Travel in Mongolia: Conquer Mount Altay with Fun Challenges

Mongolia is famous for its green grasslands and mountains. Let’s come to Altai Mountain and experience a different summer.

Coming out of the hut, you are awakened by the smell of grass. It's like you're walking in an endless garden. That is the Chigeti Valley, a peaceful tourist resort in the Altay Mountains, Mongolia. Discover the Altay Mountains in Mongolia

When traveling to Mongolia, you must experience the rain on the grassland. You can see the rain like a curtain from a distance, it pulls up and covers you completely with a loud sound. By the next morning, the dark clouds had been penetrated by light beams, and the entire grassland was full of vitality. In the distance, at the valley floor, smoke billows from the ger chimneys and about two shepherds start their day along a nearby spring. In Mongolia, real life based on nature is different from the framed lifestyle of high-rise buildings. You will see that human beings are so insignificant in front of heaven and earth, like a sheep wandering in the grass, or an eagle spreading its wings in the sky.

Chigeti Valley is located in the Altay Mountains, in western Mongolia. This is considered a remote area and is rarely known to tourists. The lives of the people here are as peaceful as the scenery. Are you looking for a real place to relax? Don’t want to be surrounded by all kinds of boring entertainment activities? It doesn’t get any better than the Altay Mountains.

Before heading to western Mongolia, you can stay in Ulaanbaatar, the country's capital. This is also considered an interesting stop. Few people know that in the center of the street there are traditional yurts with smoke rising from their folds. City dwellers still use coal rather than gas stoves, and the economy here relies largely on copper mining. Some famous tourists also recommend visiting the Altai Mountains near the Chinese border. But it has to go further, but hopefully. The area's residents are mainly Kazakhs who herded nomadic cattle through the Altay Mountains in the 19th century.

Tourists in Mongolia don’t pay much attention to landmarks because it’s a great place to get lost in the steppes. The vast spaces of this place are a huge benefit for young people who want to pave the way for exploring nature. You'll take a small plane to the area, then drive four hours through vast grasslands, with the hidden Altay Mountains in the distance.

The first stop on the journey is Dren, a small outpost in the vast plains. It's a town with bright, blue, pink and green roofs. The neighborhood also includes two shops, the same famous restaurant, both serving mutton dumplings. Over the next few days, you and the entire group will leave early after breakfast to roost in vast valleys that are easy to visit if traveling from Derne, rarely with a clear plan or clear destination.

The most interesting destination must be the Chigeti National Park, which has a network of water flows from the Altay Mountains. When arriving, the children act as snitches and run to the camp to inform their parents. The tour guide took care of communication and everything seemed to go smoothly. After a few handshakes, you will be invited to the main camp of Kazakhs, nomads. Colorful tapestries hung on the walls, and amulets made of eagle feathers hung from the ceiling. The women gathered on the floor and dried sweets and a kind of fermented bean curd in the sun. As many as three or four generations gather together to drink buttermilk tea.

If you think that nomads must live a miserable life, you are wrong. Technology has helped improve most of our lives. Most campsites have solar cells, enough to provide light bulbs at night. Camels are now only raised for their wool, but most transport has trucks. However, the nomads still preserve and protect nature, leaving no vehicles to be destroyed. Despite the wind and rain, this green grassland still retains its subtleties. While walking around the camp and watching the cars leave, there is of course a feeling of abandonment and a sudden feeling of helplessness in the hearts of visitors who come here.

In summer, the landscape here is painted with more colors. The pastures were greener, the skylights seemed taller, and the streams flowed slowly. You can also hike to Altai Mountain. On the way you will find nomads cutting grass for winter storage. You can also visit the national park office, where enthusiastic rangers will show you footage of wolves and snow leopards deep in the mountains.

The forest also has completely enclosed life. They provide food for the species and species that take care of the plants. Nomads regard the forest as a sacred place, and every time you step into the forest, you seem to be entering a place of limited mysticism. Birds fly overhead as industrious guards, recommended to those who wish to set foot in this sacred place.

Some birds of prey are cared for by people. Birds are tame from an early age and carry small chains to easily find their way back to their owners. In Mongolia, the number of domesticated birds is increasing, partly because of life and partly because they attract tourists. Last October, 1,000 tourists attended the Golden Eagle Festival in Bayan-Urki.

Summer is the busiest time in this land. From kids to adults, everyone is busy. Because when winter comes, all work stops and people have to stay at home for several months. The grasslands will be covered with snow and all the rivers will be frozen. The children here are still very playful, and they still want to live on the beautiful grasslands like their ancestors.