Mongolia’s Untamed Winter

Mongolia is a landlocked country renowned for its vast, rugged expanses and rich nomadic culture. My group and I experienced these remarkable qualities in abundance!

We arrived in the city of Ulaanbaatar late in the afternoon, just a day after an unusual cold snap that plunged the temperature to -26°C. So we were quite happy to find a much milder -5°C when we got there! We did a little shopping at the local market then settled into our cosy three bedroom apartment for a good night’s sleep. The next day, we set out on foot with our cameras to explore and photograph the city’s backstreets, carefully navigating the snow-covered roads fresh from an overnight blanket.

The timing was perfect; it was the first day of Mongolia’s Lunar New Year. ‘Tsagaan Sar’ is a public holiday and is celebrated for 3 consecutive days. All of the people were out and about, visiting their families wearing traditional finery and exchanging gifts. This provided a wonderful visual and cultural welcome for us. In the evening, we were guests at a beautiful celebration dinner with my friend and guide Ulzi’s family. We enjoyed traditional food and indulged in decadent goodies - well, maybe that was just me!

Throughout our tour, we had the privilege of visiting families in their homes, where we ate and drank traditional food and drinks while also learning their customs. One such custom is the Mongolian greeting upon meeting; people extend their arms and use their hands to grasp elbows when greeting family, friends and guests. Importantly, the oldest person's forearms should always be on top. As the younger person, you will hold your arms under theirs. This is especially important when greeting older people. When meeting younger people, a simple hello and handshake is fine. Another Lunar New Year custom is to give money when visiting, not too much and not too little. This is a way to wish the recipient good fortune and prosperity in the coming year. The note/s should be new and fresh. We saw women selling crisp notes in the street to people in passing cars; the sellers make around 10% on each sale.

Leaving the city behind we travelled north on a section of the Trans-Mongolian railway by overnight train which was an interesting and fun experience in itself. Our sleeper cabins had space for stowing luggage and our camera bags under the beds. On arrival at our destination we transferred into Land Rovers and continued north seeing and stopping for amazing scenes and landscapes.

We photographed horses by a frozen lake, a huge - pushy goat herd crossing the road, and a 450-strong migrating yak procession in the foothills of the mountains, complete with a horseback herder - and that was just the animals!

We took a wild off-road 4WD drive to the home of one of our driver’s nomadic family for a beautiful New Year lunch complete with all the accoutrements, not to mention some tasty blueberry infused vodka!

It was a heart-warming and special visit. The afternoon was capped off with me taking the wheel on our return back to the highway, thanks to my driver, Moogie, for trusting me, it was a blast! Special mention must go to all of our drivers, who were not only expert at driving but also always very helpful and accommodating.

We arrived at Mongolia’s northernmost region, near the Russian border, at the beautiful frozen Lake Khövsgöl. In winter, this lake becomes a playground for locals and tourists alike. At first, walking on the frozen lake felt quite scary but seeing vehicle tyre tracks reassured me - and I loved it! The crunch of crampons on ice, the serenity, and the intricate patterns and textures were incredibly wonderful.

Equally impressive were the ice sculptures on a different part of the frozen lake. Local visitors got creative joyriding and towing their kids on car tyre mats, spinning and skidding their cars, while others enjoyed a simple horse-drawn sled or pony ride.

The Jargant River, known as the 'Unfrozen River’, was by far the coldest destination we visited at -26°C! This mystical river remains unfrozen even at -50°C. The frosted coniferous trees and bushes surrounding the river, along with the steam rising from it, create a magical and photogenic scene. Despite the biting cold, this was one of my favourite locations. We spent as much time as we could bear, walking and photographing along the river in the early morning while the trees were still covered with white frost, which melts away as the sun rises. My fully charged iPhone wasn't a fan of the cold and abruptly shut down after a while. Thankfully, it revived after warming in the car - as did I!

We saw large herds of horses everywhere we went, with the majority roaming freely under the management of the herd's stallion much of the time. There are more horses in Mongolia than humans, and they survive in both extreme heat and cold. However, most horses don't live long lives. They’re bred as livestock, and on our first day at the local market we noticed horse meat products on the shelves.

Along the way we visited a family who breed mostly white horses for the ethnic group Darkhad, who have a preference for white horses. Other Mongolians prefer coloured horses and avoid the white ones. We photographed the herd running home and afterward the owner spent some time trying to lasso one of the horses, which he finally managed to do!

We continued into the mountains to spend the night with a nomadic reindeer herding family. These herders, known as the Tsaatan, live in the remote and rugged Taiga of northern Mongolia. They follow large reindeer herds, which were too far up the mountain for us to reach this time. However, we did get to meet some of the herd which they brought down for us and I thought they were quite impressive. We slept in a traditional ger, and it was so cosy that we somehow slept in - probably thanks to the lovely man who came in every two hours to add another log to our oven fire! So very snug.

The village offered us a glimpse into the traditional lifestyles of the people who live there and we thoroughly enjoyed photographing the wilderness around us.

This was an altogether enchanting and fascinating photo and cultural tour. We saw and did way too much to cover here, suffice to say, we experienced and photographed beautiful scenes, landscapes, animals, people, culture, and tradition against the stunning backdrop of remote Mongolia.

Our tour was capped off with a fascinating visit to the 19th Ulaanbaatar Golden Eagle Festival - wow! And lastly, we enjoyed meeting up with the General Secretary and members of the United Association of Mongolian Photographers. Thank you for your friendship and kind hospitality!

Thank you so much to my wonderful friend Ulzi, for his expert guidance, planning and attention to detail, he made this experience truly unforgettable and I’m excited to do this all again soon!