Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Western Mongolia Highlights
Hike to the base camp of snow-capped
Khuiten Uul
(
Click here
)
, Mongolia's
highest mountain, for stunning views of Altai Tavan Bogd National Park.
Walk around Tavan Bogd's
Khoton Nuur
(
Click here
), a beautiful alpine lake dot-
ted with Kazakh settlements around its shore.
Horse trek or hike around the lakes and valleys beneath the sacred mountain of
Otgon Tenger Uul
(
Click here
).
Camp by the shores of
Üüreg Nuur
(
Click here
), a lovely, accessible freshwater
lake filled with fish (and devoid of mosquitoes).
Rub shoulders with Kazakh eagle hunters during Ölgii's
Eagle Festival
(
Click
Camp and trek in the mountains around
Tarialan
(
Click here
)
, a rugged landscape
of glaciers, green meadows and boulder fields.
History
The Mongol Altai Nuruu (commonly referred to as the Altai Mountains) was once the
easternmost territory inhabited by the Scythians, a vast empire of nomadic pastoralists
who dominated Central Asia from 700 BC to AD 300.
Prior to Mongol domination in the 13th century, western Mongolia was a stronghold of
the Oirads, a warrior tribe that initially resisted the expansionary tactics of Chinggis
Khaan, but later submitted. Following the collapse of the Mongol empire, the Oirads re-
asserted their domination over the area and expanded to the Volga. These pioneers be-
came known as Kalmyks and still inhabit the Caspian shores of Russia.
Manchu military outposts were created in Khovd City and Uliastai during the Qing
dynasty. Both capitulated soon after the fall of the Manchu empire in 1911. The fighting
was particularly bloody in Khovd, where a mystic Kalmyk named Dambijantsan (also
known as Ja Lama) gathered an army of 5000 Oirads and Mongols, razed the fortress to
the ground and skinned the Chinese soldiers inside.
Under Ulaanbaatar rule, western Mongolia was called Chandmandi until it was broken
up into three aimags (provinces) in 1931. One of the three, Bayan-Ölgii, was designated
as a homeland for ethnic Kazakhs living in the region.
Getting There & Away
