Nature untouched by man: why Altai tourists go to Mongolia. How to get to Mongolia Trip to Mongolia

There are 8 road crossings and two railway crossings open on the Russian-Mongolian border, operating all year round. For citizens of third countries, crossing is possible only at the road checkpoints Tashanta - Tsagan-Nur (Altai), Kyakhta - Altanbulag (Buryatia) and at the railway crossing: Naushki - Sukhbaatar (Buryatia). If, for example, the group includes citizens of former Soviet republics, they will not be allowed to cross the border as citizens of third countries. The passage of third-country citizens at this crossing is planned to be opened only after the reconstruction of the Mondy-Khankh checkpoint.

For Russian citizens, it is also possible to cross through road checkpoints: Mondy - Khankh, Solovyovsk - Erentsav, Khandagayty - Borsho, Tsagan-Dogorod - Arts-Sura, Shara-Sur - Tes, Verkhniy Ulkhun - Ulkhun and by railway - Solovyovsk - Erentsav.

Local taxes apply when crossing the border. At the Kyakhta-Altanbulag automobile checkpoint, the Russian side charges money for processing documents when leaving Russia and sanitizing cars upon entry. The Mongolian side charges a transport tax of about $10 and car insurance of $20–25.

It takes from 2 to 4 hours to cross the border, even if there is no queue, but usually, due to queues at the border, crossing by car, for example in Kyakhta, takes the whole day.

VEHICLE CROSSINGS AT THE RUSSIA-MONGOLIA BORDER

Checkpoint Tashanta – Tsagan-Nur (Altai)

The automobile checkpoint in Altai in Tashanta is located in the mountains. Between the Russian and Mongolian checkpoints there are more than 20 km of dirt road and the Durbet-Daba pass with a height of 2400 m. There is a rule here: no one should remain in the neutral zone. This section must be passed before the Mongolian checkpoint closes. Checkpoints work with 9am to 6pm.

Checkpoint Kyakhta - Altanbulag (Buryatia)

Checkpoint 24/7!

At the Kyakhta - Altanbulag automobile checkpoint, the Russian side charges money for paperwork (about 90 rubles) when leaving Russia and sanitary processing of cars $5-7 upon entry. The Mongolian side charges a transport tax - about $10 and car insurance - $20-25.

It takes from 2 to 4 hours to cross the border, even if there is no queue, but usually, due to queues at the border, crossing by car, for example in Kyakhta, takes the whole day. The modern terminal is designed to handle up to 500 cars per day, but in practice, even if you arrive early in the morning, this does not mean crossing the border before lunch.

Checkpoint: Mondy – Hankh

Crossing the border by citizens of third countries at the Mondy-Khankh checkpoint (Lake Khubsugul) is not provided for by the intergovernmental agreement between Russia and Mongolia and is only possible for residents of Mongolia and Russia.


• Mondy-Khankh automobile checkpoint(302 km from Irkutsk) located on the pass Mungiin-Daba (1830 m.) Has double-sided status. This means that today only citizens of Mongolia and Russia can cross the border here. Open in summer from April 15 to September 15 - from 10:00 to 18:00, in winter - from 10:00 to 17:00. On weekends and holidays doesn't work.

  There is quite a decent asphalt road leading to the border from the Russian side. From the village of Mondy, a good quality road constantly goes up. Mungiin Daba Pass and at the same time a border. After passing the border, a standard Mongolian dirt road begins. The forest has disappeared - there is a steppe all around, with groves on the slopes of the mountains. From the border, the road goes with a general decline. Before reaching the village of Khankh, you must pay an entry fee Khuvsgul National Park.

  Since 2010 Federal agency on the arrangement of the state border of the Russian Federation is considering the issue of changing the status of the international automobile checkpoint (MACP) Mondy-Khankh from bilateral to multilateral. A positive conclusion to this project was given by Rosgranitsa. However, to date the issue has not been resolved.

Checkpoint Solovyovsk - Erentsav

Open 7 days a week from 9 to 18 with a lunch break from 14:00 to 15:00 Chita time.

Checkpoint Khandagaity – Borsho

The Khandagaity-Borshoo border checkpoint on the Russian-Mongolian border will soon be equipped to practically transfer its status from bilateral to multilateral. Rosgranitsa allocates 15 million rubles for these purposes. Reconstruction of the border checkpoint on the Tuvan section of the Russian-Mongolian border will double the capacity of passing people and vehicles.

Consul General of Mongolia in Kyzyl Bazarsad announced the decision taken by the Mongolian leadership to open this checkpoint up to 3-4 times a month for the passage of representatives of third countries even before the completion of reconstruction, which usually lasts for several years.

In the meantime, the Khandagaity-Borshoo checkpoint operates in a two-way mode and is open to citizens and legal entities of Russia and Mongolia. Numerous foreigners arriving in Tuva cannot cross the state border on the Tuvan section and are forced to use the Kyakhta checkpoint in Buryatia or Tashanta in the Altai Republic.

