TRIP IN THE MONGOLIAN STEPPES

Gun Galuut Nature Reserve

I think the real Mongolia is far away from the capital Ulaan Baatar.
Walking for about 3 hours along the dirt roads that pass, without signs, among the green and uninhabited hills, you come to the Guun Galuut nature reserve.

The landscape in the middle of the hills is incredible: the river crosses the green steppe and two beautiful buildings are surrounded by about twenty ger.
In practice it could be considered a Mongolian-style hotel, with breakfast at 8am, lunch at 1pm and dinner at 7pm

The curiosity is great when I open the colorful door of my ger.
The internal “walls” are white as the outside, circular base about half a meter high and 7 meters in diameter, from which the close-up wooden slats start up to the circular top, half closed with a plastic sheet, from which the chimney of the small wood-burning fireplace in the center.
The beds are on the left and on the right, while on the opposite side from the door there is a cabinet with 2 candles, because there isn’t electricity inside.
No bathroom inside but only in the structures.

The night passes in the pleasant warmth into my ger.

After the show given by the moon and the starry sky at night, I decide to get up at 5.30 am to see the sunrise.
The sun peeks out from behind the hills when the moon is still high in the sky, illuminating the river and slowly the whole valley.

I go back to bed at around 7, before breakfast of coffee and puff pastry.
After the usual light lunch, I accept the reception proposal and drive along the dirt paths of the area to the river.
Un piccolo dinghy boat and 2 oars will keep me company for almost 10 kilometers, in a hard ascent because low and without current water.
But paddling between herds, spectacular landscapes and swim in the river makes everything pleasant and fascinating.

Come back in the reserve, I enjoy the absolute peace of that place, with the background of the locusts, before making my first pass on a well-trained Mongolian horse.

The days pass in total tranquility, possibly interrupted by the activities that can be done in the area.

It is difficult to describe the sensation of seeing the green steppe, the mountains on the horizon, blue sky, no noise and perhaps a ger in all that territory.

This is Mongolia, the land of Gengis Khan.