This Huge Lake in Mongolia Has Caribbean-like Blue Waters — and It is an Outside Lover’s Dream

With rugged hills, pristine rivers, and impossibly huge areas, Mongolia is gaining floor as a vacation spot with vacationers thirsty for journey. This massive, landlocked Asian nation gives pure splendor in large doses. And although getting there could take some effort, the payoff is nicely price it. Merely put, Mongolia is an outside lover’s dream — and Lake Khovsgol Nationwide Park is the proper place to soak all of it in.

Located within the nation’s far north and surrounded by mountains, rocky shorelines, and thick pine forests, the 85-mile-long Lake Khovsgol is Mongolia’s largest physique of water. (It is so mammoth that it accounts for 20 p.c of the nation’s freshwater and .04 p.c of all on Earth.) It’s also known as “Lake Baikal’s youthful sister” due to its similarity and proximity to Russia’s well-known huge lake.

Lake Khovsgol is the place Mongolians go to flee from all of it. Nonetheless, it’s now more and more drawing worldwide guests.

A lot of the park’s human exercise takes place on the western shore, dwelling to round 50 vacationer camps made up largely of gers, that are Mongolia’s model of yurts. These spherical, wooden and felt constructions are ubiquitous all through the nation as lodging for each locals and guests. They’re easy, cozy, and on account of their thick insulation, are cool within the warmth and heat within the chilly.

The vacationer camps at Khosvgol vary from tough and rudimentary affairs to extra upscale eco-lodges. They’re normally family-run with on-site eating places that will supply menus or only a single alternative for meals. For these looking for just a few extra creature comforts, the nicer camps have roomy picket cabins and hotel-style rooms with non-public bogs. Although, such luxuries are the exception relatively than the rule in rural Mongolia.

Nature is the true star of the present at Lake Khovsgol, with immaculate air, soothing environment, and wildlife resembling Siberian moose, wolverine, ibex, sable, and brown bear. “My favourite factor is waking up at dawn and strolling into the forest,” Batsuren Ganbaatar, whose household owns the Olimp Camp and Restaurant on the western shore, advised Journey + Leisure. “Every little thing is so quiet and delightful, and I can typically see deer.”

The lake and surrounding park are a visible feast. The icy, crystalline waters tackle sensible hues of azure and aquamarine, paying homage to the Caribbean or Hawaii. The Khoridol Saridag mountains rise like stony sentinels over the gleaming expanse of Lake Khovsgol’s floor. Come sundown, the sky is awash in shades of pink, tangerine, and vivid white, offset with bruised shadows forged by lingering clouds. Within the summertime, night thunderstorms roll throughout the water, treating lucky spectators to explosive lightning exhibits that put any man-made fireworks shows to disgrace.

Lake Khovsgol is a spot of uncooked, unspoiled nature that additionally supplies guests with heat beds, scorching meals, and quite a lot of vacationer providers. Even simply a few days in its environs can have you relaxed, invigorated, and refreshed.

The place to Keep

Double Lake

Nestled on slightly peninsula away from the principle shore highway, Double Lake is extra of a small lodge than a rugged ger camp, with non-public rooms and well-appointed A-frames set amongst the pines. Its restaurant serves up Western fare together with Mongolian requirements, and the property contains its personal stretch of shoreline with giant chairs and a traditional picket dock. In order for you quiet, look no additional. 

Khuvsgul Bayan-Ulaan

With comfy gers and little cabins perched upon a broad hillside, Khuvsgul Bayan-Ulaan’s major promoting level is its wonderful views. That is very true for the restaurant, which is constructed within the type of a North American lodge home, full with partitions of home windows looking onto the lake in all of its shimmering glory, making it the proper spot to sip a drink and take all of it in.  

Ar Davhar Peninsula Eco Camp

Designed with most sustainability in thoughts, Ar Davhar Peninsula Eco Camp practices what it preaches by recycling all natural waste into compost, educating its visitors concerning the native wildlife, and powering all the pieces with 100% photo voltaic power. A lot of the meals is regionally sourced, and there’s even a lakeside sauna. It’s additionally located on Lake Khovsgol’s largely undeveloped japanese shore, guaranteeing a peaceable expertise in environment that already radiate serenity.   