Checkpoint Tsagan-Dogorod – Arts-Sura

Checkpoint Shara-Sur - Tes

Checkpoint Verkhniy Ulkhun - Ulkhun

ENTRY TO MONGOLIA BY PERSONAL VEHICLE

To enter the territory of Mongolia with your own car, an international driver’s license alone is enough; no other permits from the Russian traffic police or replacement of Russian license plates with Mongolian plates is required.


You cannot drive across the border in a car driven by a simple written power of attorney - only valid notarized powers of attorney. When crossing the border, the vehicle data is entered into the customs declaration by the owner and recorded in the computer database of the Mongolian customs.


There are no prohibitions when traveling by car within the territory of Mongolia. The only restriction that motorists may encounter is being in the border zone and in specially protected areas. natural areas. Movement in the border zone with China requires special permission. The border zone is considered to be a 30 km strip of land along the state border of Mongolia. For example, to visit the caves on the Darganga plateau, you must have approval from the border guards, since the entrance to the caves is located in the border zone. In the territories of nature reserves and national parks, a paid regime has been introduced for the stay of tourists and the entry of cars. It is legally established at 1,000 tugriks per car, and 3,000 tugriks per person for up to a week of stay in specially protected areas.


On roads when crossing the administrative boundaries of aimags, local tolls are collected, most often 1000 tugriks (for a passenger car), but more expensive for a minibus. Some aimags charge money for travel. wooden bridges. You also need to pay for the use of ferries.


To transport pets across the border, an international veterinary certificate is required.


The use of car radios (27 MHz), satellite phones and GPS is not prohibited (there is no law on the use of civilian radio stations in Mongolia) - importing them into Mongolia and working with them is permitted. The problems begin at Russian customs - permission is needed for radio stations installed on cars. According to current instructions, GPS devices are prohibited from import into Russia. Therefore, when leaving Russia, you MUST include GPS devices in the customs declaration, indicate its serial number, and have a copy of the certificate issued in the store upon purchase.

Every country has its own characteristics. They can manifest themselves in literally anything. And the greater the difference between nature, landscape, climate, lifestyle local residents with those that exist in Russia, the more impressions. You can see and feel a lot of unusual things in Mongolia. It is very close, if you take into account the regions of southern Siberia. For those living in the European part, of course, it is far away. But today it is not difficult to overcome a distance of several thousand kilometers.

Stage 1. From Novosibirsk to Biysk

It would not be wrong to say that the most interesting trip will end up in Mongolia if you choose car route. In this sense, it is better to go on the road along the Chuysky tract.

Altai, Chuysky tract (federal highway P256, until January 1, 2018 the highway number M52 was also used)

Officially it begins in the large Siberian city of Novosibirsk, but previously only the path from the city of Biysk was called that way ( Altai region) to Tashanta. This locality near the border of two countries - Russia and Mongolia. The journey can take from several days to weeks. The only question is how many days you have. Visiting Mongolia is quite easy with prior information.

Important! Since we are talking about traveling from different Russian corners, it is better to start counting from Novosibirsk. True, some of the travelers, preparing for the trip and leaving the western part of the country, plotting the route, will use the map and try to shorten the path. In this case, he will focus on a shorter route.

Before reaching Novosibirsk, approximately halfway between Omsk and this big city, many take a shortcut to drive straight through the Altai Territory to the city of Barnaul. You don't have to do that. After just a few tens of kilometers you can be convinced that, in fact, the most interesting adventures begin after the words “I know a shortcut.” It’s better to calmly drive to Novosibirsk, cross the bridge or the dam of the Ob hydroelectric station and turn right.

Spillway of the Novosibirsk hydroelectric power station

In about twenty to thirty minutes (it all depends on the intensity of traffic) you will reach the city of Berdsk. Less than an hour will pass, and the city of Iskitim will be left behind, and the long journey to the South will begin.

Iskitim from a bird's eye view

You can get to Barnaul, or more precisely, to Novo-Altaisk (the city of Barnaul on the left bank of the Ob), in less than two hours. If you want to have lunch, there will be no problems with that. There are no difficulties with refueling the car. The situation is the same after the turn in Novo-Altaisk towards Biysk. This city can also be reached in less than two hours. However, if you find yourself here on a Friday afternoon on Friday or Sunday, the trip will be delayed.

Highway M-52 near Biysk

The fact is that on Friday the road strip towards Biysk will turn into a complete traffic jam. This is due to the fact that those who want to relax just at this time head to the mountains or to resort town Belokurikha. On Sunday, all these thousands of cars are heading back.

Stage 2. Along the Altai Mountains to the border

But here, finally, is the city of Biysk. There is a bypass road for trucks here. There is no need to turn towards it. The trip through the city takes only about twenty minutes. This takes into account the entry and exit after the bridge over the Biya River on the very outskirts. And then the same Chuysky tract will begin, which is described a little in the movie “There Lives Such a Guy.”

