Ride and Raft Khovsgol - Multisport Adventure
Description
Welcome to what will be "the big one", our single longest and most ambitious adventure for 2021. Khovsgol is a province we know very well as riders. Katy and Shatra recce'd several hundred kilometres and sourced many hundreds of horses and herders there for the Mongol Derby in 2015 and 2016. We have great friends and herding families in the area and superb horsepower. We have recce'd a 200kms ride which combines beauty, variety, remoteness, flexibility and fun: it will stretch the horses and show you why they are the best in the world, and open your eyes to this alpine and dramatic land.
Katy has also rafted this stretch of the Delger Moron twice with Gregg Mikolasek, our partner for the on-water section. Our rafting team has hosted clients on this stretch several times and has the most superb team in place to run the logistics on and off the water.
The camp on the shores of Lake Khovsgol will provide you comfort and luxury at the end of a tough season in Mongolia.
So, while we have never run this trip before as a sequence, we have road tested every ingredient and can only express our excitement at the prospect of stringing together such a journey, harnessing such a team.
THE TOUR IN BRIEF - TRIP SUMMARY AND OBJECTIVES
This trip provides a loading dose of Mongolia's spectacular countryside, but also it's culture of hospitality and horsemanship. While the rafting section boasts near total seclusion, whilst we ride, we will ride in the company of great friends who herd and raise their families in the beautiful region Khovsgol. north western Mongolia, and who will provide our horses for the trip. Here we have a true chance to learn about their way of life and culture, and to form fast and firm friendships over the love and admiration of a fine horse. We will have fine horses saddled for you. In addition on the shores of Lake Khovsgol we will encounter the strong shamanistic culture of these northern tribes and have the rare chance to meet some of the best last remaining reindeer herding families who gaze their herds close to the lake during the summer months.
On the river, you will be in the expert company and care of Gregg and his brilliant team, and Gregg and Katy have a decade of experience working together on some truly challenging adventures. Nearly kissing the Russian border, this is an area of Mongolia where few have travelled. Dragonflies lounge insolently on the end of our paddles as the water drips off them like crystals. It's hard to believe this much natural beauty can be real.
Riding and paddling days will both be relatively long - this is a trip for healthy and adventurious souls, and on the river in particular, once we have left the bank and started to paddle, the only way is forwards! But, throughout the adventure, we eat like kings and camp in genuine comfort. Body, mind and soul are all nourished richly throughout, and we balance plenty of rest and food with the strenuous sections.
YOUR ADVENTURE SUMMARY
We fly up to Khovsgol, and meet the horses just a couple of hours after landing. Over the following six days we'll ride some 200kms together. We have a quite brilliant crew together looking after you on this trip, with Chimedee our manager keeping count of the kilometres, and Abe our incredible cook taking care of the calories. We'll have full vehicle support throughout the ride, meaning that you can travel light and know that great food and drink will meet you at regular intervals, and you can bring all you need in our vehicles to keep you comfortable overnight. You get to withness a Morindoo miracle.
Day 8 sees us ride and raft on the same day, bringing the horses right to the confluence of the Delger and Beltsin rivers, where we will meet Gregg our rafting guide and his team. From here our horse trekking team will withdraw and herd the horses gently home again for a well-earned rest. We spend the first half day on the water learning the ropes and having some fun upsteam of our camp, and prepping our equiment for our morning departure. From here we enjoy three full days and nights together on the Delger Moron and its fertile and beautiful banks. There is absolutely world class fishing to be had on this stretch of river, meaning that the only other humans we could encounter are likely to be sports fishermen. We can arrange fishing licenses for people interested in some sport of their own.
After the exertions of rafting the river, taking in two sets of class three rapids on the way, you'll be ready for some rest, and we will deliver you to one of the finest resorts in the whole country, the beautiful eco-lodge Nature's Door. Right on the shore of Lake Khovsgol, the Blue Pearl of Mongolia and perhaps its finest tourist attraction, this is sacred place to relax. The water is pure enough to drink and clear enough to see down some 40 metres. Diving, fishing, boating or simply admiring are all on the table here. In addition many of the Tsaatan, the reindeer herding tribe of Khovsgol, come to the lake In July and August for several festivals and cultural occasions. We know a couple of these families and can arrange for you to meet them should you wish to learn about this extraordinary, timeless and precious way of life.
