Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
(GPS: N 47°37.447', E 97°20.546')
. The children's camp is just past the
ranger's station
(GPS:
N 47°41.394' E 97°15.263')
, where you can buy your park permit. A second route into the
area is via the town of
Otgon
, 138km southeast of Uliastai, where a decent road heads up
the Buyant Gol towards the southeastern flank of the mountain. This route is littered with
impressive pre-Mongol-era
burial mounds
.
Otgon Tenger is a great area for hiking and
horse trekking
(guide/horse per day
T15,000/20,000)
. The scenery is lush and beautiful. It takes three to four days to hike here
from Uliastai. Camping opportunities abound the whole way. Tuya at the Chigistei Res-
taurant (
Click here
) and the rangers at the ranger station in Dayan Uul can put you in
touch with horse wranglers. You'll find herdsmen with guest gers en route to Tsagaan
Nuur, from where it's another hour's drive up to Dayan Uul.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Tosontsengel
01462, 7046 / ELEV 1716M
Occupying a pretty valley along the Ider Gol, with forested mountains on all sides, To-
sontsengel is Zavkhan's second-biggest city and a transit hub for west-bound traffic. To-
sontsengel once supported a booming timber trade and its many wood-fronted buildings,
coupled with unpaved lanes and wandering horsemen, give it a Wild West atmosphere.
If you need to stop for the night, or just for lunch, the newly-opened
Skyline Hotel &
are smart and clean and come with sinks and toilets, although showers are shared. The
bright and cheery
restaurant
(mains T3500-5000; 8am-11pm; )
has chicken dishes
and some vegetarian options, plus beer. The hotel overlooks the grassy, main square.
As a transit hub between eastern and western Mongolia there is plenty of traffic, in-
cluding a daily minivan to Ulaanbaatar (T45,000) and Tariat (T15,000, five hours,
190km). Occasionally you may find one heading to Uliastai (T15,000, five hours,
181km) and Mörön (seven hours, 273km) but this is by no means guaranteed. The
Uliastai-Ulaanbaatar bus calls into a canteen (called simply
Buudal Guanz
) on the main
road through town at around 2pm and, if there is room, will take you to Ulaanbaatar for
T39,500.
If you are heading to Mörön from Uliastai or Ulaangom, you don't need to come to
Tosontsengel at all; the turn-off to Mörön is 33km to the west of the city.
