Mongolia Day 10: Erkhel Lake and back to UB

​Today we said goodbye to our beautiful ger camp on Lake Khovsgal and headed back to UB. The staff all came down to wave goodbye.

We passed thru the town of Khatgul, and then stopped at a spectacular overlook of the long valley full of camps and animals.

Along the way back to the airport we took a detour around Lake Erkhel to see some of the famous Deer stones and large piles of stones which are ancient burial mounds called khirgisüürs (UNESCO World Heritage site). The ride was beautiful, if a little bumpy on the dirt roads, and we saw all five muzzles in herds around the valley (horses, cows/yaks, sheep, goats and camels).

The deer stones are carved with images of deer as well as carrier armor, belts and weapons. It is thought that the stele were erected to honor the warriors buried in the mounds. These mounds and stones can be found along the nomadic routes through Mongolia and all the way to Hungary. The site we visited had the tallest of all the deer stones, as well as one with exceptional carvings. Once we knew what to look for, we saw the burial mounds all over the valley.  These burials are mostly 3000 years old.  Little is known about the people, and these stones are found across Central Asia - but the best preserved are here.  So cool!

Along the way back to the main road, we saw some lovely birds on the lake - Whooper swans and a pied avocet  We also had a brief encounter with a race horse trainer and some of the boys in his family who were also training as jockeys.  We had heard a lot about horse racing at the Nadaam festival, so it was cool to see them training.

The horse trainer (the boys’ uncle) rode on a motorcycle to set the pace.  He also carried a horse sweat scraper, which is essential when they start training in April - the sweat will freeze, so they have to scrape it off.

Boys start riding horses at three.  The law says jockeys have to be at least 9.  These kids said they were 12, but certainly looked younger.  In any case - they were very happy, and their horses were lovely.

Then we headed to lunch and the airport.  Having spent a few days driving around in the country side, it was especially cool to see the spacing of the ger camps from the plane.

Back in UB, we took a walk in the evening and ended up having a dinner of appetizers in the 25th floor restaurant.  Another full day!