It was going to be an eventful day. We drove via Songino (Сонгино) [1], which means onion, into a vast, barely developed area. The Khar Lake or better Ulaagchiin Khar Lake (Улаагчийн Хар Нуур) is located south of Songino.
If you look it up on the map or Google Maps, you will see a large area without a road. Once you cross a well-worn gravel road, but then there is hardly any dirt road to continue. You can see where cars or motorbikes sometimes drove, but essentially it is a lonely area. The map also shows mountain ranges.
We went into an area where a new route was supposed to be, as the tour operator already got stuck two years ago [2]. But now there was to be a better way, because people had heard that there was a bridge and therefore we took this opportunity. We drove over a hill. However, the path is not clearly marked. A dry, sandy area with little grass, but with some bushes could be seen.
We had driven too far, but found a ger in the semi-desert. There the nomads were questioned and they pointed in all possible directions. In order to lead us properly, someone wanted to accompany us. But that went wrong because we lost him and ended up in a plain with a small river running through it. While there were still bushes on the edge of the plain at the mountains, the wide plain was open, neither tree nor bush, just grassland. But the grass was fat, as the saying goes. Maybe because there was this little river.
Before we reached the ger on the plain, we saw a 13-14 year old boy on a horse driving a herd of horses in front of him. The nomads explained to us that we had to go back because there was no ford or bridge in the area ahead of us and we would also be moving towards the west, further and further away from our destination.
We came back to the hilly region and the driver of the truck, who was also responsible for scouting, such as the route and campsites, saw a ger hidden behind bushes at the foot of a hill and there we asked the nomads again and they pointed out to us the correct way. There should have been a sign somewhere else, but not here. And maybe that's a good thing, keeping the big tour operators out of the region.
We soon reached a real sandy road and stopped at a small hill. The track had become treacherous and the sand was deep, so we left the Furgons [3] to make them lighter. Then we walked a little way down the dune and came to a bridge, more tiny version of a bridge, but it carried well the weight of the furgons and the truck, which also had to use the bridge as there wasn't a ford in sight. Only when we looked back we saw how steep the dune was or how deep the river had dug into it.
We continued along the river and then uphill on a relatively good track. Nevertheless, a tire had burst. Changing the tires gave us the opportunity to take a closer look at the surroundings and take some time to relax. What would happen next? As we drove off again, someone said rather calmly: “Let’s be surprised!”
After overcoming a height, we came to a plateau – grassland. We were surprised that we didn't come across nomads with all the grass. Maybe it wasn't the right time of year, or the area didn't have enough water, or grazing is easier on the plains – there were many possibilities, but I still don't know the real reason. Driving there was good. For a very long stretch it went well, perhaps too well.
We turned northeast because the plateau splits into NE and SW and NE was our direction. We drove through sand again... and got stuck. Even the big truck got stuck. We were able to push the furgons; they got free relatively quickly, but then they had to drive almost two kilometers to avoid getting stuck again. We then had to walk through the sand. However, the truck still had to be shoveled free and we also took part in that. But then it was released again on its own. What if it hadn't been released from the sand? Then at some point we would have decided to pitch our tents and spend the night there. Eventually things got better again for a while.
Already at dusk we came to an extensive dune area. In the branched dunes we once reached a dead end, but we still found the way and reached the Khar Nuur. Hooray! We were on a bad slope again and had to go halfway around the lake to get to our ger camp. We arrived there at 11:25 p.m. It had already gotten very cold and while we ate some soup, fires was kindled for us in the gers. The day was adventurous and exhausting at the same time. And I wouldn't miss this trip for anything! I still get goosebumps as I write this.
The Khar Nuur is a relatively small lake. The lake should not be confused with other Khar Nuurs, so I provide geographical data here to be on the safe side; the name means black lake and there are several with this name. And interestingly, on Wikipedia the German article is the most comprehensive; the Mongolian and English articles offer similar information. However, the precise information on size etc. is given in the Chinese article.
Correct name: Ulaagchiin Khar Lake (Улаагчийн Хар Нуур) [4]
Location: 48° 21′ 0″ N, 96° 6′ 0″ E
Surface elevation: 1,980 m (that's why it got cold in the evening)
Maximum length: 27 km
Maximum width: 5 km
Surface area: 84.5 km²
Average depth: 19.7 m
Maximum depth: 47 m
Water volume: 1,654 km³
The Khar Nuur is fed by various streams from the Khangai Mountains (Хангайн нуруу). Lake levels appear to be rising, perhaps due to climate change. The Khar Nuur is a resting place for migratory birds on their way through Central Asia.
The next day we had a very nice view, initially in the sunshine, then despite rain and snow, we were able to find a very romantic corner. That's where the dunes run into the lake. Marvelous!
Links and Annotations:
[1] “Songino (Mongolian: Сонгино, Onion) is a sum of Zavkhan Province in western Mongolia. The sum center former location was 48 53 10 N 95 52 34 E. In 2005, its population was 1,921.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songino,_Zavkhan
[2] "Unsere Reisen in die Mongolei sind Abenteuerreisen mit Expeditionscharakter. Die Mitreisenden müssen sich bewusst sein, dass wir zwar auch auf Teerstraßen unterwegs sind, oft jedoch auf unebenen Pisten. Wir fahren durch Flüsse, über Berge und durch Sand und Steppe." [Our trips to Mongolia are adventure trips with an expedition character. Travelers must be aware that we are also traveling on tarred roads, but often on uneven slopes. We drive through rivers, over mountains and through sand and steppe.] Reisen mit Dr. Elvira Friedrich https://www.wolkenbote.de/reisen/mongolei/
[3] Furgon (Russian фургон) is a four wheel drive off-road vans and light trucks with body-on-frame construction and cab over engine design, the family of these cars is correctly called UAZ-452. The advantage of these cars is the lack of electronic parts, so that they can also be repaired away from a “contracted workshop”. The mechanical stress on the Furgons is very high in Mongolia. Smaller repairs were repeatedly necessary, which were carried out by the drivers themselves. Even the cooling system for one of the engines was changed. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UAZ-452
[4 https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Char_Nuur and
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khar_Lake_(Zavkhan) and https://mn.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A5%D0%B0%D1%80_%D0%BD%D1%83%D1%83%D1%80_(%D0%97%D0%B0%D0%B2%D1%85%D0%B0%D0%BD) and https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%93%88%E7%88%BE%E6%B9%96_(%E6%89%8E%E5%B8%83%E6%B1%97%E7%9C%81)
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