The Hovsgol Taiga, the Land of the Blue Lake, is where the Tsaatan Reindeer People call home. This is the mysterious heart of Inner Asia where ancient Buddhist guidebooks locate the hidden kingdom of Shambhala: The Atlantis of Mongol legends.
Special Itinerary / Sept 5th– Sept. 26th, 2009
The reindeer people are the guardians of this hidden realm, patrolling a maze of evergreen forests and snow-capped mountains on the backs of their stocky reindeer. This trip combines Mongolia's most untouched landscape and culture with an extraordinary one-time rafting adventure down the Shishget River to the border with the mysterious country of Tuva.. An unforgettable journey!
21 days Group size: 6 pers./max
Itinerary
*Day 1:
Early morning international arrivals,
Charter flight to camp (2 hours)
or
Domestic flight to Muren (1 1/2 hours)
Drive to Wind Horse Ger Camp (7 hours)
It takes one day to reach the Hoogi River from the city. From Ulaanbatar you will fly to the provincial capital of Hovsgol Province called Muren, onboard EZNIS Airways brand new Saab turbo-prop planes and then drive another 6 hours by jeep to the camp. The drive is long (6 hours) but spectacular taking you over two high passes and down into the Darhat Valley, the meeting point between the Mongolian steppe and the Siberia Taiga. For a supplement, clients may also charter a small Cessna that will land on a dirt strip 10 kms from camp.
Day 2-3:
Spend a couple of days at Wind Horse Base Camp on the Hoog River, a pristine river world class trout river situated between the Mongol steppes and the Taiga. Seeing wolves and deer on a daily basis is quite common. From the camp there are all sorts of possibilities: day rides and hikes, fishing trips.
Day 4:
Drive to Tsaagan Nuur, also called the ‘White Lake' (2 hours) and camp at the confluence of the Shishget river and the Tengis River. This is the end of the dirt road. Transfer gear from jeeps to rafts and arrange for land support crew to break trail ahead down river on horse-back.
Day 5-9:
This rafting trip on the Shishget will be virtually a first decent. No group has officially rafted the Shisget down to the border. Although not a technical river, the Shishget can be a very wide and fast river that at times squeezes through tight canyons offering no bank. Rapid sections are fairly manageable, however, not exceeding a Class-3. The distance to the border is about 120 km. We will float on average about
30 kms/day and meet with our land support crew who will break trail on the bank, observe the river around the bends and establish camp ahead in the evening.
Day 10-17:
e will reach the border at the confluence of the Shishget and the Bos River, then transfer gear to horses and begin our trek out throught the legendary Bos Valley; a gigantic primary forest where bear and moose roam in great numbers and where the Reindeer People invoke their shaman ancestors in tree-shrines. On this return leg of the journey we will be guided by the Reindeer People themselves, and will be accompanied by Ganzorig, a shaman-elder of Tuvan descent who will perform the necessary rituals to safe-guard our passage out of this wilderness.
Day 18-19:
Arrive back at Wind Horse base camp
Rest days on the Hoogi
Enjoy hot baths, cognac, cigars and a good massage!
Day 20:
Charter flight or scheduled domestic flight back to Ulaanbaatar
Overnight 5-star hotel
Farewell Dinner!
Day 21:
Early morning transfers to airport.
International Departures
* Pivate Cessna round-trip charter or helicopter supplement will cut four days off the itinerary
