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Popular General Tips | Other General Tips Tips | All Tips (118) In Central Mongolia we crossed the endless green grasslands from Khujirt to Karakorum.
We saw some wildlife like marmots, hawks and falcons along the track.
We stopped at the place were our track crossed a stream to have a look at the water and the bridge, happy with every variety the landscape us gave.
We walked bit around looking, if we could spot some birdlife. Leave a Comment
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Mongolia, also called ''the land of the blue sky'' or one of the last unspoiled travel destinations in Asia, called up images of camels walking in the Gobi Desert or horses galloping in the steppe. The Gobi desert we crossed only by train, but in central Mongolia we spent some days in the endless grasslands. And yes, there we saw horses, but also camels.
The endless landscapes, sometimes with some scattered boulders or some mountains at the background, were really amazing.
Being there, just walking in the grass or sitting on a small hilltop, feeling the clear air and the freedom, looking at the green and blue colours, was a great experience. Leave a Comment
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Of our visit to the nomadic family we enjoyed most the moment they milked the horses.
The foals were lined up. Each foal could drink first and then ''the lady of the ger'' milked each mother horse immediately.
It took a lot of time, so we couldn't wait till the last mare was be milked, because it was getting dark very fast and we liked to reach our temporary ger at the camp in time.
For more pictures see my travelogue. Leave a Comment
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The Mongolian people in the countryside live in gers (in Russian yurts), in traditional tents.
The gers can easily be moved to another place. Mongolia is partly still a nomadic society. The Soviets transformed Mongolia from a nomadic society into an industrialized and urbanized country, so many people moved to the city. In Ulaanbaatar you can find large living aeras of hundreds of gers.
After the Soviet Union felt apart in the 1990s, many Mongolians returned to the countryside and the nomadic life depending on domestic animals, as they did allready many centuries. Leave a Comment
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The horse breeding family we visited, welcomed us and invited us to drink an airag with them.
The grandmother showed us how she made airag. Airag is a fermented mare's milk and a very beloved drink in Mongolia.
Of course we tried the airag, because you couldn't refuse. It tasted good, but it will not be one of my favorites, so I don't miss it now, back home. Leave a Comment
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Travelling in the countryside of Central Mongolia, you don't meet many people along the track. Maybe a solitary motorcyclist or horseman. We met these three horsemen.
Nearly all Mongolians in the countryside learn to ride a horse as soon as they can walk. The horses provide a perfect transport and can endure harsh winters, allready many milleniums.
There are 2.6 million horses in Mongolia.
The Mongolian horses are smaller than those in other countries, but don't call them ponies, Mongolians will be offended ! Leave a Comment
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We entered Mongolia by rail, from Ulan Ude in Russia. From the Mongolian border to Ulaanbaatar our destination, it is 404 KM to go. At Sukbaatar, Mongolia's chief border town, 21 KM after the border, the Mongolian officials came into the train to study our passports and examine our faces. And from then we have all the time to have our first look at the Mongolian landscape through the train window.
The first images of the Mongolian landscape are more mountaineous, wet and woody then I expected. The more south we went, the more the landscape changed into the endless steppe and sky. We saw some herds with cows and horses, scattered gers, a solitary horseman or a tractor with chart, further only spacious and empty grasslands. Leave a Comment
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We really enjoyed our visit to the horse breeding nomadic family. We stayed for a few hours, walking around, sitting in the grass, enjoying the endless views, looking at the horses, playing with the kids.
It was nice to see the horses in this natural environment. These small Mongolian horses (no ponies!) were looking lovely with their different colours. We could approach them rather easily. Leave a Comment
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We didn't visit the Gobi Desert during this trip, so we were very excited to find these camels in the grasslands of Central Mongolia. Our busdriver drove our bus through the grasslands to show us the camels nearby.
There are about 367.000 camels in Mongolia.
These two-humped Bactrian camels are indigenous in Mongolia. Camels are very useful for long distance transport and valuable because of their adaptability, especially in the desert. Leave a Comment
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This is what you can expect to manage with one week's time at your disposal in Mongolia:
In practical terms, you have 5 days. This is what you can do:
With such short time, it's definitely best if you can organise and book your trip, accommodation and other services needed before you leave home. That puts a lot of uncertainty into the bin.
UB is a bit of a disappointment, but read the history (find the book Lost Country - Mongolia Revealed) and you will understand the lay of the land better. Do check out UB and her museums, monasteries and so on. They have some very good restaurants and the Chjingis beer! One day, and you're about done. For shopping there are a number of tourist/quality oriented shops along Peace Avenue. A few other streets, too, will have some interesting shops with local jewellery and especially silver ornaments and wedding gifts. Next morning head out of UB and plan to stay overnight 2-3 nights outside the city. Either the Gobi if the steppe and desert is of interest, Terelj National Park just NE of UB if the outcrop of the taiga forest, hills and mountains are on your menu (horseriding, fishing, hiking, camping - all can be organised or fixed by yourself), or hit west toward Akhangai Aimag/Tsetserleg town as a base if you want to see the steppe and some of the central mountains and historical remains, including Kharhorin and Zamin Udd monastry. If really serious, fly to *** (mind the name) and take in the Lake H?vsg?l area, and fly or drive back. You will reach the places here in one day's uncomfortable travel (well, only northern Gobi). Driving back from *** will take two days - maybe fly instead?
Make sure you have a good buffer day on your return, so you WILL be able to catch your flight out. For all these options you will need a 4x4 Russian jeep or similar that you can either get as part of a package deal or negotiate privately.
Enjoy your journey - bring warm clothes and sleeping bags! Leave a Comment
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on October 28, 2003
on September 22, 2004
