Tidbits of Ölgii & The Western side of Mongolia

-The population of Ölgii is 40000.

-Kazakh region which is mainly Muslim so food is halal.

-There are 3 official languages spoken in this region Kazakh, Mongolia and their own dialect which is a mixture of the two

-The Eagle Hunters of Mongolia mainly live in the Western region of Mongolia closer to the Kazakh border.

-The most famous eagle huntress is from Sagsai but now lives in Kazakhstan studying. She has inspired many more huntresses but none as good as her. The competitions yield USD cash prizes or a motorcycle.

Greetings in Kazakh

-Saleem – hello

-Rackmed – thank you

05/07/25

Ulaanbaater – Khovd – Ölgii – Tavan Bogd Mountains – 3-9°C sunny but cold wind

We had a 5AM pick-up time. You never know how long it will take to get to the airport. This morning only took 40mins including a gas refuel stop. Honestly the best sunrise I’ve saw in Mongolia was seen at a Gas station in UB. We flew from UBN-ULG (Khovd). The smaller domestic flights don’t fly everyday so we had to detour to Khovd instead of flying directly to Ölgii. The west coast is an hour behind from UB.

The airport in Khovd is super tiny. There is 1 conveyor belt and there is no sense or order in terms or making lines or to get luggage.

When we landed in Khovd, Bek the owner of Bek Travel met us. He drove us over to Ölgii. In Khovd, we were driving on roads literally 100KM away(only a 3HR drive) from Russia that we could see Russia. We were also only 200KM away from the Kazakhstan and China borders.

The western region of Mongolia especially in Ölgii, it is mostly a Kazakh region especially being so close to the Kazakhstan border. This also means it is a mainly Muslim area so food is halal.

We stopped in the downtown area of Ölgii for breakfast at Pamuk. I got the plain omelet.

Our Tour Guide for this portion was Aibo. We were also accompanied by our Driver – Abka & our Chef – Bota. Aibo was 36 and has 4 daughters. He has been a Tour Guide for 8 years. His grandmother lived to 103 and had 23 children. She got married at 14. Aibo has the same birthday as me. Bota – her name means “baby camel”. She has 3 daughters.

No Russian van this time but a land cruiser. It is packed to the rim. Since we were returning back to UB post this portion of the trip, we left luggage back at the hotel in UB and took a smaller luggage with us. If we had our original luggage, it would not have fit into the Land Cruiser with all the supplies. This portion of the tour, we were basically camping and living off of the provisions Chef Bota packed on day 1 for the entire 5 days.

Before we began our journey, we stopped by a supermarket to grab a few items to bring to the host families as a gift for letting us stay with them in their homes or separate gers. Nothing extravagant but useful things such as sugar, noodles and some chocolate biscuits. Other useful items could be soap and toothpaste.

One more thing before we could start our journey was to show our permits to the army as our journey will take us close to the borders of Russia, China & Kazakhstan.

I can tell you the moment we left Ölgii, our cell phoen reception was basically non-existent. We basically went off the grid.

We stopped in Tsengel Somon for lunch. Bota premade lunchboxes of noodles with meat and veggies for us to eat outdoors in nature. Inside our Land Cruiser also contained a foldable table, propane, cook top, folding chairs, a cooler with meats and other ingredients plus all our gear.

We drove in total for 6-7 hours mainly on rocky terrain with manmade faint “tire markings” by the milky river valley to finally reach Tavan Bogd mountains Алтай Таван Богд.

We were welcomed by the main family. Renchin (grandfather – my fave), Dashkhuu (father), Bolgmor (mother – name means sparrow), Ragchaa (Youngest son).

As customary, we were welcomed with hot yaks milk, fried dough, curds & other snacks.

On the same property lives extended family including Uncle Dashka and Aunt Kenje with their

twin boys – Dalai & Tengiz and their younger brother Onon. Ended up playing with the kids for a few hours climbing rocks and whatnot.

