Lake Khovsgol

Among all the famous places in Mongolia, Lake Khovsgol is one of the most popular. It is situated in the northern Mongolia .The lake is one of the oldest and exceptionally stunning lakes in the world. Visiting Mongolia and missing the opportunity to explore the Lake Khovsgol National Park will be a tragedy. The Khovsgol Nuur has also being named as the “Blue Pearl of Mongolia”. How beautiful is that? This lake receives most of the tourists in the peak season.
 If we get into the cover of the lake, it is around 20-40 km (12-25 mi) wide, 136 km (85 mi) long, and up to 260 m (853 ft.) deep; the lake contains almost 70% of all Mongolian freshwater. You will be surprised to know that Lake Khovsgol is one of the 17 oldest lakes in the world, and when it comes to the age of this lake, it is thought to be between 2 and 5 million years old. Wow!

This stunning landscape was selected in 1992 for the formation of Lake Khovsgol National Park. In 2011, the entire portion of land of the park got expanded into 1.180.270 hectares. People of Mongolia are largely dependent on this lake and it serves an extreme purpose for the entire nation. The pristine beauty of the place has attracted tourists and travelers from across the world to Mongolia.
 Let us talk about the Lake Khovsgol National Park, which houses some of the incredible and endangered species of Mongolia.

•  The park is home to argali sheep, marmots, ibex, wolf, fox, wolverine, Siberian moose, snow leopard, brown bear and roe deer.

•  This Lake houses around 68 species to start with, and you just know that this place is a heaven for wildlife lovers.

•  In winters, the parking area is dominated by the extremely cold winter climate, which is also a harsh environment for most bird species to stay in the region all throughout.

•  Tourists have often spotted species like kites, eagles, swans, cranes, wide variety of ducks and songbirds.

•  Roughly, 800 species of trees and plants have been found in the Lake Khovsgol, and it has some of the new additions.

•  The summers in Mongolia is best to spot the creatures as most of the 244 species of birds visit the park. These birds are migratory birds and they migrate long distances between their breeding grounds (Mongolia) and colder winter refuges in distant countries.

The region surrounding Lake Khovsgol is one of the mountains and taiga forest in the other part. You will see the two splendid mountain ranges at once.
 For thousands of years, Lake Khovsgol has been the home of nomadic pastoralists. The lifestyles of this region are some of Mongolia's most enduring traditions from centuries to now. The reason why they strictly avoid farming is the harsh climate, which is characterized by long and very cold winters. Hence, they only consider semi-nomadic herding that proved to be a dominant way of life for the people. They practice herding reindeers, horses, sheep, goats, cattle, yaks, and few smaller animals; they have been a part of their ecosystem from centuries now.

The mounds and deer stones found in the region symbolize the history and culture of ancient Mongolia that use to follow sacrifices and worship for Shamanism. An old religion comes from the belief of earth, and nature in the early times. However, this kind of religion is still followed in some remote parts of the region by the nomads.
 If the place sounds too authentic to you, and you think you will be bored without any outdoor activities, then you are wrong. This location is hopping, and the activities are certainly brilliant. The summers are the busiest time of the year, when most of the long-term and short-term travelers arrive in the Lake Hovsgol National Park.  

The park is interesting enough to offer various types of tours, sightseeing amidst nature, study excursions, camping trips, climbing, hiking, trekking, riding, kayaking, boating, and even biking.

• Camping is the most popular and loved activities of every tourist. People carry their tents or rent one of them to relax, cook their own food, and enjoy around nature.

• The park is a great place for climbing, hiking for experienced and novice mountaineers, climbers, and hikers.

• Returning from Mongolia without trying the horse trek or horse riding will be a tragedy. If you are in this region, you have to try horse activities. They are simply the best!

• You will also come across guided horse trekking trips, and short horse riding tours, this is possible in most parts of the parks to explore the wilderness in remote areas.

• You will love to travel around the lake in the bike; the trails are interesting and popular around the year. Tourists love biking around to explore nature and its beauty.

• If you are a boat person, then the lake also offers a ship and boat tour, you will notice that the place has an esthetic beauty while exploring through boat and ships.
 The travel options are restricted to just plane or car to this location from the capital - Ulaanbaatar. Since the lake is located in the north of town, and the capital city and Murun town will be able to offer a ride by car. The bus services are also limited to this part of the area, but there are few public buses that run through on a weekly basis, you might have to pay an entry fee to enter the south and north park.

Although the prices of transportation keep changing based on the weather, season of traveling, and number of people, we can give you an estimated fare to make the calculations.

Estimated fare by Car- $100 per car, it is for one-way transportation with fuel cost, the car has accommodation for 3-4 Passengers.
Estimated fare by Bus- $20-$30 per person. In addition, the bus is not very frequent and you will have to wait and schedule in order to execute the plan.

There are so much to explore in the region that your one week trip or even one-month trip will not be sufficient. Few things are very important to bear in mind, starting with safety from wild animals and life-threatening situations. The travelers mostly travel with all preparations but do remember that cell phones, and search rescue are quite limited in the area.

You must not travel without a guide, the Lake Khovsgol is set in a huge area, and you might lose your track in off the beaten tracks, so make sure you are travelling with an experienced guide.