We will fly back to UB from Moron, keeping the whole trip sandwitched between three weekends, not that you'll have much sense of time after two glorious weeks in the wilds of Khovsgol, but we will indeed get you back to the city for your flights home on Sunday 8th!
We'll collect you and deliver you to the Holiday Inn. Twin rooms unless specified. If you are in before noon we'll offer you a city tour in the afternoon. In the evening we'll enjoy a traditional concert, and a group dinner at our favorite local restaurant.
It's usually a morning flight to Moron, around 2 hours, and we'll meet the horses and our herders shortly after lunch all being well, on the shores of pretty Erkhel Lake. Around a 30kms ride to our first night under the stars.
Day 3,4,5,6,7 - July 28,29,30,31, August 1st:Five glorious days and nights riding deep into the northwest, land of the reindeer herders, some of the most quality horses in all of Mongolia, and some of the most spectacular, rugged and remote terrain to test them across. We'll cover around 40kms each day, with our wonderful rolling support team keeping the hot food and the hospitality available at regular intervals, and camp in spectacular seclusion and Morindoo luxury each evening.
Day 8 - August 2nd - From saddle to paddle:We will ride through the gorgeous mountain soum of Bayanzurkh, and collect border and river permits for your sojourn just a few kilometres from the Russian border. Our final hour or so under saddle will bring us right to the bank of the Delger river where we will rendezvous with Gregg and his brilliant team. After a princely lunch together we'll say farewell to the horses and wranglers and the Morindoo team supporting them. In the afternoon Gregg will take us through the finer points of prepping and packing your raft, and we'll paddle together upstream for a couple of hours orientation, and sunset at the spectacular Bojloo Rock. We'll paddle back to base camp for dinner.
Three sensational days on the water. The pace varies from paddling energetically through rapids and across streams and currents, to bobbing insolently downstream admiring the spectacular scenery and embarrassment of natural beauty that is surrounding you. We have picked this stretch of river because it presents a gently escalating level of challenge day by day, and a small number of vehicle access points to allow our fantastic support crews to reach us with the kitchen and camp in the evenings. We will pack a pared down kitchen and all of our camp kit for August 4th where our expected camp spot is so remote as to be inaccessible except by river. Truly, this is a stretch of wilderness that just a handful of humans can claim to have seen. We'll strip and dry our rafts on the evening of August 5th and celebrate a safe and succesful passage of the river.
This morning we decamp for the last time and get back in the vehicles. It's a 3 hour drive to Khatgal, the small city at the very southern tip of mighty Lake Khovsgol. We'll drop in for an unexpectedly excellent cappucicino at our favourite local haunt, where you might even get a whisper of WiFi if you need it, before making the final hour's drive up the hill to our destination for the evening; Nature's door camp, right on the lapping shores of the lake. Nature's door is one of the beautiful ger camps, run to outstanding standards of sustainability and hospitality.
A full day off to enjoy Nature's Door and the glory of Lake Khovsgol. This lake has some of the purest water in the world, and nearly 2% of the world's fresh water. It's an ecological marvel, and the most beautiful, peaceful place to sit, relax and contemplate. If you are feeling energetic it's an incredible dive location or we can arrange fishing, hiking (more!!) riding or a boat trip out to a beautiful island, teeming with rare bird life, on the lake. You may prefer a lie in your cozy ger and 3 hot meals in the beautiful wood-clad dining room between chapters of your novel.
It's usually a morning flight back to UB, so we shall breakfast at Nature's door and then head back to the airport to Moron, around a 2 hour drive. Gregg and his team will be returning overland, a 2-day drive, with all of the packrafting equipment ad vehicles, so you'll say farewell to him and to his team. Once back in UB, we'll check you back into the Holiday Inn and you can rest and rejuvenate or souvenir shop for the afternoon. We'll meet in the evening for a final dinner. Saturday night in Ulaanbaatar is full of surprises and sequins, so we'll judge the mood and celebrate accordingly.
We'll get you back to the airport for your flight home.
