Lyn's tours push the boundaries of your everyday, and lead you on a personal adventure.

Trek Talk August 2017

After finally recovering from only 3 hours sleep and a shocking flight with Qantas to Beijing via Shanghai to our final destination of Ulaanbaatar, we managed to enjoy our first time visit to Mongolia. For as long as I can remember I have always wanted to visit the country where Genghis Khan cut a ruthless path through Asia and Europe which although left untold millions dead, he also modernized Mongolian culture, embraced religious freedom and helped open contact between East and West. From an early age, Genghis was forced to contend with the brutality of life on the Mongolian Steppe. Rival Tatars poisoned his father when he was only nine, and his own tribe later expelled his family and left his mother to raise her seven children alone. Genghis grew up hunting and foraging to survive, and as an adolescent he may have even murdered his own half-brother in a dispute over food. During his teenage years, rival clans abducted both he and his young wife, and Genghis spent time as a slave before making a daring escape. Despite all these hardships, by his early 20s he had established himself as a formidable warrior and leader. After amassing an army of supporters, he began forging alliances with the heads of important tribes. By 1206, he had successfully consolidated the steppe confederations under his banner and began to turn his attention to outside conquest.

The country not only has an incredible history, but it is also a very diverse country boarding Russia to the north and China to the south. Travelling in Mongolia is not for the fainthearted as you need to traverse the county by plane, and once there by long drives on rough roads to arrive at your destination, I guess in one way similar to parts of Australia. The people live in a harsh environment -40 during the winter and up to +40 in summer. As you look down on the capital of Ulaanbaatar from the hills, you will see a central hotchpotch of new skyscrapers and crumbling Soviet tower blocks surrounded by an unplanned periphery of white yurts, or, as they are known in Mongolia, gers.

These are the homes of around 600,000 former herders who have migrated to the Mongolian capital in the past three decades. The scale of the migration is extraordinary: around 20% of the country’s population of 3 million people have moved to Ulaanbaatar, doubling the city’s population and significantly increasing its physical footprint. There are 153 million head of livestock in Mongolia and 3 million people, so of course meat is an important food source it may be camel, beef, lamb, horse or yak. We were also very impressed with the selection of vegetables, salads and fruit available at all meals and of course vodka is the drink of the day.

I feel that the fascination for most tourists in visiting Mongolia is staying in a GER
The correct name for the Mongolian nomadic dwelling is called a “ger.”It is well suited to the country’s extreme climate and nomadic way of life. Its wooden frame, covered by wool felt, can easily be collapsed, transported to another location and put up again, fully preserving its original shape.

During the Mongol Empire, Mongolians sometimes built their ger on carts to move their flocks of sheep easily. The French Monk, William Rubruquis, who visited Mongolia in the 13th century, witnessed the distance between the wheels of such a platform to be 20 feet (6.5m), and the ger protruded at least 5 feet over each wheel. The cart’s platform that held the ger was drawn by 22 oxen. Gers of that size were made specifically for nobility. However, they fell out of use as the carts were clumsy, and the gers could not be hauled over long distances as there was the danger of getting stuck in the mud or tipping over. During certain war campaigns, the noblemen preferred to use big tents of bright and durable cloth.

The modern shape of the Mongolian ger has evolved over time. The Mongolian ger is one of the tremendous achievements of construction designs and architecture in terms of its form, structure, durability, lightness and low price. The ger is stable against strong winds, and the air inside the geris well ventilated. It is warm to stay in the ger during wintertime, yet it is cool in the summer. During our visit in the Gobi Desert we came across a family of Nomad herders erecting their Ger for the night, so we all pitched in and helped, it only took us 30 minutes to erect, and the dwelling was completed.

Our visit was completed with a visit to the many interesting Museums in Ulaanbaatar. Mongolian plateau and its harsh conditions produce millions of cashmere goats that protect themselves from the bitterness of the cold by growing shaggy fleece as a soft protective coat. This extra fine down, under the hair, is skilfully and carefully combed out each spring by nomadic herders with generations of expertise. Strict artisanship ensures that the cashmere’s highly valued qualities are fully realised in high fashion garments of superior touch and feel. Our trip was all inclusive, so what better way to spend our last Tughrik than to purchase some beautiful Cashmere products for family and friends.

Join us on a visit to Mongolia, we organize group or private tours from April to November.

Mongolia tours

Mongolia video here

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10% discount for bookings confirmed by the 31st August.

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Plus an optional 12 day Patagonia Extension

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with optional Morocco Extension

Departure: 29 October 2018 10 days AUS $3350 per person twin share

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Camino de Santiago

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