Communal bridge in Biysk

Although the distance from Biysk to the Mongolian border cannot be called large (especially by Siberian standards), it will take a long time to travel. At first, however, everything will be as usual, but then the ascents, descents, and turns will begin. However, the trip will not seem particularly long. Why? Because the road goes through special places. Sometimes it stretches literally a few meters from the Katun River, seething like a huge stream. Then the mountains will stretch. The Seminsky Pass is especially interesting. And also the road along the Chuya River.

Katun River

Finally, here is the border area. The large village of Kosh-Agach, and then only Tashanta, a border zone twenty kilometers wide, and Mongolia. However, this can be difficult. The checkpoint is only open until eighteen hours. It doesn't work at all on weekends. An important condition is that you can only cross the border by car. Hitchhikers wait for passing cars.

Important! In order to cross the border you must have an invitation from Mongolia. It can be either from a travel agency or from a person. True, this document is required only at the Mongolian checkpoint. They also ask you to show cash. Usually, when a person shows five hundred dollars, Mongolian border guards take a photo of him with bills in his hand and let him into the country.

If you managed to get to the border only in the evening or on a weekend, you need to take care of accommodation for the night. It's cold to sleep in a tent in the mountains. But overnight accommodation is provided by local residents. For a room for two they are asking only five hundred rubles.

Near the border with Mongolia

When crossing Russian border there are no difficulties. Border guards check passports, cars with Russian license plates take a quick look. But if foreigners are coming, especially Germans, they will check everything they can.

Mongolian border guards repeat the procedure. Russian citizens do not need a visa. The conditions for entry into the country were mentioned above. After everything is finished, they are allowed to go.
Mongolia.

Stage 3. On site - first impressions

And now Russia is behind us, ahead is only Mongolia and the almost complete absence of asphalt. They say that in Russia it is not the roads, but the directions. It’s about the same thing here, only it’s more convenient to travel in these directions. The main thing is that the car does not let you down. The best way to travel is by jeep. However, quite a lot of tourists go on such a trip on motorcycles.

The pictures that open can be called monotonous. These are mostly treeless mountains. But it's still beautiful. Travelers usually make their first stop on the shores of Lake Tolbo-Nuur. It seems to be one of the largest in Mongolia.

Lake Dergen Muul

Then there will be a high mountain plateau with multi-colored ridges, Lake Khaar-Us, and the city of Khovd. The road stretches along the rocky steppe. Here and there you can see some thorny plants, as well as small flowers. What is surprising is the large herds of sheep, goats, camels, and yaks. You can also see saigas here. Sometimes they graze with domestic animals, sometimes they just run somewhere. They don't run away from cars. They know that no one will harm them.

On the way you can make a stop at Lake Dergen Nuur. The water in it is salty. It feels like the salt concentration is higher than in sea ​​water. The area is quite interesting. Dunes adjoin the shores of the lake. The largest sand massif in Mongolia, Mongol Els, begins here. It stretches for more than two hundred kilometers from South-East to North-West.

The attitude of the Mongols towards travelers from Russia

The road in Mongolia is often really just a direction. Only wheel tracks indicate that vehicles are moving here. Although sometimes the traffic flow can be intense (by Mongolian standards), the “roadway” part is not broken, as is the case on Russian country roads. The soil is often rocky and there is not much rain.
The local population treats travelers well. Many Mongols speak Russian. True, there are fewer such people among young people. The easiest way to communicate is with people over forty. Among them we often meet those who studied in Russia. But those who sometimes don’t really know anything in Russian also, if necessary, strive to help Russian tourists who find themselves in a difficult situation.

For example, some travelers are traveling by car and it breaks down. Mongols passing by stop and ask what happened. If necessary, they will give you the necessary spare part free of charge. They can also tow the car, even if not on the way, to where it will be repaired.

Roadside service is also developing. Somewhere in the steppe, next to a well-worn road, there are yurts. There are also simple sheds here. In yurts, under canopies, under open air metal beds with mattresses. The traveler got tired, stopped, and lay down to rest. Nobody will say a word to him. Maybe he can sleep for at least a few days. If he wants to eat, he will explain. They will understand him. They will immediately bring you cooked food on a large platter. They always bring meat. The food here is only fresh. Because there are no problems with meat, as for the cost, everything is two to three times cheaper than at home.

A trip to Mongolia previously also did not require much hassle, but now everything has become even easier. In 2020, residents of Russia do not need a visa to Mongolia if you want to spend no more than 30 days in the country. Our tips will help you navigate and prepare everything necessary documents to enter the country and for more long term. These rules are relevant in 2020.

To apply for a visa, it is not necessary to go to the consulate in person; this can also be done by e-mail. To do this, you will need to send all the necessary copies of documents and questionnaires by email, and the documents themselves – by mail or courier delivery.

