We loved the northern part of Mongolia so much that we decided to extend our stay around lake Khuvsgul. We stayed a couple of days in a very comfy guesthouse and slept in our own ger with a little stove in the middle to keep the ger cozy during the chilly nights. Luckily we had the possibility to rent some camping equipment from our guesthouse and went on a three day hike along the west shore of the lake.
After passing all the party campsites and huts by car to reach the more remote part of the lake, we discovered a summer’s tale-like landscape, horses running freely around a clearing, walking surrounded by birdsongs, water that clear that you can drink it, discovering magical, holy springs and nothing but nature and beautiful solitude. We harvested wild onions on a meadow for our dinner, ate the most delicious potatoes coming directly out of the embers and trying to catch the magic fish we heard about. Every night they swim up a stream, which leads into the lake and in the morning before the sun rises they return to the deep waters of the lake. We were told that the river never freezes and if you eat a fish out of its clear water you will be rewarded with good health. We tried very hard to catch some, but without luck. On our last day we met a group of young Mongolian travelers who were just about to cook lots of fish with wild onions over fire. We asked them about their fishing technique and before we realized we were invited to try some of their catch. So we think that counts as well…
When we were on our way back to the guesthouse we stayed before, the same group of Mongolians asked us to give us a ride. We were happy to hitchhike on the load area of their little truck and lay down on their soft camping equipment and were watching the treetops and the blue sky. It was pretty dusty on the little earth road and in the end we were covered in dust, but happy to have such a nice ride.
Back in our ger, our hosts from the guesthouse organized a horse guide for the coming day. Next morning Timur came with three lovely horses to pick us up. We went on horseback to discover the wild east part of the lake and had a beautiful day with Timur and the horses. Galloping across the steppe felt pretty awesome. We hope that we can come back to Mongolia one day to discover another part of this amazing country with its stunning landscape and humorous people. Bayarlalaa!
