Trek Tavan Bogd

Tavan Bogd trek was designed and tested by Eshar

map link

Tavan Bogd:


Tavan Bogd peaks, and Potanin Glacier (photo: Eshar)

trek highlights: 
a. Tavan Bogd (five saints) is the highest mountain in Mongolia and have massif-type. Tavan Bogd mountain located in Bayan-Olgii Province and its Hüiten Peak is the highest point of Mongolia at 4374 meters above sea level. Besides Hüiten, the mountain includes four peaks as Nairamdal, Malchin, Bürged (eagle) and Olgii (motherland).
The Nairamdal Peak forms the border tripoint between Mongolia, Russia, and the Xinjiang province of China.
b. Tavan Bogd Lakes -  the lakes Khoton, Khurgan, and Dayan. The protected area offers a home for many species of alpine animal, such as the Argali sheep, Ibex, Red deer, Beech marten, Moose, Snow cock, and Golden eagle.
c.Potanin Glacier -the Potanin Glacier is the longest glacier in Mongolia, its length is about 14 kilometres and it is located in the Altai Tavan Bogd mountain in Altai Mountains. The glacier is named after explorer Grigory Potanin.

The last ger (most western in Mongolia)
Park rangers home (photo: Eshar)



how to get there:
Public Transportation -  there is no public transportation to the park. there is public transportation to Tsengel and you can try getting a driver there,
Social Transportation - you can hitchhike from Olgii to Sirgali (pinned on the map). can take some time, but there are vehicles going by.
Private Car\Hired Driver - the preferred method by most of the people. through tour agencies in Olgii.

difficulty:
medium-hard.

navigation:
medium. there is a car dirt road that goes from the starting point along the lake almost up the pass.when you get down from the pass on the other side you meet another dirt road that goes up to the glacier.









maps:a. old russian army maps:
http://loadmap.net/en/m4773 - 1:100,000
http://loadmap.net/en/m4772 - 1:100,000
c. trek KML

length:total: 152km.
Km per day: 20~.
seven days by foot, five by horse.

water sources:
the area is filled with creeks, springs and marshes.
flowing springs and creeks are fine after boiling. some of the cleaner marshes too.
the lakes are ok but drinking from the springs that flow to the lakes is a better option.

food:
small super markets are available at Olgii and Tsengel.

cost:
a. guide - depends on tour operator.usually around 15,000\day (july 2013)/
b. jeep\van - a van from Olgii is about 50,000\person. jeep from Olgii is around 175,000 (depends which type of jeep).
c. ger camps - you can find some along the eastern shore of Khoton lake, and some more close to the peaks. they are mainly reachable through tour agencies, but if you have basic mongolian you can just show up and try negotiating a price
d. entrance fee and border permit - It is required by mongolian law that you have a border permit when traveling in the Tavan Bogd park area, as these areas are situated on the Mongolian-Chinese-Russian border. Be sure that you take your documents, including passport and border permit.
To obtain a permit, you must apply in person at the Mongolian Border Protection Authority either in Ulaanbaatar or Olgii.
You will need photocopies of all travelers’ passports (including Mongolian nationals) and visas, and a request letter (from a tour agency, NGO, embassy, or other organization). sometimes a map of where you intend to travel is required (depends on the clerk's mood that morning).
Permits can be issued during business hours on week days and may require between three hours and three days for processing (the wonders of mongolian bureaucracy...).
Even with this permit, you must still check-in with the Border Post in Tsagaannuur so they'll sign your permit again.
Border permits can cost around 50,000. it changes from time to time. as for now (july 2013) the border office in Olgii does not handle foreigners, only local tour operators.

nomad home stay:
possible through agencies.

local cellphone coverage:
only in towns.

nearest emergency point:
there's a nurse and a little pharmecy in Tsengel. local hospital in Olgii.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

'To obtain a permit, you must apply in person at the Mongolian Border Protection Authority either in Ulaanbaatar or Olgii.'

This is bad advice for foreigners. The Mongolian Border Protection Authority will only issue permits to Mongolians so you need to get one through a tour operator.