Visa application

You will need the following documents:

• completed visa application form;
• international passport (original) and a copy of the photo page;
• one photograph (3x4 or 3.5x4.5 cm);
• documents confirming that you are engaged in any activity that you will return to after the trip:
• a letter from your work or school about granting leave;
• business license and tax return if you are an individual entrepreneur;
• documents from the pension fund if you are a pensioner.
• invitation;
• document confirming payment of the visa fee.

Cost and processing time

The visa fee is paid in dollars and is $50. The application is reviewed within 5 days. If you need to get a visa faster, you can order an urgent processing, and then the visa fee will cost approximately twice as much.

Filling out the form

Sample of filling out an application form for a long-term Mongolian visa

The form must be filled out in Russian, Mongolian or English languages. Fill out carefully and legibly, with a black pen or directly in electronic format. There shouldn't be any mistakes.

The invitation depends on the purpose for which you are traveling to Mongolia.

Long term tourist trip

If you are traveling as a tourist, then the invitation must be issued by a Mongolian travel agency and confirmed by the Mongolian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Even if you prepare the documents yourself, without the help of Russian travel agencies, you will still have to contact the Mongolian consulate.

Business trip

If the trip is work-related, you will need to provide an invitation from the host company in Mongolia. This invitation must be certified and signed according to all the rules, and the reason and duration of the trip must be indicated there.

Studies

If you are traveling to Mongolia to study, you will need an admission letter from educational institution, confirming your student status and duration of study.

Transit visa

You will need to provide documents confirming the route (copies of tickets) and travel dates. You also need a copy of the visa for the destination country.

Minors

If you are traveling with a child, then the conditions for him will be the same: a foreign passport if your stay in the country does not exceed a month, and a visa for a longer period. If the child is under 16 years old, he can be included in the parents’ visa. must be handled by parents or guardians. When traveling with one parent, you need the written and certified consent of the other.

Other types of visas

In addition to the above, there are also the following types of visas:

• entry, exit and entry-exit visas;
• 2-fold;
• multiple visas (for a stay of up to one year);
• 2-entry transit or transit multiple visas.

Crossing the border

There are different ways to get to Mongolia from Russia.

1. On a plane. From Moscow to Ulaanbaatar you will fly in about 6 hours, flights operate almost every day. Planes also fly from Irkutsk and irregularly from some other cities. You can also fly in transit through other countries.
2. By train. Trains from Moscow to Mongolia go twice a week (travel time is about 4 days), from Irkutsk - every day (about 36 hours).
3. By car.
4. By bus (from Ulan-Ude, Kyzyl).

Traveling by car

To travel to Mongolia by car, you will need an international driver's license, and if the car is not yours, you will need a power of attorney from the owner of the car certified by a notary. After the partial entry, no other documents are needed.

You can move around the country in a car without any problems, with the only exception being border zones (30 km from the borders) - to stay in these zones you will need special permits, in other cases you will be charged for entry into some border areas.

You can also rent a car in Ulaanbaatar. But according to the law, you will have to “rent” a local driver along with the car - you yourself will not be able to drive such a car. It is best to rent a car for a day.

There are 29 checkpoints on the border between Mongolia and Russia. Among them are international, bilateral, seasonal and transit.

Crossing the border for Russians does not entail any problems if they have necessary documents. In terms of time, this takes from 4 hours to the whole day, depending on the queue at the border at that moment. Keep in mind that you will have to pay customs fees on both the Russian and Mongolian sides.

We have been planning to go to the Mongolian Altai for a long time. Many members of our a team of 8 people had their own interest there. The expedition was planned to endSeptember - early October. It was decided to go in two minibusessah-SUVs. We drew up a route using the map and calculated the cost...

As agreed, meet everyone early in the morning on September 24thle monument to the leader on the centralNoah area of ​​the village. Kosh-Agach – district centerra Gorny Altai. Loaded luggage andmoved to the border checkpoint "Tashanta." Each car has 4 peoplecenturies, personal belongings, camp equipmentnie, products. 45 km from Kosh-Agach to"Tashants" drove through almost withoutturns and climbs. Around onlyautumn steppe and clear silhouettes of the ridgeand Sailyugem on the horizon.

Everything at the new Russian customs“grown-up”: all the luggage, like in aereport, passed through x-rayinstallation, check passports andthe cars themselves. But everything goes bybusinesslike, quickly and clearly. To touristsspecial treatment at customsoften with surprise: what is there in MongoLii, should I do something? Taking into account fillingall customs papers proceduretook no more than 2.5 hours. (Necessarycan I have foreign passport with monGol visa and international carsmobile rights.)

At the “Tashanta” kilometer-long tablethere are no bovs anymore. But the road is quite decentNaya. About 20 km more traction with constanta rapid climb - and we are on the vergeDurbet-Daba valley pass (2481 m),who greeted us coldlydownward wind. Half-collapseda border post house tied uplong thin Mukhtar. On the border, on notlarge dirty concrete plazasparingly, two pillars stand lonelyka – red-green and blue-brownvyy, symbolizing the statenew borders of Russia and Mongolia. Not youwalking out of the car, they showed documents,and the barrier was raised.

