The official launch Naadam will be on 5 July 2008 but you can choose to leave any time of the year. You've got plenty of time for some great fundraising for the charities. See our fundraising page for tips on how to get that charity cash.
The Launch
Wrestler, London 2007
The launch will be a great opportunity to line up all of the vehicles and on the same weekend as the Naadam festival in Mongolia, so we’ve teamed up with the Mongolian Association of Great Britain to put on the largest Naadam Festival London has ever seen. Naadam is the national festival of Mongolia and includes the three traditional Mongolian sports of wrestling, horse racing and archery. For those of you accustomed to Mongolia cuisine there will even be some buuz, Khoo Shuur, milk tea and a bottle or two of vodka. If you've never tried it before...you're in for a treat! The event is free and open to the public, so come along to see the teams off. Full details on the Naadam page.
The Route
After the spectacular launch, the teams will head off east for the coast. After that, the route is up to you. See the routes page for some ideas. There will be prizes for the most ridiculous route taken by a team. Cape town as a checkpoint?
The Finish
"When Mongolia throws a party, the rest of Asia locks its doors"
The finish is at Sukhbataar Square, at the centre of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The Mongolians sure know how to party and they're busy putting together a party to make Chinggis Khan proud. We've even got a famous Mongolian wrestler coming along to show you how to drink Mongolian style... (Just make sure you don't drive on Sukhbataar Square, otherwise you'll be spending your first night in the police cells!) When? Teams will be arriving at all sorts of different times so it is going to be impossible to get all the teams together at the finish. We'll be letting the teams decide the best time for the big party but there will be lots of smaller events before and after to entertain the early arrivals and the late arrivals!
