Mongolian ger

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HEADING east from Ulaanbaatar, my guides took me out to a remote valley set in amongst spectacular granite mountains. Several nomadic ger villages were set up in the valley and I had the fortune of staying the night in one.

The night was set to drop to almost freezing, but fortunately there was a small fireplace in the middle of the ger. Upon lighting the fire the ger heated up very quickly until almost becoming a dry sauna after just a few minutes requiring me to open the door. I finally found a good balance with burning just one small piece of wood at a time.

The ger was very comfortable and a cozy size to sleep in, providing shelter and protection from the cold temperatures, and any horses or yaks grazing outside. Although the ger was high enough to stand up, the door was very low requiring me to stoop low to pass through it. The ger was built on a permanent concrete base, but my guide told me the nomadic families who live in them move around four times per year. The ger only takes them about 15 minutes to dismantle, and about an hour to reassemble when the pieces have been moved to the new location.

Blogs from today:
Gers of Terelj
Buddhist temple on a cold mountain of fire
Coast to coast across Eurasia

Superblog from today:
Terelj