why empty places fill you up in Mongolia
Could it be the final frontier? The Gobi desert sure feels like it.
This is one of the emptiest places in the world, with the lowest population density.
Joanna Lumley recently highlighted the alien Mongolia on ABC’s Trans-Siberian Adventure. Lumley was thrilled by the Great Wall of China, with its distance longer than that from London to New York. "To think it was built and inhabited by men living up there, soldiers and horsemen riding up from the Mongolian plains, it made sense of things. I understand now how impossible it would have been to assail it because it is so high up and the men on top have the advantage. It is 5,500-6,500 miles long. You can’t even get your head around that,” Lumley told the Daily Mail.
“Living that one night in the ger (yurt) with those horse-herders, and to see Lake Baikal, which contains a fifth of the world’s fresh water, now under threat. Every bit of the trip actually, I was just stunned by,” Lumley said.
Mongolia’s mountains have also been added to the portfolio of UNESCO World Heritage listed sites. The Great Burkhan Khaldun mountain was selected for its sanctity to locals. Found in the north-east, the Khentii mountains demarcate the transition from flat Asian territory to the forest slopes of Siberia.
“Burkhan Khaldun is associated with the worship of sacred mountains, rivers and ovoo-s (shamanic rock cairns), in which ceremonies have been shaped by a fusion of ancient shamanic and Buddhist practices,” UNESCO said.
More than that, it is considered to be the birthplace and burial site of Mongolia’s iconic Genghis Khan. “It testifies to his efforts to establish mountain worship as an important part of the unification of the Mongol people,” UNESCO said.
Mongolia is one of the world’s final frontiers and the nomad’s mobile home of choice is the yurt, locally called a ger. Mongolians are mostly Buddhist, so temples and monks offer some semblance of permanence. More alien are the Shaman beliefs that pervade the more isolated communities, surviving without adulteration for centuries.
Natural wonders jar the senses, with the blue Lake Khovsgol, hot springs, caves and desert. Lake Khovsgol surprises with a vista that could be Switzerland, with its striking greens and blues. Then there’s Darkhad Depression, which has hundreds of lakes in a pock-marked scape that is as surreal as its name implies. This region makes a frequent appearance on the itineraries of tour operators.
The steppes are specked with yaks, sheep, horses and goats. This is all for farming and subsistence purposes. The native wildlife includes bears, camels, wolves and even the highly elusive snow leopard.
This is a country that produced one of the finest warriors of our time – Genghis Khan, whose reputation precedes him. The 13th century Mongol Empire was the largest land empire yet one of his impassioned requests to Mongolians was to continue his conquering. “My sons, my life was too short to achieve the conquest of the world. That task is for you.”
Today, however, Mongolia has one of the lowest population densities in the world. Of course there are contradictions within what one would expect to be a barren and desolate nation. The most striking is the capital of Ulan Bator where half of the population is concentrated despite being established as a camp a mere two centuries ago. Mongolia feels vast but it has shrunk numerous times since the height of its expansive empire.
While most nomads rely on their livestock, there are also golden eagle hunters who use the animal’s talons to take prey. Some breed reindeer, others yaks or camels. It is unlike anywhere else on earth. There are as many horses in Mongolia as there are people, and it is home to the Przelwalski horse, which almost went extinct. The rare horses can now be seen in the wild at Khustain Nuuru national park. In July the Naadam Festival captures the imagination of everyone in capital Ulan Bator. It is a gala of local song, dance and apparel.
WHEN TO GO
July is a great time to visit, for it is the month of the country’s biggest festival as well as a time of migration. Nomads literally move to greener pastures for the start of summer, having depleted spring’s stop-off.
HOW TO DO IT
The tourism infrastructure may be in its infancy, but there are intrepid options for travellers, from cycling to hiking, horse-riding to homestays.
BY THE WAY
Travellers must try suutei tsai, a salt milk tea. The Chinese influence is seen in food, but with a twist – mutton dumplings are a local favourite. They come steamed and fried, called Buuz and Khuushuur. Then there’s the Russian influence, which comes in bottle form – vodka, naturally. Outside of the city, it’s all about fermented milk and meat, with horse, goat and mutton on the menu.