The highlight – for me this was staying in the Mongolian Gers for 2 nights. Often with these kind of tours, you stay in a Ger, but it’s just a gimmick as you have all the necessities of normal living and are surrounded by a fully functioning village. The ones we stayed in and around Gorkhi-Terelj National Park were only 2/3 Gers together and we couldn’t see any other signs of humanity around us; we huddled around the warm stove and RAN for the bathroom as it dropped to minus 20 Celsius / minus 4 Fahrenheit; and watched as the locals killed a sheep, wasting not one single piece of the animal, and cooked it for dinner. This is what you want to make this experience standout and make sure you push hard for this when planning your trip.
The other things we really enjoyed – the hike through the main valley to see the Turtle Rock was fun and ended with the beautifully set Aryapala Initiation & Meditation Centre Temple at the end of the valley and up the rocky hillside. Also, although it was a bit cheesy, the giant Chinggis Khan Statue, which is kind of mental.
Getting there – whilst it is only 55km away, it felt like forever. I have no idea what the actual timings were, but the bouncing around in the van made it feel like days (there is a vague, small chance that this could have been related to my 10/10 hangover, but that is just subjective).
Should you go in October / early November – it does get cold. Maybe the coldest place I’ve been as the evenings were minus 20 Celsius / minus 4 Fahrenheit, but this didn’t stop us doing what we wanted to do and had the added benefit of having far fewer fellow tourists – “going to Siberia / Mongolia in early winter, are you nuts!!” seems to be the usual view. Bear in mind that it gets far colder here in the height of winter, so the places you stay and activities you do are well equipped. For example, the Ger was warm to the point of needing you outside to cool down, we had a million blankets for the evening and you’re constantly being served hot water. I say go for it.
Which tour company to go with – I normally try to steer clear of the standard tours as I’m not keen on being jammed into the commercialised tourism machine, but in this case it was fine. Nomads in Ulan Bator ran a 2 night / 3 day tour which included the 2 nights in the Gers and we really enjoyed it. Maybe next time I’ll go for the more unique adventurer companies, but the experience certainly wasn’t worsened by going with a standard one.
Recommended reading – as with any country, its always a better experience when you have a bit of context on the country and the most famous and amazing context is that of Chinggis Khan (Chengis / Ghengis / Chinggis – there are many variations, and the truth is that no one actually knows which one is correct – it was nearly 1000 years ago you know). The Secret History of the Mongols is the oldest surviving literary work in the Mongolian language and the classic book to read. But, instead I would recommend the Conqueror Series by Conn Iggulden – the historical fiction rollercoaster story of Chinngis through to Kublai Khan. In my opinion, one of the world’s best writers and my favourite books.
For tips on the overall trans-Siberian Railway experience, including which stops to take, see the travel entry The Trans-Siberian Railway from Omsk to Beijing.