WITH once beyond the Russian borderthe falt is over. Not a centimeteron the Mongolian side! EntranceWe press to the new customs termlu. The gate is locked. We are like a lawmakerLovely foreigners are waiting patiently.After some time a mon came upgoal in a gauze bandage on his face andkami explained that we need to take a detourthis new complex is steep fromspit of the mountain. If it weren't for this man, thenwould have waited until dark.The old customs house is called "Ulan"Bayshint" ("red yurt").

Terminal looks more like a grain collection pointa completely ruined collective farm. To customsnot without any hassles, arrange for usAre any papers in Mongolian?ke, and we moved on.On the first bridge near the lake. DunshigNuur charged us for travel (up toHorn duty 1500 tugriks plustransport tax 6000 tugriks pereach minibus). Explainedthat this money will be used for maintenanceroads. But it’s clear that no one canand never contained it.

The roads are here - this is exactly what is called directionleniyami: several tens of parallelsgentle knurled ruts running inone direction and invariably similarlocated on passes and near bridges. Edacue 20-lane Mongolian highway.You have to be extremely careful with itnom: any inconspicuous branchcan easily lead into that one at duskrush to some lonely stallschu. The road is broken by heavy trucksKami and UAZ (soil - hard clayon with a stone), our speed is even fromrelatively flat areas are rarely exceeded 35–40 km/h.

The front axle is notturned on, since the road went to the mainnom downhill Areas with crushed stone, dogcom and even with large stones mashaWe overcame without much effort.But 1.5 hours before the sun startedhiding behind the low ridges, weWe drove only 30 km. Cars meetingrarely. Mostly it was hardold trucks and fuel tankers from Russiaski numbers. From local cars - tomostly old UAZ cars.

Already at dusk we passed the townTsagan-Nuur – small one-storya village with ruins of farms and sheds.Having decided to set up a bivouac, we encounteredproblem: there were a lot of flat places, butthe whole soil is strewn with rather largestones, and set up the tent so thatIt would be difficult to sleep comfortably. Yes and“strained” with water. It's almost darkthey drove into the valley of a dry riverKhara-Magnay-Gol and started betting patches.

They quickly boiled tea on gasand, judging that “the morning is wiser than the eveningher”, went to bed under the low black one,strewn with a scattering of brightest goldsbright stars in the sky of Mongolia.In the morning we felt thatThis is what an autumn Mongolian dawn is like. GasI was frozen in the cylinders and didn’t want to goroar at full strength. Finally from behind the mountainthe sun came out and everyone started movingfaster. Together we broke up camp andour little caravan moved awayshe. They immediately started datingruined mounds. (Back then wewe didn’t know how many of them there would be on our way.)

We are driving along the bottom of a dry valley, whichI am surrounded by low mountains.Here is the Obotyn-Daba pass (2643 m).A cold, almost burning air is blowingter. On the pass itself there is gravelyes stones - the famous obo. Next tothere are a lot of broken homemade productsnew crutches. The road ahead ispractically constantly going downwards, to the sidewell, the center of the westernmost aimag -Bayan-Ulegey. Birds are almost invisiblebut the local marmots haven’t gone to bed yetand fearlessly stand along the road. Pochyou met a few near the city itselfgreat herd of horses.

P upon entering the city at the firstask the fallen taxi driverIs there a way to the travel agency “Canat”Tour". In a nice one-story officewe met from a cafe almost in the city centerThey made you feel very welcome. While we're ghouls As we walked around the city, the Canat Tour staff promptly arranged for us registration and a pass to the national park. Bayan-Ulegey - by our standards,rather a large village. But in the centerthere is a market, a post office with the Internet, nolarge hotels, cafes, museums and otherWhat are the attributes of the city?

There is also a cellular connection. First of all we visited the bazaar. Onon the street there is a whole line ofmotorcycles – red “Izha” and old"Uralov". Guys in yellow are sitting on themconstruction helmets. First thought:biker party. But it turned out that thisordinary taxis. They go wherever you wanther heart desires, even to Ulaanbaatar. NotIn the distance there are more serious taxis:mostly UAZs of various designstions and degrees of preservation.

Apparently they didn't have to undergo a technical inspectionnever die. Many people have these tires,that it’s not just the cord sticking out. Neverthelesson the windshields there are signs “Barnast., Ust-Kamenogorsk, Pavlodar,"Astana". Next to the taxi - movenew " exchange offices": the same hundredold cars with stickers on their foreheadshigh glass with banknotes: rosSiysk rubles, Kazakhstani tenshey, Chinese yuan, American dollars.

Most market goodslaid out directly on the ground or on a cartton boxes; mostly Chineseth production. Behind a small computerin the southern hall they stand right on the streetbilliard tables (about 20), andgender, including 8–10 year olds,chases balls with excitement. A little furtheron the next street, right on the dustypiles of sheep skins are laid out on the ground,yaks and other livestock. Right next door -butchered animal carcasses.We returned to the travel agency office. Prikyzeros, that diesel fuel for the entire route to usnot enough, and buying at the local marketseveral Chinese canisters filled them under the neck.

