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For an independent trekking, we decided to head north, to the Khövsgöl area. The Lonely planet describes it as the lovechild from Switzerland and Montana. The landscape is very harsh: taiga vegetation combined with deep lakes and rugged mountains. The region is habitated with very few, but very special people, for instance, the Tsaatan. They live from their flock of reindeer in the most Northern part of Mongolia, where living conditions are ideal for the reindeer, but les ideal for human beings (cold biting temperatures of to -30° in winter). It’s also the home of sheep, ibexes, moose, wolves and bears.
But enough about the region, let’s talk about the most terrific natural wonder this region has to offer: the Khövsgöl lake. It is incredible large (2760 km², the max. length is 136 km) and deep (depth is 267 m). And if that’s not enough, it holds almost 1% of all the fresh water in the world.
What did we do?
Mongolia is just like a big camp site. You spotted a nice place? Put up your tent and start a campfire! No horse, no sheep, nor Mongolian that won’t let you. As we are rather new to independent trekking, we decided to give it a go in Khövsgöl, as you can easily follow the shores of the lake, and getting lost and running out of water is rather difficult here. We spent a total of 5 days in the wild. Our trip started in Khatgal, a village on the southern tip of the lake, where we stocked up on supplies (mainly oatmeal, noodles and Snickers). We followed the west shore and had amazing vistas over the lake.
We followed a horse trail until we reached Toilogt where we made our way back to Khatgal. Our trek counted approximately 75 km in total (climbing mountains, river crossings and swamps included). We highly recommend this trip to everybody who likes hiking. If you plan to do an independent hike as well, get more advice from our complete independent hike and guide.
How to get there?
Starting from Ulaanbaatar you have to make the trip to the lake in two steps
First take a bus from the Dragon bus terminal to Mörön (~13 hours, 32 000 MNT ~ 13 EUR). We recommend taking the night bus that leaves Ulaanbaatar at 6 pm as the busses are more comfortable and less crowded. But you can’t be allergic to plaster, concrete and other building materials as Mongolian men like to stuff the whole bus with their DIY supplies. Flying is also an option, but more expensive.
When arriving in Mörön the second part of your journey starts. You need to take a taxi for about 90 km who drops you off at Khatgal. Prices are reasonable, we paid 30 000 MNT one way (after bargaining).
Have you ever been to the Khovsgol are? If you have any comments or thoughts, just leave a message below!
Happy hiking!
Matthias & Mieke