The family had set up 2 gers for us to stay in with a stove/chimney to keep us warm. They use compressed manure to heat as it is slower burning and wildly abundant. We slept in heavy duty camel hair sleeping bags with a heavy blanket on top. Under our silver mats and sleeping pad, the ground of the gers have carpets so we aren’t sleeping directly on the ground.

For dinner, Chef Bota made dumpling soup.

05/08/25

Tavan Bogd Mountain – cold morning but incredibly sunny 8°C

We woke up to the morning light and super crisp fresh mountain air. Chef Bota made us omelettes with cucumber, tomatoes & sausage. We ate outside. With Dashkhuu leading the way, we took to horseback riding around 10AM.

Always approach & get on/off the horse from the left side. Say Chu to make the horse go faster.

The original plan was it to ride up to the Ranger Station however due to the amount of snow, we could not. We rode the horses another path to have views of the 5 peaks from above.

There is one mountain peak in this group of 5 that borders China, Russia, Mongolia & Kazakhstan.

When we returned, we ate lunch outdoors. Chef made us a plate with 2 meat patties, rice, cucumber, tomato, broccoli, carrot slaw and potato wedges.

After some time, uncle Dashka & his wife Kenje invited us over for tea. I got to try gent (fresh cream curd). 

I think this was a way for them to show us their custom products they make and sell as everyone came into the home all at once to showcase things on the floor. A subtle way of showing us what’s for sale.

In the afternoon, we went for a hike to see Potanin glacier Потанины мөсөн гол. Don’t cross the river/stream. We took a path up that was snowy thinking it would be hard and we can walk over but certain areas were not solid and were knee deep of snow. To get out of this area of snow, Aibo rolled over, I went on all fours to spread the weight. The higher altitude really gets to you when climbing/hiking. We made it to the lake but majority was still frozen.

The land of blue skies is no joke. We burnt our faces – oops.

For dinner, Chef Bota made us tomato soup with bread and a salad. After dinner, Aibo & Abka shared some beer with us.

The moon was super bright but still managed to see a good amount of stars.

05/09/25

Tavan Bogd mountains – Khoton and Khurgan lakes – 4-10°C – sunny but cloudy sunset

Perfect sunny morning. Played with the boys a bit in the morning as the family let out the goats for grazing.

For breakfast, Bota made us pizza (deluxe) and we had yogurt.

Aibo & Abka had stayed up to the early mornings drinking and chatting away so we ended up leaving later in the morning.

We left at 11AM. The drive was partly if not all rocky to our next next destination. We even had to cut through some streams. If it wasn’t for nature giving us obstacles, it was also animals we had to move off the “roads” Including yaks, sheep’s, goats, camels etc.

We stopped to have lunch outdoors by a river. Chef Bota made Spaghetti Bolognese.

After 5-6 hours of travel, we finally arrived at Khoton & Khurgan lakes area. These 2 lakes look like earrings.

We stayed in a Kazakh Yurt which is about 2-3 times bigger than a Mongolian Ger using 81 sticks for the roof. It is decorated with beautiful colourful ornate Kazakh designs. We also slept w our sleeping bags on cots. The cots definitely come out of the Soviet era.

Chef made us Khuushuur (fried meat pokcets) (4 ea) and salad. She returned and asked if we wanted more but it was so filling.

No compressed manure in sight so wood & coal to keep us warm.

To use the actual outhouse, it was a good 100-200M away so if you just have to pee, it’s much closer to just go over the hill so no one can see you and have at it.

05/10/25

Baga Turgen Waterfall – Khurgan lake – 2-15°C – Rained overnight – sunny morning but afternoon overcast and windy.

Bota made us a cheese and tomato sandwich, alongside cucumber and sausage slices, apricots and sunny side up eggs.

We drove 30mins to get the Baga Turgen Waterfall Бага Түргэний Хүрхрээ-Baga trail through Imh Turgen ger camp. It took about 2 hours roundtrip. It was still early spring so there was still snow although it was melting.

As we were heading back, we noticed a couple starting to put up their Mongolia ger. Aibo brought us over and we helped them build it. It took us about an hour to get them set up. They invited us in for tea & snacks afterwards.

