 1m78. But my buttocks was constantly shafing the iron at the back end of the saddle. The stirrups were too short. My knees were bent at an angle under 90°. My pelvis in an unnatural position. Ride took 9h including 1h break. During the break halfway, my companion and I noticed large blisters on our buttocks from the friction. They opened shortly afterward. Torture. On our way back, 2 days later, we put a sleeping bag on the saddle. More comfort but spooked the horses several times. Companion fell once. My horse bolted once and got spooked a second time. No harm, but very lucky in that respect. We also passed a stream running between 2 extremely steep flanks. Crossing it was irresponsibly dangerous. I almost fell off. After arriving, made a complaint. Saraa apologized. I thought she was sincere and wanted to leave it at that. She even offered to arrange my flight back to UB the next day. She promised to call me. She never did. This is why I posted the review. My feeling is thay she saw an apportunity to make some quick cash and took it. If you do a trek to the Tsataan, make sure it's max. 4h a day and that you have some experience riding and a good saddle and stirrups. + Showers at Saraa's don't work. They just drip a bit. Usually don't care about that. But in LP guide, it says working showers.

15.000 for a bed in a dorm with breakfast. It's clean enough. The shower needs improving, hot water merely drips. The breakfast is simple (eggs and bread) but OK. No running water (like in most of Mongolia) so food hygiene is questionable.

Nice place to stay, good beds and ok food, but the best thing about this place is Saraa, who will help you arrange anything and will always make your stay as good as possible!