Orkhon Valley
Mongolia, June – July 2019

Day 8 – 28 Jun: Ongiin Khiid – Orkhon Valley
Today’s journey saw the most dramatic changes in scenery, as we left the extensive dry steppe of central Mongolia, crossing a fog-covered mountain range and then descending into the year-round green Orkhon Valley, which is like a green oasis in the middle of central Mongolia. The change in scenery came with a change in climate as well, with the valley regularly covered by a blanket of fog and clouds, often accompanied by rain showers. The valleys are ideal feeding grounds for goat, horse and yak and is therefore home to quite a few people.
We made our way to a very friendly family, living right in the middle of the valley, and were warmly welcomed in their awesome ger. They first served us the traditional warm tea with milk with some local snacks, but we then also had to try the traditional fermented horse milk, airag, a favourite drink amongst Mongolian men.

After dinner I went for a walk to explore the surrounding hills, lit by the slowly setting sun. Orkhon Valley is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the hills are still covered in beautiful original pine forest. Mongolian law forbids the cutting of trees in the entire country and although it was clear that here and there trees are still selectively logged, it’s only for local use and on a fairly small scale.
