Before 1900 there were 243 incarnate lamas in Mongolian territory. But the old religion of Mongolia is shamanism, the worship without scripture, the faith which had no books; the hallmarks of the shaman were ecstatic trembling, involuntary speaking and singing. Along with the shaman’s role in life, though, there were the hallmarks of what seem to be basic Bon beliefs: the cult of the eternal blue sky, the veneration of fire, the invocation of Geser Khan and ancestor-worship; incense offerings to the tngri, prayers to hills and mountains and the lha therein, and blessings and curses; and Ongghot worship.

Early shamans: wore white dresses and rode white horses. In the spring, the offerings to the ancestors were performed by women or else in the presence of women.

Description of a shaman’s garb and gear: shaman costumes are inherited from previous shamans and represent a traditional garb, like a uniform.

For Mongol shamans, metal hung about their persons was essential, and some of them wore up to forty pounds of it; they wore a kaftan which closed up the back (not the sides, as is normal for an ordinary Mongol kaftan) ornamented with small pieces of metal and bells, each of which is trimmed with little strips (of cloth or leather) in snake form – which may represent a bird’s feathers, ie spirit flight. The name of this formal shaman’s dress is quyay, “armor” or else eriyen debel, “spotted dress”.

Over this is worn an apron of tapering strips about 32 inches long, hanging down from a band 8 inches wide; the color and number of the strips varies. (Examples: one apron had nine black cotton strips; another twenty-one strips in the colors of the rainbow; another was arranged like a tiger’s skin, and this last was called kurun eryen bars, “brown-spotted tiger”.) Usual in Solon, Manchu and Chinese shamanism.

All shamans (even those who have abandoned the rest of their ceremonial dress) wear a further apron, which is a belt of leather hung with mirrors. Altaic shamans wear nine mirrors. The mirrors are called toli and this apron has several names: the “blue cloud-bee” and also boge-yin kulug the “mount of the shaman”.

Answer: Hey, you are right about the weather conditions, there will be SNOW, and lots of it still in March. It will be very cold at night, even tho’ temperature during day time will be MUCH better than was in Jan & Feb. Make sure you have adequate winter clothing and of course a high rating down sleeping bag if you are considering this time to be in Mongolia!

Answer: Hi there. Yup, you are right about the weather conditions during February in Mongolia, the temperature are below freezing …. often hitting the -10 to -20 regions. You will need adequate winter clothes just to be able to get out in town! The tourists population will be very LOW during Feb, alot of tourist facilities will thus be closed! However, there are several attractions and festivals that’s only available during this period! The Tsagaan Sar (white month) falls during Feb, and there will be a lot of celebrations around! The thousand camel festival and Ice festival @ Khovsgol lake are also key attractions during this time!

Indpendent travel is not advisable for Feb, you should really get contact with tour agencies and let them plan out the itineraries, since travelling around this period of time will be very hard.

Be warned that , smog level in Ulaanbaatar is also at one of the worst during winter times.

It’s the town on the Mongolian side of the sole border crossing into China open to foreigners, you be here if you are travelling between Beijing and Ulaanbaatar. From Zamyn Uud, you enter to China (inner Mongolia) thru Erlian / Ereen.

While Erlian booms with economic activity right across the border, little happens in Zamyn Üüd – there is no market and the roads are slowly being consumed by sand, blown in from the surrounding desert.

There are just enough transit travellers to keep some hotels and restaurants busy around the train station. Plans to build a casino in the town could help, although after several years of talk nothing has happened yet.

Answer: Welcome to Mongolia! The local train is used mainly by the locals, and I’m sure it will be a great travel experience. If you are planning to do a cross border on the train, taking a train between Ulaanbaatar & Zamyn Ude (China border) will be a good choice!

There’s no train service south to Dalanzagad – Mongolia train system follows the route of the Trans Siberian Train
southbound you can stop at Choir, Sainshand and Zamyn Ude
northbound you can stop at Darkhan, Erdenet

However do note that it will be hard to travel around to major tourist attractions, even after you reach the train stations.

Traditionally, Mongols prefers red meat, and consider fish as inferior meat, thus allowing fish to multiply as freely as they could for centuries. However Mongolia has a history of eating fish. Genghis Khan ate fish to survive when he was deprived by a rival people of all his family property and cattle.

The largest fish available in Mongolia is taimen,, an enormous salmonidae that are mainly piscivores, though they frequently hunt down marmots crossing rivers.

National Geographic called the taimen the “Mongolian Terror Trout”! That’s this Mongolian legend that tells of a giant taimen trapped in river ice. Starving herders were able to survive the winter by hacking off pieces of its flesh. In the spring the ice melted and the giant taimen climbed onto the land, tracked down the herders, and ate them all.

The taimen are on average 1- 1.5 meters long and sometimes reaching six feet and up to 50 kilograms! Catch-and-release with barb-less hooks is practiced in order to conserve dwindling populations of the taimen. Killing a taimen can indeed bring more problems than you will want to deal with! The superstitious Mongols believe that it will bring misery to 999 human souls!

