We're off to our 2-day horseback trip to see a Tsaatan and his reindeer herd near Jankhai. The weather was perfect - sunny, warm and no winds - for a great day of riding. Our guide kept us pretty much along the lake shoreline, between tourist ger campsites and the road...not really spectacular but we still had wonderful views of the lake.
After a scenic lunch by the lake, we continued further north to meet up with a Tsaatan family. The family had come down from the Darkhad Depression area to display their reindeer for tourists. Who knew there are reindeer in Mongolia...I thought reindeer only live in Scandinavia region (and the North Pole). Sadly the lake shore is not a natural feeding ground for reindeer, lichen plants do not grow at the lake elevation. Tsaatan people who bring their reindeer down to the lake are called "Bizness Tsaatan" since they are more interested in cash (hence the name) than the well-being of their reindeer herd. In fact, this area was one big tourist market full of antler carvings, jewelery, and other touristy trinkets.
Tsaatan (literally 'Reindeer People') live near the Khovsgol Nuur area where their existence is based around their reindeer herds - which provide milk, skins for clothes, antlers for carving and medicine, transport, and sometimes meat. The Tsaatan are part of the Tuvan ethnic group and there are about 300 Tsaatan in total throughout northern Mongolian taiga region. Like their Mongol cousins, they are very nomadic, looking for special types of lichen and grass eaten by the endangered reindeer (there are only about 700 in total). The Tsaatan do not use gers, but prefer tepees (orts), which are very similar to Native American tepees. They are also strong practitioners of shamanism - it's hard not to see the similarities between the Tsaatan and the Native Americans.
We moved a little further up from the Tsaatan camp and found a nice spot at the edge of the forest...the best part was an old campfire area left from previous campers. Finally, we got a chance to make a campfire and have dinner by the fire! Wahoo!!
Location:Khovsgol Nuur, Mongolia
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