No generic templates or copy and paste here. Here's an insight into how I put the individual elements of an EL trip together. Starting with our May 14th Spring Journey.
What are you up to in May?
I was sitting with a mug of tea (tea fuels most of what I do), and put into Google where to visit in May. Ideas from across the web include visiting the Caribbean - especially the Bahamas, exploring Crete without the crowds, tackling a trek in Nepal and Marrakech in Morocco.
Asia does get a mention - namely Japan (experiences warm pleasant weather in May) and China (depending on the area that you are considering for a visit).
No-where did I see Mongolia listed.
But, if you search through the web you will notice that more and more tour companies (local and international) have started to offer trips in May in Mongolia.
Why? Why would you even consider Mongolia in May?
Having looked through the trips on offer, I would make a guess that it all comes down to profit for a majority of my competitors. Most of the available trips look like they have used generic templates. However, I have always done things differently.
Here are some of the individual elements behind the inspiration for my small group Spring Journey tour (May 14th!) and why I have included them.
Ulaanbaatar
We start with a free (informal and relaxed) walking tour of Mongolia's capital city. Why? Ulaanbaatar is home to 45% of Mongolia's population and you have to experience it to get a full overview to life in modern 21st Century Mongolia.
The ger districts form part of the urban landscape of Ulaanbaatar - informal settlements that have grown on the edge of the city. The ger districts are not slums. Yes, life for some here is hard but for many citizens the ger remains central to their identity and they have chosen to live in the ger districts and are proud to do so.
Our Ger Area tour is arranged through the Ger Area Mapping Centre - an NGO which conducts research in the ger areas of Ulaanbaatar with the objective of compiling better data so that projects to improve the ger area communities are more effective.
Come for the day and learn not only about the challenges but experience every day life and meet local Mongolians who are making a positive impact in their local ger communities.
Gorkhi-Terelj National Park
This is Naraa. He is a herder who migrates twice a year. By May, he (together with his family - his wife Buje and children Tsindee and Bayasa) will have moved to their summer camp next to the Terelj River. They will have moved away from their winter camp in the lee of the mountains because as the winter snow has melted, so they need another water source.
The family operate a small tourism business - hosting international guests. They are herders but the supplementary income they gain from hosting visitors helps to pay for their children’s education and also allows them to remain as herders.
Staying with Naraa and Bujee not only means you help to support their way of life. It also means you get to explore the more hidden side to Gorkhi-Terelj - away from the main sites and tourism development.
Gobi Oasis Tree Planting Project
Gobi Oasis Gobi Oasis is a small, family run, non-profit conservation project that has been operating since 1975 in Mandalgobi, Dundgobi Province. Their main conservation work is the planting of seedlings and nurturing them into trees.
Mongolia only experiences, on average, 90-120 frost free days a year. By May, land and greenhouses are being prepared by those that plant crops. The same applies to Gobi Oasis where they will be preparing the land for the planting of the seedlings.
It's a harsh environment but with constant care in their early development, many of the young trees will have become established. They help to bind the loose soil and thus are effective against erosion, help reduce wind, dust and desertification, attract rainfall and help build suitable conditions for biodiversity - all very important in the (increasingly) desert environment of Mandalgobi.
Tsagaan Suvraga
Why do we include Tsagaan Suvraga? For all that is represented in the image above. And...
The Gobi is a harsh environment and herders here live a more unsettled way of life. During your time at Tsagaan Suvraga, you will stay at ger accommodation offered by Zorigoo and Deegii - camel herders who have lived in the region all their life. Due to the limited water sources and challenging climate resulting in little pasture for their livestock. Zorigoo is frequently absent as he has taken his main camel herd further away in search of pasture. Often, only Deegii remains at the ger looking after the livestock that have to be milked. Sometimes one of her three daughters will be with her.
Domestic bactrian camels are well adapted to life in the harsh Gobi Desert and are a valuable, desert livestock species. They are bred as multipurpose animals - for transportation, for meat, for their milk and for their wool. In May, Deegii will be shearing the camel wool - although ideally all the females should have given birth so that calving does not coincide
with shearing time.
It is a hard way of life and, as with other rural families, they offer these extra gers as a way of supplementing their income.
Saikhan Yak Festival
Yaks. In the Gobi Desert? Yes. Specifically in the Gobi Gurvan Saikhan National Park where there are permanent water sources, a higher elevation and shelter.
The Saikhan Yak Festival takes place in May. Yes, yak herders are in the minority in the Gobi. However, due to the altitude and terrain of the Gobi Gurvan Saikhan National Park there is a community of yak herders. The Saikhan Yak Festival is a yearly event organised by the Governing Administration of Omnogobi Aimag and held in the magnificent mountain landscapes of Yolyn Am - Vulture’s Gorge or Mouth. It is held to promote the breeding of yaks and the traditional Gobi way of life. It's a celebration of the way of life in the Gobi and a chance for the local herders to come together as a community at what can be quite an isolating time of year (late winter / early spring).
Orkhon River Valley
The Orkhon River Valley is one of Mongolia's UNESCO World Heritage Sites. It encompasses an extensive area of pastureland on both banks of the Orkhon River and includes numerous archaeological remains dating back to the 6th century. The site also includes Kharkhorin - the 13th- and 14th-century capital of the Mongol Empire.
The region was designated a WHS for numerousn reasons - one is that it is considered the cradle of Mongolian civilisation. Another is for its links to the historical and counting modern-day development of the nomadic culture in Mongolia.
As part of your Orkhon River Valley experience, you spend time with Tumee and Jargaa - herders that make their home in the river valley. By May, they have started to milk their goats and sheep. It will depedn on the climate in late April as to whether they have moved already to their more open summer camp. But, regardless of their location, they will already be looking for fresh pasture for their livestock.
Experiencing their way of life is a great way to take in the historical, cultural and natural perspective of this beautiful area. A horse trek would also be an option.
Auspicious Days
As a herder in Mongolia, you live your life through the lunar calendar - all your activities are typically conducted on 'auspicious' days. In the Mongolian lunar calendar, there are favorable and unfavorable days according to the combination of elements: earth, air, fire and water. These combinations impact on the effectiveness of one’s activities as well as one’s health. Herders look at the lunar calendar to look for a suitable (positive and auspicious) day on which to move their herds, put up their ger, to comb the cashmere or to castrate their male animals.
I went through the Mongolian Lunar Calendar for May to see when the auspicious days were. There's a total of nine within our Spring Journey tour dates.
If any of the above has inspired you to travel with us then please get in touch.
The Gobi Desert and central Khangai Mountains form the main backdrop to our Spring Journey as you travel and meet and stay with local rural Mongolian families. You’ll get to experience the traditional way of life but at the same time gain an overview as what it means to be Mongolian in 21st Century Mongolia.
