A charter flight north, a day by 4WD, a day on horseback through larch forest, and two nights as guests of a Dukha reindeer family. Then Khuvsgul, the blue pearl, from a lakeside lodge taken for your party.
The Dukha, known in Mongolia as the Tsaatan, are a few dozen families who still move through the East Taiga with their reindeer, as they have for centuries. Reaching them means a charter flight to Murun, a day by 4WD, and one to two days on horseback through larch forest and bog. We have visited the same families for years, arrive with our own horsemen and camp crew, and stay as guests, in our tents beside their urts, on their calendar and by their invitation.
Life in the camp has a rhythm that does not change for visitors: milking at dawn, the herd moving to the ridge, children riding reindeer to fetch water, a shaman ceremony when the family offers one, which is never staged and never guaranteed. Two nights is the honest minimum. We usually stay three.
Then the lake. Khuvsgul holds two percent of the world's fresh water and is ringed by mountains that keep the road small. A private boat, a lodge on the shore taken exclusively for your party, and the long light of a northern summer evening close the journey.
A starting point. Every day is rebuilt around your party, your pace and the season you travel in.
Day 1: Ulaanbaatar
Arrive, a city afternoon, dinner briefing with your guide.
Day 2: Fly north
Charter to Murun, then by Land Cruiser to the edge of the taiga. Night with a herder family at the trailhead.
Day 3: Into the taiga
On horseback through larch forest with our horsemen and pack string, six hours, to the Dukha summer camp.
Days 4 and 5: With the reindeer
The herd, the family, the forest. Milking, moving, riding a reindeer if you are light enough. Stories by the fire.
Day 6: Out to the lake
Ride back, drive to Khuvsgul, and settle into the lodge on the shore.
Days 7 and 8: Khuvsgul
A private boat to the eastern shore, a walk to a hilltop ovoo, a swim if you are brave, horses along the beach. Evenings at the lodge.
Day 9: Home
Fly back to Ulaanbaatar for a last dinner.