Towards evening, whenyes, the documents were ready, we left forside of Sagsay Gol.Even while preparing for the expeditiontion we read many reports. Alltheir authors recommended taking withfight of a local guide. We didn'tignore the advice and do not regret it.Togoo Tsedenbal came with us. Unitythe real difficulty was that hedidn't speak Russian or English at allLiyski. But he explained himself well so farzahski. Due to overload of machinesWe couldn’t get a driver, but from the TurksChinese “interpreters” turned out to be among usonly Andrey Yurchenkov.

ABOUT five famous Mongolian"comb" (road with deepruts and potholes). For some reasonIn some areas it shakes so much that even the guideThe power booster doesn't help and the steering wheel is beechviolently knocks it out of your hands, at the same timeright turn and wipers are turned onki." If we were driving UAZs, thenSurely something would have fallen offthe very first kilometers. We only havesteep climb to the Modong Ho passShoyotiin-Davaa (2384 m) by the car, onflying onto a boulder, the protection came offcrankcase (crankcase is a container for vehiclescar oil).

How could they, under manipulated with a sledgehammer, tied with a rope(no wire can be found there) and it’s already hardwe moved further into the river valleySagsay-Gol. Behind the village of Sagsay,driving across the river bridge, we camped onbank near a lonely larch. Undergeneral “Hurray!” raised the flags of Russia,Kazakhstan, Mongolia and drank tothe beginning of the expedition. Today we passed or only 114 km.

The whole next day you can call it mountainous: continuous climbspasses and plateaus.

Modon-KhoshoyotiynDaba (2384 m), Achagardag-Daba (2698 m),lake Khar Nuur (2493 m)… Bare all aroundlifeless rocks, solid stonesny placers. Classic maddersediments left by ancient iceno one There is practically no water. Nezawe approached the post nationallyof the park "Altai Tavan Bogd" ("Altai Tavan Bogd"). Large Mongolian yurt,outbuildings. For now aboutverified our permissions, invitedinside the yurt. It seemed like it was waiting for us there whether.

Hot tea with milk, kurt (saltdried sheep cheese), erimshik(dried cottage cheese), kaymak (thick mixturetana) and many other local treatsny. The yurt is clean, neat, notthere is a Chinese TV on a large chest of drawersvisor, carpets on the walls, animal skins,stuffed birds. Eat, drink, paywe said goodbye to our hospitable hostsevami - and “on horses.”On mountain roads suspectbut often began to come across caps and bezels Bolki.

Passengers usually lose themtrucks loaded with yurts andwe eat our belongings. Moreover, the luggage is muchbigger than the car itself. And on verthe nomads themselves sit on this mountainki with the kids. Often foundsemi-knocked down trucks thatlocal drivers are trying to repairsit right on the side of the dustyexpensive And next to them they stand no less7–10 passengers. They're coming for the carsnumerous herds of rams, goats,sarlykov (as the locals calledyut yaks), horses, amazingly shaggycows, camels.

These are the localswander down to winter pastures. And weLet's go up! It's getting a littleI feel uncomfortable at the thought of a possible dreamge and ice on the passes. But in the mountainsmany yurts are still white in the villages, and we are stillnot alone. In the Godon-Gol valley there is quitecrowded: every now and then there are nolarge camps of 2–5 yurts per racestanding several hundred meters eachfrom a friend. Near the bridge over the river there iseven a gas station: a tank buried in the groundon and one mechanical column.

In your free sale of A-80 gasoline at a pricea little higher than the city one. The owner is pleasedposes with excitement. Demonstrates workspeakers without removing the lit one from your mouthcigarettes. But there is no diesel fuel. It's good thatWe stocked up in advance.Already in the evening we are approaching the villagethe outpost standing at odds with China, standing onshore beautiful lake Dayan-Nuur.Further along the southeastern coasthectares of lakes won’t let us in. It's time to putcamp. Not far away on the mountainsideden is a small forest.

There is no water, but but there is firewood, and you can at least a littlego to shelter from the cold wind. Byethe guys set up camp, the three of usWe went to the lake. It was getting dark. Quick timesshook fishing tackle to tieWell, what is the famous Mongolian?sky fishing. The fish did not force itselflong wait: almost the fifth timethe cast took a pretty decent bitegrayling size. Until dark, minutesfor 25, managed to catch a couple moreke fish. The speedometer shows 125 km – ours.day trip.

U It started with strong winds. Neitherwhat kind of fishing is not necessary anddream: there's a storm on the lakefoam from steep wave crests. Cloudsdust rises into the air. Occasionallygusts of wind throw handfuls ofno coarse coastal sand. Honeywe slowly approached south coast osera Khurgan-Nuur (2072 m). Solid kaalternating terraces, large acute anglesrocky boulders, wetlands,

fords through small mountain rivers.

