The newly-organized cultural event will be held on the 4th of July, 2018 at Ulaagchnii Khar Nuur. Nomadic Cultural Festival gives the local and international public access to ancestral arts and traditions of steppe Mongols.
Mongolia is well known as one of the last true nomadic nations in the world. The Mongol nomads have been following seasonal routine raising, breeding the five main types of stocks, and migrating from place to place searching the most favorable pastures through their vast land. This ancient nomadic way of living is still existing, but some important traditions are fading. Local nomads who gather from the nearby regions and celebrate this festival to show their heritage and culture at the Ulaagchnii Khar Lake. You can take a journey back to ancient times to experience what the nomads practiced and what their unique culture was. If you travel to this colorful, discoverable, and adventurous festival you can get the true knowledge of unimaginable historical facts and religious rituals around this turquoise colored lake.
Nomadic Culture Festival on the shore of Ulaagchnii Khar Nuur
We are gladly introducing you to an enjoyable travel attraction of Mongolia – the Nomadic Culture Festival at Ulaagchnii Khar Lake in Zavkhan province. There are no cars around the festival just like an ancient nomadic living style. It offers full of interesting experiences that you can be transported by just horse or yak carts. Discover the importance of herder’s daily shores and breeding methods of 5 domestic animals. Please read more details below.
Shows with Domestic Cattles
Milking sheep and goat, the competition of sheep shearing, felt making, thread spooling by hands, and traditional knuckle bone games which are related to the small cattle. For the large cattle performance, Yak show contest of loading up on yak, selection of nice yak-cow hybrid, bullock, and yak polo. Mongolia is a country of horses and can’t be fully described without a horse. The horse shows are lassoing, catching with stick /Uurga/, grabbing a stick, selection of couple with nice horses, and ambler horse competition. Also, camels are one of the important animals of the Mongol nomads. Using camel as transportation during the migration. You can see and participate in the yurt erecting and assembling as well as packing on the camelback. It could be one of the must-try experience for travelers.
Trade Exhibitions and National Costume Show
Another attraction of the festival is the trade exhibition. Local herders bring up their valuable and purchasable belongings or handmade products for trade which you can imagine that it would be similar to the ancient trading market. This is quite an interesting show to enjoy, buy, and exchange with what you have. Another attractive part of the festival is National Costume Show, which will steal your eyes and would give an opportunity to photograph colorful costumes of the nationality.
Three Manly Sports – Must-See Scene
In Mongolia, there is no festival held without the Three Manly Sports of wrestling, horse racing, and archery. Local participants from other provinces and regions gather to participate and want to see the winners of the festivals. The local cultural Naadam festival is also one of the main parts of this event.
Cultural Performance at the Festival
Mongolian traditional folk dance, Tsam dance, traditional Long song, Morin Khuur music instrumental performance, Khoomei-Throat singing, and other culture-related shows are a memorable part of your Mongolia adventure. You can develop a greater understanding of Nomadic Culture, directly experience ancient rituals connected with the daily shores of Mongolian herders, and learn about the wildlife and natural habitats through this festival.
About the Beautiful Ulaagchnii Khar Nuur
Ulaagchnii Khar lake considered one of the oldest lakes in the world. It locates in Zavkhan province, in the western part of Mongolia. You can find more than 200 rivers, streams, and lakes in the territory of the province. One and unique lakes of them is Khar Nuur (Black Lake) also known as Ulaagchnii Black Lake, surrounded by golden sand dunes and snow-capped Mt. Otgon Tenger. The lake has been protected as a Strictly Protected Area since 2010 and one of the most unique natural scenery and freshwater Lake of Mongolia.
The lake covers 198m2 and 23.9m long and 3.5m wide on average, depth is 47-48 m in the west, 23-30m in the east. There are islands called small and Big Avgash in the middle of the lake which elevated at over 2500 meters above the sea level. The shoreline of the lake is rocky and has a lot of different bays and peninsulas into the lake water. There are sand, gravel, mud and some water plants such as vermillion grows in the shallow parts of the lake.
The color is unforgettable sharp and unique and is seen as emerald. That’s why people call the lakes as Pearl of Khangai and you can see sand, cliff, and trees together around the lake which almost shows the unique patterns and scenery of nature of Mongolia.
What are the other Attractions near the Lake?
Once you are in Ulaagchinnii Black Lake, you should check out all the natural and historical sites which surround the lake. It is home to the rare wildlife – snow leopard, wild mountain sheep, Ibex, Gobi bear, antelope, wild Bactrian camel, and jerboa. For your reference, the closest attractions are Senjit Rock – a unique rock formation. Mukhart River –Small River gushes from Bor Khyar sand dunes stretching over almost 20 km.
Photographing Opportunities at Ulaagchnii Khar Lake and around the Festival
The photographing around Ulaagchin’s Black lake must be in your travel and the lake itself also calls you to take imagination and scenery of nature around there. Don’t care about whether you are a photographer or not, you can take amazing captures with your mobile phone or camera as seen as what it is like in nature. You can challenge yourself to take those gorgeous images of the lake from various ways and at different hours of the day.
Also, you should prepare your camera and be ready to capture details and every event, competitions, performances, and show of the Nomadic Culture festival.
Travel to Ulaagchnii Khar Nuur
When you talk about visiting Ulaagchnii Khar Lake, the discussion turns especially on how to get there. The distance from Ulaanbaatar to Uliastai is 1,104km /685 mi/ and Uliastai to the lake is 110km/68 mi/. Almost about 1200km/745 mi/ from the capital city Ulaanbaatar, you should decide and choose your transportation to get there. The ways to reach Ulaagchin’s Black Lake is taking a domestic flight to Uliastai –the capital of Zavkhan province and then continue to transfer by a 4×4 minivan. Also, you can start trekking overland tour through the western part of Mongolia. Experiencing nomadic culture festival, Photographing, Bird Watching, Fishing, Wildlife watching, and Walking are the main activities you can experience in Ulaagchnii Black Lake while.
The area is less visited by tourists and not easily reachable, you need to contact a local tour operator and book your domestic flights and a trouble-free minivan before your travel.
All Photos are credited by Batzaya Choijiljav at www.toursmongolia.com
