No Salty Dip for Me!

We didn't make it to Turgen Uul (3965m) since it takes a day or two to get to the mountain and then another few days to hike up to the mountain. We decided to skip the mountain and just make a brief photo stop of Turgen Uul's peak along the way to Uvs Nuur.




Today's drive was through the Uvs aimag, ironically Uvs means 'grass' but the landscape is predominantly high desert. There's not much around here except for Mongolia's largest lake, Uvs Nuur. I really felt like I was in middle of nowhere today.

After a lunch stop at Ulaangom, we made our way to Uvs Nuur for a dip in the salty lake. Uvs Nuur is a gigantic inland sea in the middle of nowhere. The lake's surface area is 3423 sq km, but only an average of 12m deep. The lake is also five times saltier than the ocean, thus devoid of edible fish. I decided to skip the swim but go for a short jog along the shore...no salty dip for me!

Along the way, we stopped at an ovoo for a break and see Turgen Uul's peak. These stone cairns are placed on mountain passes to honor the sky gods and to bring luck. Predating both Buddhism and shamanism, the ritual of circling around an ovoo three times (clock-wise) pays gratitude to the spirits and ancestors protecting the surrounding land.






After a long afternoon/evening drive, we decided to overnight in tents since the family we stopped at didn't have enough room for us in their ger. Thankfully, the weather cooperated and stayed relatively warm during the night. Just before bed, we were treated to some amazing natural 'fireworks' - beautiful lightening strikes some distance away from our camp.
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Location:Uvs Nuur, Mongolia