The summer's day is sunny and warm, the road good and you finally get out of the traffic of Ulaanbaatar. You are away heading north on one of the main tourist trips in Mongolia.
Northern Mongolia
The climate is a tad wetter in this part of Mongolia, so there is some cropping of wheat, rape and sunflowers in the landscape. The grass is greener too, so grazing is in full swing. After traveling north for several hours, the road to follow swings left. Just when you think this will be a breeze, the driver suddenly changes direction off the road onto one of many 4WD tracks, heading for the Amarbayasgalant Khiid (monastery). While similar to other monasteries in Mongolia, this one is one of the most famous, especially during the festival time in August, and well worth a visit. (Best to avoid the long-drop toilet though.)
Another key place to visit is the huge open cast copper mine at Erdenet. This is one of the ten biggest in the world and really dominates the landscape. Make sure you have your passport with you (and your guide) to get entry into the area.
By now the road will have become a mix of partly completed sealed road, completed sealed road (but you are often not allowed to use this) and many, many 4WD tracks. If it rains, it quickly becomes like a rally course with mud everywhere, 2WD cars flailing around and big trucks and oil tankers gouging across the landscape. Eventually after many hours you will reach the town of Moron (pronounced "Moroon"). It is a rather strange place dominated by stray dogs and electricity outages, but at least you can find a commercial ger (round tent) and stock up on food.
Near Moron are some outstanding deer stones, in fact it is the best site in the world. (There are about 700 such sites, 500 of which are in Mongolia.) They are rectangular-looking slabs of rock with pictures carved on them, emphasised with ochre paint. They are dated as being 2,500-4,000 years old. They vary in height; some are 2.5 metres tall. The top part represents heaven and is depicted by the sun or moon. The middle part has an animal, such as a deer flying. The bottom part represents the underworld and is separated from the rest of the stone by a belt. Also there are burial mounds surrounded by square or rectangular shapes of rocks on the ground surface. They are all interesting cultural relics.
Northwest Mongolia
Most tourists then head off north to Lake Hovsgol, but the more adventurous head more northwest into the Darhan Depression to seek out the reindeer people. The trip is long but very interesting. There are: gers, herders and their families, shaggy yak-cow crosses with tails like floor mops, gorges, valleys, plains, low hills, snow mountains in the distance, and a multitude of rock types – limestone, dolomite, sandstones, granite, diorite and schist.
At the small township of Tsagaan Nuur your passports and border permit will be checked thoroughly. (It is important to get all the paper work done in Ulaanbaatar, as well as making arrangements with the local community organisation, the Tsaatan Community and Visitors' Centre, before venturing north.)
The next step is to drive to the top part of a valley where you will get on a horse to go the Tsaatan (means "with reindeer") camp, which is somewhere farther into the interior. You need to dress warmly (snow can fall and cold winds blow even in summer), and take wet weather gear, personal possessions, food and gifts, packed away in plastic bags inside day packs. One route is tough going: up through a forest on a muddy and rocky track, then above the tree line into rocks and snow to a pass at nearly 2,500 metres, then down through scrub to the valley floor and the camp site. The horizontal distance is about 25 kilometres; the time 8-9 hours, one way.
There are only about 200-300 Tsaatans in Mongolia. They are the southern-most reindeer people in the world. Ethnically they are Tuvan people from Tuva, a Russian republic. They are super tough, accepting nature and living within it to survive on the edge. The reindeer provide the people with transport, milk, skin and antlers (tools). Wild game, mushrooms, nuts and berries supplement their diet. They live in an ortz, which is like a North American Indian tepee. There is an opening at the top to allow the smoke from the stove out (but it lets rain and snow in!). The structure is small, smaller than a ger. So possessions are limited, for example no beds. There are some "luxuries", such as a solar panel, satellite dish, light and TV.
Daily life for the Tsaatan people consists of milking, herding, hunting, foraging for nuts and berries, cooking, sewing, craft work, talking, and watching TV. Families support each other. They move camp about seven times a year, depending on the needs of their reindeer and the weather.
It is a great experience to contact the Tsaatan. What does the future hold for them? Is their traditional way of life sustainable? What aspects of modern life are helpful or a hindrance to their culture? Will tourism be good or bad for them?
Back tracking to Moron you can then drive almost due north to Lake Hovsgol, "Mother Sea". It is claimed to be the second-oldest lake in the world. It is everything that you might expect, beautifully clear, pure and deep cold water, ranging in color from pale yellow, lettuce green, light green, green, emerald, royal blue, navy blue and indigo, depending on depth. It starts to freeze over in September, has 1.5 metres of ice by November and does not melt until June. In summer you can see for 15 metres down, and that is quite close to the shore. It is great to get onto the lake on a boat. You could go on the Mongolian navy's ship (the navy has seven commissioned sailors) or take a small outboard motorboat. The latter has the advantage in that you can stop off on the opposite shore and take photos of the naval boat in action. Farther up the western shore by a good gravel road you can find a ger to stay in, and then drive higher into the hills before switching to leg power and getting to a vantage point where the whole lake is visible (130 km long, 30 km wide) – a wonderful trip through a landscape of forest and summer wild flowers.
Central Mongolia
Backtracking through Moron yet again you can continue south then east passing through the Ider Valley, the Great White Lake, with its surrounding steppes, igneous rock outcrops, volcanic ash cones, collapsed craters and plains, and then on to the remains (not many) of the old Mongol capital, Karakorum,now called Harhorin. Finally you will come back to Ulaanbaatar.
This is a big trip, taking at least two weeks and covering over 3,000 kilometres mostly using 4WD tracks that bounce, bang and bash you. But it is worth it!
John Brundall - Hi there My name is John Brundall. I live in New Zealand - I was born and bred there. I graduated with a master's degree in ...
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