What to Do 

Hop within the Saddle

It has been stated that Mongolians are born on horseback, and even on this fashionable age you will notice that horses are nonetheless the popular mode of transportation for a lot of locals. The western shore options scores of horse camps, supplying you with ample alternatives to rise up on a steed and go, whether or not it’s a one-hour jaunt or a multi-day tenting journey to the northern reaches of the lake.

Get Your Paddle on

A lake as attractive as Khovsgol virtually begs you to get out on it, and a number of other locations supply kayak leases that will help you scratch this itch. The lake’s floor is normally glassy and calm, permitting you to glide by the water because the bushes and rocks on the shore slip by.

Watch the Birds

Mongolia is a wonderland for chicken fans, and Lake Khovsgol isn’t any exception. The lake is dwelling to scores of everlasting and migratory species, together with kites, white-tailed sea eagles, cinereous vultures, bar-headed geese, ruddy shelducks, terns, seagulls, red-billed choughs, nice cormorants, nuthatches, Demoiselle cranes, and lots of extra.

Catch a River Monster

The Egg River drains out the southern finish of the lake and is famed for its fish, together with grayling, lenok trout, and the legendary taimen, an enormous salmonid that’s the highest prize for many anglers coming to Mongolia. Whether or not you need to forged your spinning rod or moist a fly line, fishing the Egg is an opportunity to hook into trophy fish in pristine waters.

Hike the Khoridol Saridag

With steep slopes, deep gorges, expansive valleys, and craggy peaks reaching practically 10,000 toes in altitude, the Khoridol Saridag is a playground for mountain trekking. This vary shoots up from the western facet of the lake and gives not simply gut-punching vistas of Khovsgol, but additionally the panorama past.

Go to the Reindeer Herders

The Tsaatan (or Dukha) are a nomadic ethnic group who elevate reindeer within the mountains and valleys west of the lake. For these feeling further adventurous, it’s attainable to go to these folks of their grazing lands, nevertheless it’s an arduous multi-day journey on horseback. Fortunately, just a few teams of Tsaatan come all the way down to the lake in the summertime, the place you possibly can pose for a pic with a reindeer and buy a few of their conventional, handmade wares if that’s extra your velocity.

Sail With the Mongolian Navy

As a landlocked nation, Mongolia has no actual want for warships, however they nonetheless have a single vessel devoted to nationwide protection, and it ought to come as no shock that it patrols the nation’s largest lake. Through the summer season, the Sukhbaatar III — docked within the city of Khatgal on the lake’s southern tip — permits visitors to leap on board twice a day for cruises out to the center of the water. Right here, together with splendid views of each shores, you possibly can be taught some historic tidbits concerning the nation’s quirky one-ship navy.

Getting There

Mongolia’s capital, Ulaanbaatar, is served by worldwide flights by Chinggis Khaan Worldwide Airport (UBN). From there it’s a fast flight to Moron, the capital of the Khovsgol province, which is only a 1.5-hour drive on a sealed highway to Khatgal, a village on the southern tip of the lake. (Driving to Moron from Ulaanbaatar takes at the least one full day.) 

When you get to Khatgal, the highway accessing the western shore of the lake turns right into a rutted, pothole-ridden filth observe. (Although, a correct blacktop is within the works.)

When to Go

Mongolian winters are lengthy and harsh, so until you’re looking for out snow, ice, and bitter chilly, June, August, and September are the very best time to go to. July will be good as nicely, however the annual Naadam Pageant falls throughout that point, and the camps in Lake Khovsgol replenish with Mongolians on vacation. It’s additionally the rainiest month, so dangerous climate will be a problem.

Organizing Your Journey

Whereas it’s attainable to journey independently in Mongolia, logistics and the language barrier make it troublesome and time-consuming. Most guests as an alternative flip to established tour corporations to make preparations for them: lodging, transportation, gasoline, meals, permits, and facet journeys are normally included in a single package deal. Whereas there are a lot of to select from, Goyo Journey, Nomadic Trails, and View Mongolia are respected outfits that provide each set and customized itineraries to fulfill your wants.