I was determined when I came to Mongolia this year to see more of the vast country. I accomplished that goal last week by taking a 5-day trip to Lake Khovsgol in northwest Mongolia. By most accounts, it is the most beautiful and scenic place in the country. I really loved it. Three of us made the journey and stayed at a ger camp (becoming very common in Mongolia for tourism) - me, Fred (another American working with our ministry) and Naraa, my translator.
Traveling around Mongolia is challenging. There are very few paved roads and most vehicles are sorely lacking in shocks and suspension. If we had chosen to drive the 400 miles from Darkhan to Khovsgol, it would have taken us 2 days! I decided it was worth flying, so we made it there in one day. We drove 3 hours from Darkhan to UB, flew from UB to the Khovsgol capital city, and then drove 3 hours across rugged terrain in a Russian van to the lake. So, instead of 2 days of feeling like a jackhammer in the van, I limited it to 3 hours.
Lake Khovsgol is massive. It's about 1,700 square miles of crystal clear alpine water, and is the world's 14th largest fresh water source. It's surrounded by mountains and thick forests, and the area is rich in wildlife. It was a nice change from the dry, dusty desert area I live in. The weather was chilly but not bad - nice during the day, cold at night - we were comfortable in our gers with wood stoves. It was my first time to sleep in a ger! The camp staff treated us so well, they even came to our ger throughout the night to feed the fire so we wouldn't get cold.
We hiked, fished (didn't catch anything), rode horses and thoroughly enjoyed the fresh air. The area has a lot of yak, so I bought a yak hair hat and we ate yak meat! One night we experienced a short but loud thunderstorm - it was crazy to hear a huge thunderclap echoing off all the mountains.
I assembled some more photos if you want to peruse.....(maysus2001, password=banderas)
4 comments:
Sounds like a great trip... and I liked the picture where you said, "it looks flat, but trust me... it's bumpy." I trust you! :-)
Toddy, after that cross country driving, I will never complain about the road from Darkhan to UB again....
Those are such amazing pictures. What a beautiful lake. I hope you enjoyed your trip.
So what does yak meat taste like?
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