I came across a very picturesquegroup of local residents on the willowpeople loaded with yurts, beds,barrels and other household belongings.Here, finally, are the first ancient burialsopinions that we read about in the reports.As if on command, everyone took out the camerary. Two small Turkic moundsrectangular shape. Ancient Turki for the funeral ceremony afterfuneral built a kind of temple:a fence was laid out on the ground in the form square.

Possibly a square forema symbolized the homeland, whichthe Turks represented it in the form of a square,at the corners of which the gates are locatedgi. Near each grave there is a statue -stone woman, and then two rowsvertically standing small boatssmall columns going somewhereinto the distance, into the steppe. A UAZ pulled up withlocal numbers. Passenger of the eyea middle-aged French woman began to talkwho has been living here under the monastery for 25 yearsGol name Tunga.

Writes books about Mongolia. At night we get up in the skynoise in a larch forest, protectingprotecting us from the strong wind. Ourscurrent mileage is 68 km.Thermometer in the car in the morning showsIt's minus 11°C, but the wind has almost died down,and the bright mountain sun is shining. Target ontoday's crossing - lakeKhoton-Nuur. Soon there will be a priest on the way againis given a border post. Those who came out onI'll meet the officers, it's nice, it's nicecontact us, check documents.

After another 500 m we approach the bridgethrough the Syrgal channel between the lakesKhoton-Nuur and Khurgan-Nuur in the zi regionMovki Shargalga. This is where we really arewe just learned what Mongolianfishing! Almost every castthe tackle was lucky: a big one was caught,weighing up to 1 kg, grayling. The fish was chasingany spinner and often got caught thensideways, then gills, then belly. Placescool boys without any special tricks, justthrew a piece of thick fishing line with a baretee at the end and also not leftwere left without any prey.

Half an hour later,Shiv that we have enough fish for dinner, butstill catch it for future use and, most importantly,You won’t be able to save it, let’s move on.As a parting gift, the boys were given a 100m race.fishing line and a couple of small spinners.The bridge over the duct is made of...larch, and as nastyala used poles from the same sheetwreaths with a diameter of up to 10 cm. But oursThe cars passed without any problems. Razgowe work as hard as we can, thunderouslyon the bridge and with acceleration the highwe nod towards the steep sandy oppositefalse northern bank of the channel.

Dahl Our path lies north-weston the shore of Lake Khoton-Nuur to the veryits northern end. There, according toboor, there are numerous rockdrawings. And while alone I went tosearches for petroglyphs, others again raceCovered the spinning rods.Snowy peaks of Mongolof the Altai were reflected in the mirrorny waters of the lake. Fishing this time

was not so successful: far into the water it is impossible to enter, and the gear is oftenclung to the rocky bottom.

Having caught a dozen graylings and tearing off a couple of bleuSep, we decided to go fishing todayespecially since the day's catch will ensurebaked us a good dinner. We're backour friends. Their excursion was wheremore successful: on steep slopesmountains they found hundreds of petroglyphs: inmostly images of animals. OcheA rare camp was set up near thethat wintering in the lower reaches of the Ut-Khai Rivertone-Gol. They quickly built a fireplace,covering fire from the wind and on coals baked fish.

Spent the night in woodenwintering buildings. On this day we traveled only 28 km. The morning again “pleased” with its"freshness". Until the sun came upWell, everyone was wearing warm jackets orwrapped in blankets. Conducted an auditdiesel fuel. It looks like there won't be enough forway to the valley of the Tsagan-Gol river, to the mountainsto the new junction Tavan-Bogd-Uul (4374 m).It's a pity... Well, the roads are not at stakeare worried. We'll meet again with the sacred our peaks!

It was decided to returnthrough the passes east of the lakes inthe valley of the Kobdo-Gol river and through the villagelok Tsengel return to Ulegey. Byon the map this road seemed more prowalkable. During preparation for expeditions, sitting at home and using the name maptea route, we planned in no wayat least 150 km per day. In realitybut it turned out to be much less...On way back I'm sick againindulge yourself in fishing in the channel between between the lakes.

D the road through the passes becamealready almost familiar. Still the samestones, stones, stones... Placeswhere the roads meet, the wilderness is cut outside track. I'm glad for the hundredth timeThey said they hired a local guide.Even with extensive experience in mountain riding,sometimes they were surprised how unmistakable he wasbut indicated exactly the track along which Roy has to go. The day was unusually “harvest”nom" to historical landmarkstelnosti. On this day we saw noone dozen stone women.

But the pain The biggest surprise was the huge moundsin the Mogoit tract. Diameter of someof which was more than 50 m, and the height was up toreached 4 m. We started to go downalong the valley of the Mogoytyn-Gol river and,driving the bridge over the river. Kobdo-Gol, stand upcamped near a small wintering area. And the vecherum solemnly celebrated birthdayDeniya Alexander Lebedev. Todayalmost a “record” - 61 km.This night was perhaps the mostcold the entire trip. In the morningThe thermometer showed -15°C.

