“THEAt night it goes down like a veil. He covers velvet the steppe and rounded the world. He smoothes the peaks and shapes the peaks. The glaciers in the distance scratch with mother of pearl, then shiny with cold and blue sparks before turning off. Only the rivers, in the shadow that is caught, get an incorrect silver reflections. “ So describes the fall of the day in Mongolia the French writer Ian Manok, in Aysuun. Daughter of the steppe (Fazi Editore), the latest adventure novel published.
It is between these mountains and the boundless steppe that the great hero of his thrillers was born: Yeruldelgger. And It is still here that you can travel in infinite spaces, preferably between May and October, the month in which the climate begins to be cold but dryand it is recommended to dress in layers. In Mongolia, land that smells of legend, nature is mistress and the population is very young: Over 50 percent are less than thirty years old. Modernity seems to have stopped on the threshold of the landscape, leaving room for a hard land, but surprisingly hospitable, as evidenced by the continuous increase in tourism (+34.6 percent in 2024), especially millennial, between 25 and 40 years old, in search of new experiences, outside the most beaten paths.
Five times larger in Italy, it is the 19th country in the world by geographical extension, with 3.4 million inhabitants that corresponds to lower population density on the planet (2 inhabitants per square kilometer). About half lives in Ulan Bator, the capital, while the rest still follows a nomadic lifestyle, inheritance of millennia. Human history here is intertwined with landscapes exterminated under blue skies, along endless rivers, in a time that seems suspended.
Wooden houses and traditional circular curtains in Khövsgöl. Photo IPA.
On the frozen lake
The Mongol Adventure begins leaving the dynamic Ulan Bator, to reach Mörön, access to Lake Khövsgöl, the Mongolia sea. It is one of the purest and most deep lakes of Asia, it contains about 1 percent of the world reserves of fresh water. Around its banks the first ghers overlook – the traditional circular curtains – in particular close to the small village of Khatgal. In spring, when the ice melts, the landscape is colored with green and recalls the alpine one. In winter, Lake icges up to two meters thick, transforming itself into a real road traveled by cars and trucks.
Men with horse -drawn sleds on the icy lake of Khövsgöl. Photo IPA.
Ecological spirit
The protection of nature is an integral part of the Mongolian culture: already Gangis Khan, in the thirteenth century, in his code of laws prohibited to pollute water courses, under penalty of death. Water, earth and sky are still sacred elements. Pushing himself to the north, among the conifers of the Taiga they meet The Tsaatan, the reindeer men. This minority people (today has about 200 individuals) live nomadic in the Sayan mountains, enduring extreme conditions. Welcomed in their cone tents – called Urtz, similar to the typis of Native Americans – guests can taste Tuvan bread, cooked in ash. Here everything is shared: food, hunting, responsibility. “When children have to go to school, families move to Tsagaannuur, two days of travel to Yak’s back,” says Zaia Doy, originally from Colorado but now part of the Tsaatan community. Yak are chosen for their sweet pace, also suitable for pregnant women. The reindeer provide milk, meat and skin indispensable for survival, while the wolves represent the main threat. The movements of the group also take place on the advice of the shamans, figures of great importance in the community.
The Flaming Cliffs in the Gobi desert, in the south of Mongolia.Foto Getty Images.
In the wake of traditions
After Mörön, another starting point to explore the most remote Mongolia is Bayan-Ölgii, to the extreme west, where Kazakh culture dominates. Here Islam is the main religion and an ancient tradition survives: hunting with real eagles. In the town, which offers a mosque and a small museum, extraordinary stories are discovered, such as that of Žùgdėrdėmidijn Gùrragčaa, the first Mongolian cosmonaut which flew next to the Soviet cosmonaut Vladimir Dzhanibekov towards the Sally 6 space station. In Bayan-Ölgii, hunting with eagles is a form of art handed down from father to son. As Kalibek Danorai tells, elderly Kazakh, only young females are captured and trained. After four or five years of service they are freed, and can live up to thirty years in nature.
A kazakh nomad camp in the Altai Tavan Bogd Monti National Park, Mongolia, in the western province of Ölgii. Photo IPA.
Following the flight of L’Aquila
The hunting shows are exciting: from a hill the hunter frees his eagle, which rises and then falls on the prey, before voluntarily returning to the crumbling of the master. In exceptional cases, eagles can even break down a wolf. The daily life of the Kazakh takes place in the ghers, built differently by those mounds, but always circular to avoid edges, in compliance with spiritual energies. Even women participate in hunting and deal with domestic life, while the communities move following the pastures. To prevent consanguinity, future spouses must demonstrate that they do not share common ancestors in the last twelve generations.
The Empire of Gengis Khan
At the end of the journey we return to Ulan Bator, a modern heart of the country, which preserves spirituality corners such as the monastery of Gandan, inhabited by 400 monks, and the Choijin Lama Museo-Monastery museum. A visit to the National Museum of Mongolian History (en.nationalmuseum.mn) allows you to understand the grandeur of the gingis khan empire and to observe the differences between mongole and kazake ghers, as well as traditional clothes, the Deel. Alongside the glass skyscrapers of the Blue Sky Tower and Central Tower, Gher’s peripheral neighborhoods resist. Today Ulan Bator is a metropolis with strong contrasts, which every year at the beginning of July hosts the Nadam Festival, the second oldest Olympiad in the world. An immersion in culture and traditions, the most popular and important event that recalls hundreds of thousands of Mongols in the capital from all “AIMAG” (regions) and hundreds of tourists. It is much more than a sports party, The three main disciplines: struggle, archery and horse races (the last two also open to women) held in the outdoor stage, are a tribute to the spirit and nomadic identity that characterize the Mongolian people. Participating in the Naadam is a profound emotion, at least as much as to cross the Gobi desert in 4 × 4, also described by Marco Polo in Il Milione: “A desert so great that it takes a year to go from one end to the other”.
Where to eat in Mongolia
Modern Nomads Metro Mall: Tirru luggage, Sukhbaatar District, Ulan Bator.Caten of Restaurants, where some of the Mongolian dishes are tasting: soups, mound skewers, cheeses. Furniture recall nomadic life. The menu is mainly based on meat with cabbage or other vegetables. Try the buuz (steam ravioli stuffed with mutton meat), called bansh if smaller, (in the shape of gnocchi) often boiled in broth or fried foods. Modernnomads.mn
Naadam Bar & Restaurant 19 Olympic Street, Sukhbaatar, Ulan Bator. Inside the Shangri-La Hotel, it offers international cuisine with some calls to Mongolia cuisine. Try the Asian BBQ RIBS: pork ribs or barbecue ribs. Shangri-la.com
Where to sleep
Tuul River Lodge Maikhan Tolgoi, Bagi Khentii Mountain, Gachuurt, Ulan Bator. An hour from the capital, in a large green lawn there is this field of gher where everything is authentic, even food. Good starting point also to visit Ulan Bator. Double from 156 € tuulriverside.com
Khun Odod Resort Khatgal, Mörön. Among the trees in front of Lake Khövsgöl, you sleep in the ghers or in comfortable and comfortable wooden houses, with services and air conditioning and heating. In the breakfast room there is the WiFi connection. Double 120 € with breakfast. Booking.horecasoft.mn
What to buy
Gobi Mongolian Cachemire On the airport road, Industrial Street, 3 Khoroo, Ulan Bator. He is one of the largest Mongolia outlets, to choose cachemi -cachemires for women, men and children. For sale jackets, coats, stoles, hats, scarves, gloves and shawls of various qualities, the most precious is the organic one. Prices compared to Italian ones are advantageous. Gobi.mn