Shilyn Bogd Uul to Dariganga, 25.8.-26.8.2010

We then went on to visit an area bordering on China (China is a bout 4k's away)which is similar to steppe but the landscape has been formed by volcanoes and is very rocky. The highest volcanoe crater Shilyn Bogd Uul, is a sacred place and a 30 min walk up to the crest of the collapsed crater at sunrise is supposed to give a boost to men’s energy. Additionally, the crater also offers some of the most spectacular sunrises and sunsets. And this really means something in a country where nearly every day offers you truly amazing sunrises and sunsets! It was very difficult to get there because the path led over extremely rugged terrain over hills and plains which were, as one can expect, covered by tons of volcanic rocks, which translates into a looong ride, again hardly ever leaving gears 1 and 2.

We made it through the last minutes of daylight which meant we only could admire the sunset in passing while driving up the volcano’s crater. I was glad to see that signs had been put up to show designated camping areas, as I was a bit worried to repeat the Dadal-Ovoo mistake. During the night we then heard other people and when the alarm clock rang at shortly before 5 (sunrise was supposed to be around 5.20ish) we discovered 4 other parties had set up camp. Unsure about the etiquette I had decided to watch the sunrise from the side of the volcano and not the crest (given that it was supposed to be a men’s site of spirituality). Holger however went up and witnessed a stunning sunrise. Some other men started chanting while climbing the mountain and it all made for a slightly surreal albeit completely fascinating scenery. Apparently a couple of women were among the other visitors but it even from the side the view was awesome!

The day had started pretty early and we now made for the Ganga Nuur NP which is a pretty lake in an otherwise very dry area (this is already part of the Gobi). In the close by town, Dariganga, we had ‘booz’ (steamed mutton dumplings) and then tried in vain to organize a park pass. Being without luck we decided to go into the park as apparently you should be able to buy entry permits at a spring flowing into the lake.
Boy, did we take the wrong way! It took us several tries to find a path through the sand dunes (from now on you would come across some once in a while, many covered in vegetation) to get to the lake. The paths dwindled and appeared and we were clearly not on the main track. The herders we met must have thought we were some sort of UFO as were coming towards them out of the bush.

We felt so bad because this was a NP and here we were, rampaging through it with our big Melville :o( Anyhow at some point we crossed a dune and saw the lake right in front of us – and on the other side we saw the main entrance with a gate and an earth road leading straight to the town – we felt like such idiots!!! The range however, was laughing and sold us the tickets once we arrived at the entrance (for us then the exit). We camped by the lake and another ranger (who lived by the lake and had some stock) and his daughter came to visit in the evening and brought us some Aaruul :o) we had one of our usual minimalistic conversations. We slso stocked up on water at the spring where fresh, cold water was coming out of the grounds...