Pearl of Mongolia

Day: 337

Sunrise:
05:05

Sunset:
21:38

As the crow flies:
11,23

Daily kilometers:
24

Total kilometers:
1540

Soil condition:
Grass

Temperature – Day (maximum):
20 °C

Temperature – day (minimum):
15 °C

Temperature – Night:
minus 7 °C

Latitude:
50°55’844”

Longitude:
100°15’005”

Maximum height:
1654 m above sea level

Time of departure:
12:00

Arrival time:
17:00

The night passed without incident, which is why we start the day full of energy. Naraa has recovered from her fall yesterday and can carry Tanja on her back again.

With every kilometer we ride, we get a little deeper and approach Lake Khuvsgul. Even today, the alpine-like mountain landscape spoils us with its extraordinary beauty. Especially now that the temperatures are pleasant and the sun is shining. There are still large patches of snow and ice on the banks of the river winding in front of us. The horses’ hooves crunch through the crunching white, soiled by rubble and dust. The horse’s hooves carefully feel their way over it, expecting it to break. Then it goes again and again through the stony riverbed. Sometimes the water reaches right up to the horses’ bellies. We lift our feet to avoid getting wet.

We roam through a sparse larch forest whose ground is covered with a colorful carpet of flowers and lush green. I get off Sar to take some photos while Tanja, Bumbayr and Khurga ride on. For a few moments, I enjoy the view of this remote, deserted landscape, which is also known as the Pearl of Mongolia or Mongolian Switzerland. Bees, horseflies, flies and other insects buzz and buzz through the warm air. Colorful butterflies dance from flower to flower. Although the white flowers in this lush meadow form a wonderful contrast to the blue patches of sky, other green areas are covered in magnificent clusters of flowers in a wide range of colors. After the extreme winter, plant life seems to be exploding at the edge of the forest. Cranesbills, lilies and the wild rhododendron bathe it in a delicate pink. Some of the forest steppes resemble a landscaped park with an extensive carpet of yellow and blue anemones. Various of the countless meadows are dotted with red fire lilies, the Mongolian red potato. A total of 2,500 plant species have been counted in this country, spread across a wide variety of vegetation belts.

I get back in the saddle and follow Tanja and our companions so as not to lose the connection. Then I reach the huge expanse of water bordered by mountains. We pass secluded bays with sand and pebble beaches. The larch forests with their grotesque trunks bent by the wind reach right down to the shore. Some of the trees are up to half a meter deep in the water. A sign that the lake level has risen in the last 30 years while other lakes in Mongolia are losing water.

We follow a narrow path that runs over a mountain. Eight months ago, we were forced to get out of the saddles and lead the horses due to heavy snowfall. But now our mounts find a safe foothold. Nothing is slippery, slippery or even icy. “It’s a dream to ride through such a fairytale world in this weather,” I say to Tanja, enjoying the ride.

At 17:00 we find a suitable place to camp under some thick larch trees. We set up our tents on the lush meadow. Before tourism, yurt camps, a gravel road, stores and the noise of civilization disturb the uniqueness and beauty of this idyll in perhaps 20 or 30 kilometers, we decide to rest here for two days.

As we sit around our campfire in the evening and watch our horses eating, we listen to the seagulls, terns, limicoles, ducks and herons that have settled in the bay in front of us. With our senses, we taste the still untouched wilderness of the bay, which is becoming increasingly rare on earth, like a delicacy.

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