Won't warm you up even hot coffee with Altaibalm. We assembled the camp andWe drove along the Kobdo-Gol river. Doroha tolerable, but still accelerateit doesn't work. Having traveled kilometers5, on the river bank we saw an onboard"ZIL-131" with a dozen cheerful peoplein the back and a dented "UAZ" - "orderlyku". It turned out that the UAZ from AmericaKan tourists tried to wadecross a deep river and, as we canbut as expected, it stalled in the middlebeds. Luckily, in this place there is an eye"ZIL-131" was installed.

Tourists get a lotthey were lucky: they wouldn’t have gotten out on their own, butwe would hardly be able to help, sincefrom the shore it was about 20 m at depthnot up to a meter. And we don’t even have a fordknew. From the cracks of the UAZ you are stillwater was pouring. There were scattered aroundsuits, wet clothes and other luggageristov. Cheerful passengers of ZILnoisily loaded into the back and briskly,dispersing the waves of Kobdo, they rolled back to the left bank. After 43 km and two hours of travel I enteredWe're in the village. Tsengel. On the centralsquares are still the same dust and the same sarbasts. But there's a real thing in the storeMongolian beer!

The road from Tsengel towards the city of Ulegay walks through the Mushgiragiyin passDaba (2251 m). We see no owls aheadThis is a clear car trail.Obviously not from UAZ. Through somewe meet an old Mitsubishi Galant" withfeet. They stopped and asked ifDo I need help? From under the car fromThey told me everything was fine. I'm jealouseat the fearlessness of local drivers.Ule is already visible from the Haar-Daba passgay. We finally made it through the dayas much as 164 km! How we returned home! Zivilization. Although broken, the asphaltshops, gas stations, hotel. True, th there is no hot water.

I on the dark morning of the next dayheading to the village. Sagsay-Gol,in the vicinity of which tomorrowbegins beautiful holiday berKutchi. Dozens of Kazakh hunters withbirds of prey (golden eagles, sokolami) gather in the foothills and mouthscompetitions are heavenly. We are met andplaced in Camp Blue Wolf. Come to us in the evening guys from Israel, Jordan are comingnia, England, with which we are familiarcelebrated in the city of Ulegey, as well as friends fromGorno-Altaisk. Festive again dinner.

This time it's my birthdayAndrey Yurchenkov. And how many yearsin a row, again on the road, again with a new my friends... Among the spectators at the festival there are manyth tourists and children. Schoolchildren in aksharp jackets, adults in garbdifferent national clothes. Along thecar racks local craftsmen spinningthey laid out their souvenirs on the feltry. Among the sellers, a couple stands outyoung people are clearly not Asiannationality with a small child.

It turned out that this is a family from the USA, whoRaya has been living in Mongolia for three years andmakes a living makingeating and selling souvenirs.Towards evening we decided to returnto Ulegey. In order not to waste time,drove south, to Lake Tolbo-Nuur, towhich is described by everyone who is hereshaft. It is famous for its large numbera lot of fish and rare birds. Already incomplete darkness, afraid of getting stuck in the bahtpake (mud mud), we set up camp. Utrum turned out to be more or lessI can’t find a comfortable place to campmaybe some 600–700 m....

The first rays of the sun timidly shineThe calm waters of Tolbo-Nuur are peaceful.Despite the cold, photographers are already outsidework. The rest are a small teamwe went fishing. 2 km fromAttractive rolling pins are visible from the camp.Although grayling took it, it was not so active,like on the Syrgal channel.We close the camp and, almost without waspshanging out in Ulegey, we go to the sideWell, the Russian border. This is already ours“old acquaintance” – Obo pass Tyn-Daba. in your car, then to BayanUlegii are much more reliable onSay UAZ. You can clean your carpark in the parking lot.The Mongolian currency is tugriks.1 rub. equal to 45.6 tugriks. In Bayan-Ulegee diesel fuel is an examplebut 920 tugriks per 1 liter, A–80 – 780 tugriksricks for 1 l. There is no gasoline in the mountainseverywhere, and only A-80. Wouldn't hurttake engine cleaner with youand spare air and fuel filters.

In the cold season we canbut add antigel, because in the localdiesel fuel contains paraffin. Wouldn't hurtand a second spare wheel. Tire service availableonly in Bayan-Ulegia. From constantdust is helped by wet wipes and eye drops. It is necessary to take into account the peculiarities ofGol roads. In this country onmost used transport –"UAZ" Russian and Chineseproduction and our ZIL-130,so the track is rolled under these ma tires.

If you want to traveldrive around Mongolia in your transport, you need to know that for “parquetnew jeeps this is quite serious new test. Don't leave yours unattendedthings. Be careful at customswe are neat, polite, calm,be patient, don't be fooledenticement, blackmail, extortion,do not take other people's luggage and passing passengers. Some Mongols speak Russianlanguage. But it’s better to learn anywaya few words in Kazakh or Mongolian