Terkhiin Tsagaan Nuur

by Biedjee

We made a late afternoon stop at the Chuluut gorge, Mongolia's claim to a Grand Canyon. This scenic spot atop some dramatic cliffs looking down to the Chuluut river made a nice stop to stretch our legs, shot some photos and crack open the first beers.

From there onwards it was only an hour more to our final destination: Terkhiin Tsagaan Nuur, or the Great White Lake. This volcanic lake was created thousands of years ago by lava flows from the nearby Khorgo Uul volcano and is generally regarded as the second-most scenic lake in Mongolia (and since the most scenic, Khövsgöl, was off-limits due to our time schedule, we had to make do).
Well, second-most scenic or not, the idyllic setting amidst green extinct volcano cones was beautiful and perfect for our two-day stop.

Yes, two-day stop. Unlike the previous tour where we had to move on each and every day, we would have a whole day to spend leisurely at the lake.
The ger camp we were staying was one of the most beautiful of our entire Mongolia trip too, with a beautifully decorated ger and by far the best outhouse in the whole of Mongolia. Not a simple stinking hole in the ground, no on the contrary, the hole was covered up completely, with air-vents eliminating the smell, and the best of all: it had real seats! Silly really, how you value such things after a couple of weeks on the road.

We put our bags in the Ger, and went down to the lake shore to enjoy the last rays of sunshine. We took the remainder of our beers with us to cool in the icy waters, so that we could enjoy a cold beer at least once during this trip.