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Asia East Asia Mongolia

Lake Khuvsgul

Stories and Photos from my travel to the largest fresh water lake in Mongolia by volume.

Destination 》Asia 》East Asia 》Mongolia 》Lake Khuvsgul

Year Visited: 2019 – July

I visited Lake Khuvsgul during my two weeks backpacking trip across Mongolia. After experiencing a Nomad life in the Mini Gobi desert, we came to UlaanBaatar and caught a bus for Lake Khuvsgul, which is around 800 km away. It took us 18+ hours (including breaks) in an overnight public bus from UlaanBaatar to Murun ( Mörön), from Murun we took a shared taxi to Khatgal, a town at the southern end of the lake Khuvsgul.

Lake Khuvsgul (Khövsgöl) is the largest fresh water lake in Mongolia by volume and second largest by area. Lake Khuvsgul is located in the northwest of Mongolia near the Russian border. In 1992, this stunning landscape was set aside as Lake Khuvsgul National Park.

The town of Khatgal is a good place to make your base. The surrounding countryside is a joy for the explorer with spectacular beauty of the lake, and alpine mountains.

While hiking the surrounding mountains, you may meet the Tsataan people, a community of reindeer herders. The Tsataan prefer to live in deer-hide tepees rather than ger tents. Their totemic ‘deerstones’, carved with the deer that are said to guide the dead into the underworld, dot the Khuvsgul landscape

Photos below are from the town of Khatgal and the Lake Khuvsgul National Park.

Lake Khuvsgul, A mile high lake near Russian border; it is 136 kilometres (85 miles) long and 262 metres (860 feet) deep.
At the Lake Khuvsgul.
A picturesque village of Khatgal; you will find many horses and yaks roaming around the town.
A Yak roaming the picturesque village of Khatgal.
A Yak roaming the picturesque village of Khatgal.
Yaks roaming the picturesque village of Khatgal.
Wild horses roaming the picturesque village of Khatgal.
Little kid got stuck in middle of the zip-line.. he is not heavy enough to make all the way across
These Cute Mongolia twins were climbing the hill with us.
A cold and rainy day for hiking but the view is breathtaking.
More yaks
Tsataan people, a community of reindeer herders, prefer to live in deer-hide tepees rather than ger tents.
My friend saw reindeer for the first time.
Our Ger-Stay in Khatgal, was lively place, met many travelers and locals here. Kids playing outside my Ger
A Mongolian princess playing outside my Ger.
A Mongolian Vodka to keep us warm. Weather in Lake Khuvsgul area is much colder compared to rest of the places we been in Mongolia. The village of Khatgal has few super-markets, where you can buy some food, snacks and drinks.
driving back to UlaanBaatar, a 17 hours bus ride out of which more than 8 hours on this dirt road 
Our bus broke-down at 3 am in the morning
Once we were out of the dirt road, all bus drivers stopped the bus and cleaned air filters before they continued.

The Lake Khuvsgul National Park was the last stop in our two weeks Mongolia backpacking trip. After arriving in Ulaanbaatar by 17+ hours overland trip, we relaxed in the big city for couple of days before I took a direct flight to Nur-Sultan (Astana), Kazakhstan, to continue my journey in the Central Asia.

Window on The World's avatar

By Window on The World

In May 2017, 23 days before I was going to complete 50 years, grabbed an opportunity and took an early retirement.. Picked up a backpack and traveling ever since.. Love to travel around the world, experience different culture, local cuisine & drinks .. and take pictures.. so far been to 108 countries and still counting...

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