We came back late for lunch but Bota made us Buuz бууз (giant meat dumplings often filled with beef or mutton)(10 ea) with spicy enoki mushrooms and a salad.

After lunch, the plan was to see petroglyph in Khairakhti Valley (20mins away) however the river water levels were too high. Luckily Abka knew of a location where there were petroglyphs but not as preserved as it has been exposed to nature more so. There are some carvings so distinct & many faded. They are from the Bronze Age. It was overcast when we went to look but as you knelt down, the angle made them more distinguishable. Drawings of Turkish or Kazakh men riding horses or camels to drawings of goats and sheeps.

For dinner, we were treated to a traditional Kazakh dinner called the Five Finger Feast. It is a massive communcal serving platter with a mountain of food. Lamb is the main ingredient (bone in), long snake length dumplings, cucumbers, pickles, carrots, potatoes & onions. Usually a male is the one to say a special blessing before we start to eat. Aibo then cut up all the meat, dumplings and veggies into smaller bite size pieces. There are no utensils except your fingers. Make sure to dip the food in the sauce at the bottom for more flavour. Bota created this feast for us and we ended the meal with a bowl of lamb soup. To say we were stuffed is no joke.

I lost some weight in China but going to Mongolia, I absolutely gained weight. The food is very nutritious and they don’t let anything go to waste. You eat the good fats which you normally want to help keep you warm especially in Mongolia.

05/11/25

Khoton & Khurgan lakes – Sagsai Village – 7-14°C – sunny & windy

Day 34 – Khoton & Khurgan lakes – Sagsai Village

For breakfast, Bota made us tomato & eggs scramble, Fried bread with cucumber slices.

Packed up our things onto the next destination.

Bota made packed lunches of fried chicken with rice and beans, cucumber slices, tomatoes and fried potatoes. We had a little picnic by the river. We had Falcons flying overhead while we ate our lunch. With the chicken drumstick bones, we called kaka before throwing them high into the sky where the Falcons would swoop and catch them.

We had to pass through the some town of Tsengel Somon again before we went onto sandy roads to the Sagsai Village area. We are stayed with an Kazakh Eagle Hunter’s family. We were welcomed with snacks & Mare’s milk (fermented horse milk).

When we came in, we were welcomed by grandmother, Byekbolat (71 year old grandpa but also the OG Eagle Hunter), Tamasha (mother), another relative & the youngest son Khibatdolda who was 3.

Grandpa Byekbolat’s son Esentai (father & current eagle hunter) was in Ölgii with his 3 oldest children dropping them off as they had school the following day.

Grandpa Byekbolat retired from hunting only a year ago. He had been hunting for over 40 years. The golden eagles they use for hunting are always female and usually captive for about 5 years before being released back into nature. Grandfather’s eagle has been captive for 6 years and is holding onto her because she is one of the best hunters he has ever had. His son’s eagle is 3 years old.

The eagle’s nest is high up on cliffs in the mountains so what they do to try to capture the baby eagle is try to lure it out of it’s nest. Another way which makes for a better hunting eagle is to capture a 1 year old eagle out in the wild – they have better balance when riding on horses to hunt. From October – March is the prime hunting season so outside of that time period, the eagles are in bulking season. The eagles average weight while riding on a horse is 3-5KG. They have a special stick they have attached to the horse so that the hunter can rest their arm on it while the eagle sits on their arm. Eagles are not used for the main hunting of food but now are used to hunt for fur from such animals as rabbits, foxes, cat like species etc. When it is winter time, the eagles get moved indoors to keep them warm but otherwise, they live in their own wooden stable.

Along with being eagle hunter’s, they also raise horses.

We stayed inside the family home. They were also preparing to migrate to their summer home in the next few weeks as it was starting to become warmer. We finally had electrical outlets access after 4 days without and finally a bit of cell phone reception with Skytel.

For dinner, Bota made us noodle soup with lamb and veggies with a salad.

