About

When

The Mongolia Charity Rally kicks off with the official launch Naadam on 11 July 2009 (read about the 2008 Mongolian Naadam and Launch) but you can also choose to leave any time of the year. 

What cars?

You can take any good vehicle on the rally that fits into the Vehicle Rules. We're looking for teams who want to take good vehicles that will be really useful to Mongolia. What about a 4x4 for rural doctors? Or an Ambulance for hospitals in the towns and cities? Also see our special page about Ambulances. 

The Launch

Wrestler, London 2007

Wrestlers at the 2008 London NaadamThe offical launch will be a great opportunity to line up all of the vehicles and is held on the same weekend as the Naadam festival in Mongolia. Once again we'll be teaming 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 Mongolian food 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.

Crossing a ford - Maxus style!

Teams 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?

Your family and friends will be able to follow your progress as you text in updates from the road. Using our clever positioning system you'll be able to plot your course, by text message on a google map so your supporters can see exactly where you are. No need for a GPS - we'll give you a list of common locations on the route -or use a GPS to get precise locations. Your mum will be happy knowing you're still alive, and your friends will realise they're losing the bets they made.

"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!

Car Handover

Out with Mongolian staffAt the finish your vehicle and any spare equipment will be handed over to Dulguun Batkhishig, the Go Help representative in Mongolia, and her team who are based in Ulaanbaatar. If your vehicle is sold the money will be used to help fund our charity projects in Mongolia. Some vehicles will be donated directly and not sold, for example Ambulances to the hospitals. Dulguun works closely with all the charities in Mongolia and liaises directly with the Mongolian Government. They'll give you a warm welcome at their offices Handover at the offices in UB(see the team blogs from 2008, like this) and let you have a look around the charity projects in UB.

They'll also give you a signed certificate from the President of Mongolia!