Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Sights
Terkhiin Tsagaan Nuur
LAKE
(Great White Lake)
The freshwater Terkhiin Tsagaan Nuur is not as forested or as large as
Khövsgöl Nuur, but it is closer to Ulaanbaatar, relatively undeveloped and just about per-
fect for camping (though there are a few flies in summer). The lake, birdlife and moun-
tains are now protected within the 77,267-hectare
Khorgo-Terkhiin Tsagaan Nuur Na-
tional Park
(admission T3000)
.
According to legend, the lake was formed when an elderly couple forgot to cap a well
after fetching water. The valley was flooded until a local hero shot a nearby mountain top
with his arrow; the shorn top covered the well and became an island in the lake (Noriin
Dund Tolgoi). Another theory is that it was formed by lava flows from a volcanic erup-
tion many millennia ago.
The lake is around 16km long, east to west, and around 4km to 6km wide, north to
south. It takes around two hours to walk from Tariat to the northeast corner of the lake
(6km). Here you'll find the largest concentration of ger camps, plus some shops selling
drinks, snacks, cooking provisions and even gas cannisters for camping stoves. Most of
the rest of the ger camps and the best camping spots are then strung out along the north-
ern lakeshore.
