Magnificent Mongolia, Beyond Expectations

By MIR Corporation

Wild.. Windy.. and Wonderous.. A Journey for the Senses

Mongolia has been on my travel wish list since I was a child. I remember devouring National Geographic magazines with a strong desire to learn about other cultures and visit places so very different than home. My recent trip to Mongolia fulfilled a lifelong dream and exceeded all my expectations. It is one of those places that is even better in person and the photographs cannot do it justice. There is no way to capture on paper what your senses will experience.

See

A vast open steppe landscape for 360 degrees framed by dramatic skies..
Witness the land where dinosaurs once roamed, carved by time and wind..
View a livestock safari while driving countless miles through green valleys filled with thousands of– Mongolia’s big five – camels, horses, cows, sheep and goat..
If you’re lucky, catch a glimpse of the elusive Takhi, the last remaining wild horses on earth in the Hustai National Park or Ibex perched on a mountainous ridge..
Take in a muted sunset and breathtaking sunrise over the ger camps..
Watch molting camels graze along the road, Pikas and lizards scurry across the ground, and Demoiselle Crane strutting through grass..

Feel

The Mongolian wind in your hair, the desert sand between your toes, and camel hair between your fingers..
Touch yak hair, wool, and the famous Gobi cashmere while shopping in Ulaanbaatar..
Brush history at the Erdene Zuu Monastery, oldest in Mongolia – gently pushing the mani wheels (prayer wheels)..
Bear the weight of a majestic Golden Eagle, a moment with a traditional nomadic hunter’s trained bird of prey..
Experience the feeling of true vast isolation in an expansive open space with not a single person, vehicle or building in sight..

Taste and Smell

Sip milk tea, enjoy nourishing soups, and eat mutton served in local dishes..
Test your taste buds with homemade Mongolian vodka or a cold Mongolian beer..
Try warm freshly milked horse milk or the unique tangy alcohol airag, made from fermented mares’ milk..
Smell the delicious hotpot aroma and the scent of dung burning in the ger camp fires..

Hear

The wind whistling as it whips across the Gobi, flapping around your ger tent..
Take in an auditory experience of guttural Mongolian Throat Singing, which takes 5 years to master, unlike any human noise heard before.. often paired with a traditional string instrument..
Listen to Monks chanting in dedicated prayer as you silently pass them within a monastery..
Hear a hand carved Morin Khuur, Horse Headed Fiddle, dexterously played to mimicking the noise of an actual horse ..
Catch the clatter of ankle bones knocking together as you play one of the many Mongolian bone games, rolling them as dice..
Crunch snow under your boots deep within the Yolyn Am Canyon, where permanent ice remains deep within the Gobi..
Pick up the tune of the “singing dunes” beneath your feet as you descend the Khongor Els sand dunes..