Upon reaching the tiny airport of Khovd in West Mongolia, we were greeted by our local guide who took us for a last round of shopping for essentials before we headed deep into the mountains without much human encounter except only wild landscapes.
Our final destination is Potanin Glacier in Altai Tavan Bogd Mountains of West Mongolia. Our adventure began by riding a rugged Russian van and a 4 wheel drive through the bumpy off roads for the next 4 days. The 1st stop was lunch near a stream in the middle of nowhere off the highway, a not so perfect picnic spot with lots of sand fly. After 3 hours drive through the highway, we reached the final destination of the day in an open land near a stream not far away from Olgii town. Everyone helped in setting up the tent. It was the 1st of the supposedly 3 day camping in the wild with open toilet.
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| Our Russian van |
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| Nearing Olgii town |
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| Portable toilet |
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| Campsite on 1st night |
The next day, our wild bumpy adventure began. We drove for 6 hours into the endless off mountainous road with only mountains surrounding us. Our heads and bodies were automatically moved front and back, left and right, in alignment with the undulating and side to side movements on the gravel dusty off mountainous road. We finally reached our destination for the next 2 nights, a valley in an open grassland with magnificent surrounding scenery at 2200m above sea level. However, it was freezing cold at night that most of us were shivering all night long. Therefore, the next morning, we decided to stay in a nearby ger tent.
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| Endless bumpy offroad toward Altai Tavan Bogd National Park |
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| A sparsely populated village |
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| Lunch picnic with majestic view |
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| Could you see the Russian vans? |
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| Pitstop |
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| Arriving at 2nd night campsite |
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| Scouting for the best campsite |
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| It's 11pm |
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| Rise and shine |
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| Feeding cum sunbathing |
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| A treasured heaven |
On 3rd day, our rugged Russian van took us all in a cramped space to our final destination, Potanin Glacier. It was the most epic ride going up the mountain until we reached 2700m in less than 2 hour ride. The road was the bumpiest with potholes and some muds as it was raining. The glacier was awesome. Unfortunately, it was still freezing cold despite daylight as it was raining. Hence, we did not manage to do a supposedly 16km walk near the glacier. Nevertheless, it was still a worthwhile journey bracing the coldness and rugged terrain to reach the spectacular landmark.
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| View right after the rain |
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| The awesome Potanin Glacier |
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| Breathtaking scenery |
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| Basic farmhouse with ger tent |
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| Our rented ger tent for a cozy night |
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| Hello |
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| Coming back to the farmhouse |
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| The unbeatable rugged Russian van |
On our final day, the journey took us 6 hours back in the same endless bumpy route. We ended our trip with a visit to an eagle hunter's family, where we sampled their locally made cheesy products. Our final night ended in a local hotel in Olgii town.
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| Ready for packing |
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| Our last glimpse of the magnificent surrounding mountains |
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| Vans leading to Potanin Glacier |
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| The cozy ger tent with 5 beds |
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| Which junction to follow? |
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| Last picnic lunch stop |
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| Horse rearing in a local eagle hunter's house backyard |
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| Local cheesy snack for guests |
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| The ex eagle hunter champion |
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| Peaceful grassland |
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| Olgii town |
The next day, we took our last scenic highway ride to Khovd airport in 3 hours to board a flight back to the capital city, Ulaanbaatar.
