Across the mongolian steppe to Elsen tasarkhai sand dunes

Frozen landscapes

I am extremely oriented towards “bad weather”. I love it when it’s cold and gloomy, as it makes the scenery even prettier compared to the one glowing under sunlight. That “bad weather” fits particularly with the vast and open landscapes of the Arctic and it is the main reason why I ended up there several times and will surely return.

There is something special about frozen landscapes devoid of life, and I have never seen anything as majestic and striking as such places. This is the main reason for my trip to Greenland a year ago; my only hope is to go northwards as much as possible the next time I land on the world’s largest island.

But…

Parched landscapes

… I have never been in a desert.

Intentionally, as I avoid them at any cost. I am terrified of an idea of extreme warmth and aridness combined and I am sure that I am unable to handle that without (at least) bitching and complaining, and consequently destroying the experience for myself and any poor sods around me at that given moment.

Even though such an activity is my nightmare and way out of my comfort zone, tailoring Mongolian experience for my needs just had to include a desert.

And not just any desert.

I wanted to see the desert. Gobi desert. The Mother of all Deserts.

Tours to the Gobi desert

Unfortunately, every excursion from Ulaanbaatar to Gobi desert includes a minimum of one week length of someone else’s planned activities, the demand of at least several co-passengers, and the prices for such tours are often way beyond the sum that I am willing to pay.

The price for such excursions are not ridiculous just because. Reaching Gobi from Ulaanbaatar takes time and demands a major distance damage; I am talking about a minimum of 700 km in one direction, which is often, if not always, covered by flights in order to spare time, unless the offer includes days of horseback riding towards Gobi and similar outdoor activities. Include days of transfers, providing food and shelter and it does make sense.

But  I have zero interest in bonding with strangers in any possible way, and the idea of being the part of a 7 days long herding with Random Someones appalls me. Paying for a private trip in such a concept makes zero sense in my world.

Mini Gobi / Elsen tasarkhai dunes

Therefore, I found a “mini Gobi” tour which includes a car trip to Elsen Tasarkhai sand dunes, which are nearest to Ulaanbaatar (over 300 km) and were supposed to be my first direct contact with the vast Mongolian-Manchurian grassland. This tour also includes a traditional meal in a ger and riding a horse or a camel across the dunes.

Sounds right, does it?

Spoiler: it’s perfect.

The guide

The tour was guided by a student who had a lot of knowledge to share and the will to make it interesting, along with a driver who was very silent and focused on the bumpy roads. The student was a huge fan of Alexander Rybak and after hearing that I flew from Norway I was reminded of how awesome Rybak is by keeping the Fairytale on a repeat for a while. We were listening to russian rappers, mongolian dubstep and of course – The Hu.

When he heard what I saw until that day, and what my plan was until the end of visiting Mongolia, he confirmed that I created a true and proper itinerary and there was absolutely nothing more to see in the time span I had at my disposal.

The steppe

Reaching Elsen Tasarkhai takes time. As soon as you leave UB, you are entering a true and proper wilderness. A wide open steppe. And this is only a tiny tiny bit of the historical Mongolian-Manchurian grassland which is incredibly fascinating, on so many levels. For me, this was something I was looking forward to so much because I have a thing for vast open spaces; we, in Europe, have little to no chance to see a similar scenery. Europe is densely populated, there is an infrastructure and unstoppable urban development; but here, in the grassland wilderness – there is literally an universe of nothingness.

The camel

When I heard that I can ride a horse across the dunes, I tried to keep the Ivana-travels-solo tradition from Svalbard and the Faroe islands so I accepted this activity wholeheartedly. I cannot imagine a better country to do that than Mongolia.

As the time went by and we were approaching the place to enter the dunes area, I was becoming anxious due to leg issues. The fracture is entirely healed but I am very reluctant about being myself in the outdoors and I am not really happy to be this overly careful as it’s killing my experiences and plans.

I opted for a camel after the guide offered that option. I never rode one. They are known to be universally calm and I can say that it was a good decision.

Pro tip: the camels arrived a bit later as there was some logistic issue due to other tourists who were “forced” to cancel the tour. I did not inquire too much as I don’t give any actual damns, but from what I picked up, they came dressed wayyy too light and were unable to function. I assume that these people thought that Gobi is an overheated type of desert so they came cosplaying the colonizers of the 19th century, in khaki shorts and woven hats. This only shows a true lack of understanding where you came to. Not every desert is a warm. Gobi in April? LOL, no. I had my full on tech gear with cashmere layers. Really, save yourselves from the snidey remarks and do some damn research before you travel to places which lack the comfort of spas and resorts.

Elsen from the skies

While I was waiting for the camel to be harnessed and brought to us, I lifted the drone for a few shots from the above. Just to get a better idea of the place I visited.

Now, when I am writing this, I am thinking that I should have done it longer. I don’t think that any of those two would even mind if I did that for hours, to be honest. They were extremely welcoming and happy to present a country such as Mongolia to a random tourist, obviously eager to absorb everything.

The boy

A pair of camels was brought by a boy. I don’t think I saw a lot of people in my life who are prettier than he is. I assume he is 13-14 years old, his face is brushed harshly by the winds and red from the bright sunlight, and his features are out of this world gorgeous. I assume that he is, if not tired and annoyed by the tourists, then at least not too enthusiastic, which is entirely expected.

Ger & tsuivan

We ate tsuivan (noodles with lamb meat chunks) in a ger. By entering the ger we can see how in contrast they are with their outer appearance and the environment in which they are – the insides are rich in colors, patterns, and they reek of coziness and warmth.

BTW – yurt or ger? Both are correct. Yurts are located more in the region bordering with Russia, where the reindeer herders are, while gers are spread along the rest of the country.

Back to UB

The car ride back to Ulaanbaatar meant hundreds of kilometers of the same vast steppe which we crossed to reach Elsen tarsakhai. The driver was very chill with stopping often and allowing me to take pics from the outside of the vehicle, so I really went to town with the photos of the magnificent steppe.