Another highly valued fish is the Darkhat White fish , famed for its tender flesh with almost no bones. It is available only in the lakes of Darkhat Valley in far north of Huvsgul province and accounts for 85 percent of consumption. They can grow up to 60 cm, and up to 3 kilograms.

Lenok (a type of trout), grayling and pikes are also a good catch in Mongolia. Best places include:
- Khovsgol Nuur for grayling and lenok
- Terkhiin Tsagaan Nuur for pike

Fishing in Mongolia Video

Disclaimer: I have not tried this company or recommend it in anyway.

Fishing Permit

All foreign fisherman needs a fishing permit. Out-of-the-way rivers are usually not patrolled – but this does not mean that you don’t need a permit.

Permits are obtained from national park administration offices or from the Mongolian Ministry of Nature and Environment. If you are fishing without a permit, you will be fined and have your equipments confiscated!

The permit cost around USD50 a week, but to get a permit, you need a contract with the sum of where you are fishing and an approval by the aimag. Troublesome indeed! Best way is to get a reputable fishing tour operator to make arrangements for you.

Best Time to go Fishing

The harsh winter starts from October, and the lakes and rivers are frozen till mid May, rain and snow melt start filling them till September. thus, the best time of year for fishing in Mongolia is during September and October.

Suggested Operators

Do choose operators that creates better fishery conservation models! This will allow Mongolia to maintain pristine rivers with healthy fish populations. If you have good experiences with a particular fishing operator, do send me an email.

Mongolia River Outfitters
www.mongoliarivers.com

Around the New Year families burn candles at the altar symbolizing enlightenment. Also people greet each other by saying ‘Amar mend uu?’ or ‘Amar bain uu?’, a very formal greeting which one says to one’s elders. Mongols also visit friends and family on this day and exchange gifts. A typical Mongol family will meet in the home dwelling of the eldest in the family. Many people will be dressed in full garment of national Mongol costumes.

When greeting their elders during the White Moon festival, Mongols grasp them by their elbows to show support for them. The eldest receives greetings from each member of the family except for his/her spouse. During the greeting ceremony, family members hold long pieces of colored cloth called khadag. After the ceremony, the extended family eats rice with curds, dairy products and buuz and drinks airag, and exchanges gifts.

The day before Tsagaan Sar is called Bituun, the name of the lunar phase of dark moon. The lunar phases are Bituun (dark moon), Shined (new crescent moon), Tergel (full moon), and Huuchid (waxing moon). On the Bituun day, people thoroughly clean around home, herders also clean the livestock barns and shades, to meet the New Year fresh. The Bituun ceremony also includes burning candles to symbolize enlightenment of the samsara and all sentient beings and putting 3 pieces of ice at the doorway so that the horse of the deity Palden Lhamo could drink as the deity is believed to visit every household on this day. In the evening, families gather together–immediate family usually, in contrast to the large feast gatherings of White Moon day–and see out the old year eating dairy products and buuz. Traditionally, Mongolians settle all issues and repay all debts from the old year by this day.

Answer: Hi there. Most of the time, the 4 x 4 will be a Soviet made Van! Having sat in a few before, i can say the comfort level isn’t that great. However, most of the problems are caused based on the conditions of the “roads”, be prepared for many bumpy rides!

If possible, try to arrange a tour with lesser people (max 4), thus you have more leg space to stretch out. Or alternatively, take the front seat … but often in tours, people will rotate this seat due to the comfort level and of course the better views from it!

The reason for using a 4×4 is that there are no real roads after Ulaanbaatar, often the driver will switch to having power to all four wheels to get across muddy condition or up slopes.

Sukhbaatar (Northern Mongolia) to Russia Via Train
Altanbulag (Northern Mongolia) to Russia Via Road
Ereen-Tsav (Eastern Mongolia) to Russia Via Road
Tsagaannuur (Western Mongolia) to Russia Via Road

Zamin Uud (Southern Mongolia) to China via Train / Road
Bulgan (Western Mongolia) to China Via Road

Tips & Advices

• Mongolia border crossing points are open Monday to Friday 9am to 6pm (Lunch break 12 – 2pm).
• No crossing by foot. You can pay / hitchhike (rarely) to get across.
• Obtain your Mongolian Visa before entry.
• When using trains for border crossing at Sukhbaaatar and Zamin Uud – there will be a delay for the authorities to change the train wheels.
• At Russian border posts, paperwork is highly scrutinized. If you are traveling in and out of Russia make sure that you get the required customs declaration form, and ensure that it is stamped. If you fail to do this, you stand to lose all of your currency and high value possession when you try to leave the country. Russian border officials may be quick to dismiss the need for this document, but you must insist that you get the paperwork and the stamp. Thousands of tourists get hammered this way every year.