05/12/25

Sagsai Village – Ölgii – 7-12°C – sunny

Bota started us off with French toast and oatmeal. The horses were brought in from grazing & saddled up. We got to go Horseback riding with the golden eagle. Esentai got all dressed up in the summer traditional clothing. It was a sight to been seen as he held the eagle on his arm & mounted his horse leading us on horses into nature. We came during the off-season for eagle hunting so the golden eagles are shedding their feathers & in bulking season. They are currently 5-7KG from their normal 3-5KG.

We went on horseback to a nearby mountain range to get some photos with the golden eagle and even wore traditional Kazakh attire. Unfortunately since it is off season for the eagles, they are too heavy to fly & shedding feathers which in turn could hurt them. We got to hold the eagle on a horse making for some epic arm exercise and photos.

When we returned, Bota’s last meal for us was a beef stew with potatoes and carrots on rice. She definitely made sure we were well fed the Kazakh way during this trip.

We packed up our Land Cruiser and made the final drive back to Ölgii where we said goodbye to Abka & Bota. After a few days in gers, it was nice to be in a hotel for the night with a shower. We definitely burnt our faces that second day horseback riding. We stayed at Bausta-Inn Hotel Bastau-Inn гостиница right beside the main square. I saw kids playing volleyball and really wanted to join but didn’t. It is so nice to see the norm is kids playing volleyball instead of basketball.

We walked around a bit and of course ended up in the Grocery store trying to pick up some snacks to bring home that we had tried during the trip.

We met up with Aibo at 730PM and had dinner at Gochu attached to the hotel but in the VIP room. Hyka the tour manager joined us as well. I ordered the Wasabi Mayo Korean fried chicken.

Bek Travel also gifted us traditional Kazakh hats. When I travel, I try to collect the smallest banknote as my souvenir. I was told that Mongolia use to use 1 Tugriks banknotes but they are incredibly rare but lo & behold, amongst the Bek group, they gifted me not one but two 1 Tugriks banknotes.

We had a Mongol Kazakh family private concert by the Kugyershin family. It was the grandfather plus his granddaughter (8) and grandson (9). They are very talented. They played us some traditional Kazakh folk songs on their Dombra (long necked lute-styled instruments).

In the end, they were trying to sell their CD & DVD they had produced.

05/13/25

Ölgii – Khovd – Ulaanbaatar – 10-12°C – sunny

Our trip in Mongolia was always fastpaced with early mornings. Our last night in Ölgii was the same. Since the airports are small, they don’t fly everyday so to fit our schedule, Khovd would be the closest airport to get us back to UB on this day when we booked which was a 2-2.5 hour drive away. We had to wake up for our 430AM drive from Ölgii to Khovd to catch our flight back to UB. 2HR55M flight with Miat.

Khovd Airport is tiny and I have to say their check-in process is very slow and disorganized. The landing was like butter though.

Serka has been our driver every single time we had to get to and from the airport in UB so we saw him a lot. He picked us up from the airport in UB & we were flying towards the City Centre until we got stuck in traffic. Took us over a 1.5HRS to get to our hotel.

After settling back in and reclaiming our luggage we left at Edelweiss Hotel, we walked over to the Chinggis Khan Museum hoping it was open but turns out it is closed on Tuesdays. We also stopped by Juulchin Street – colourful row houses similar to Turkey’s Balat coloured row houses.

We ended up eating at Yoshinoya for lunch. A small Gyudon beef bowl 13900MNT ($5.45CAD) for myself.

We walked around some more trying to purchase our last minute items to bring home such as blueberry sugar cubes, seabuckthorn tea, Suutei Tsai (milk tea), Zuv products (dried curd products), coffee beans & horse jerky.

We took a break (& used their wifi) at Good Fellows. I got the homemade Chai latte 14000MNT. Walked some more then went back to the hotel for break.

We went to Shangri-La Centre to the 4th floor for dinner at Arig Anya. I got the Spicy Tonkatsu Ramen 20400MNT($7.94CAD) and a Pocari Sweat 7900MNT($3.07CAD).