Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
drivers with the ' ' at the beginning of their licence plate are likely to be fairer. Contact
Bata Guesthouse in Mörön (
Click here
)
for transport to Khatgal.
A chartered jeep should cost around T500 per kilometre. There are plenty of jeeps in
Mörön but few in Khatgal, where it is best to ask at the guesthouses. Khatgal is 101km
from Mörön via a newly paved road, though at the time of writing, a section of it had
already been damaged by floods.
MOTORCYCLE
Since everyone and their grandmother owns a motorcycle, if you're travelling light and
on your own, it's worth asking around if you can catch a ride up either lake shore on the
back of a motorbike. Some travellers have been known to motorbike on their own from
Ulaanbaatar to Khatgal, but unless you have ample experience of off-road driving and
fixing your own bike, the roads around the lake can be really challenging.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Chandman-Öndör
Nestled between pine-clad mountains and consisting almost entirely of log cabins, the
village of Chandman-Öndör sits in one of the most picturesque locations in the country.
The surrounding area is ideal horse-riding country, with clear streams, alpine forests and
wildflowers.
Around 11km south of town is a red
statue of Alan Goa
(GPS: N 50°24.987', E
100°58.564')
, looking like a Roman legionary planted incongruously in the middle of an
alpine meadow. Alan is, in fact, a woman, 'goa' meaning 'the beauty'. In Chandman-
Öndör itself, you'll find the
Alan Goa Museum
(admission T1000)
, housed inside the ger-
shaped log cabin. Alan Goa was an ancestor of Chinggis Khaan, mentioned in
The Secret
History
and preceding him by 10 generations, and is revered locally.
Every three years (the next is August 2015) a large
naadam
is held here to honour
Alan Goa. It attracts Mongols from Inner Mongolia, Kalmyks, Tuvans and Buriats as
well as a host of Khalkh Mongols. The only place to stay in town is a small
hotel
around
the corner from the Alan Goa Museum.
Shared jeeps going to Chandman-Öndör (T15,000) occasionally leave from the north-
ern side of the market in Mörön; if you have your own wheels, a good road winds its way
to Chandman-Öndör via the village of Tunel, around green hills and lush meadows. From
Khatgal there are two roads to Chandman-Öndör; the one that approaches it from the
south is particularly rough, muddy, boggy and can take up to five hours; don't attempt it
after heavy rain. The slightly shorter road that branches off the main lakeside road to the
