Ulgii City is where I spent most of the latter part of my travels in Mongolia. There is a small airport in Ulgii City, and one can take a small plane from Ulaanbaatar to Ulgii City. The flight takes a little over two hours, and from Ulgii City, you can take a jeep. In my case, I took the services of a Bukhanka UAZ-452, a very rugged Russian-made old van also called the “bread loaf” because it looks like a loaf of bread.
I spent most of my time eating chocolates and cheese with bread, as that was the only food I liked when we were in the mountains or moving through the mountains on horseback. As luck would have it, I also stopped to see some old Muslim burial places or graveyards deep inside the mountains, buried deep in the valleys of Ulgii City.
This is a predominantly Kazakh place, and two hundred thousand Kazakhs live in and around the mountainous city, which has very cold temperatures. The city is large yet simple. The houses are very basic, but there are supermarkets and shops all over the city, along with flourishing restaurants serving chicken and rice. I managed to have a large bowl of soup here, as that was the best thing to keep me warm.
Ulgii City
My Russian-made Bukhanka did a great job, and I had an old but very experienced driver taking us on this adventurous ride.
I walked over frozen riverbeds and even jumped into a waterfall. The place had a very mystical feel about it, especially the area around the mosque and the Muslim graveyard, where there were flags with the Islamic symbol of the crescent moon.
The people here don’t speak Mongolian; they speak a local Kazakh dialect. There are hotels, but not many, and they are more of the basic type. You will need a Kazakh-speaking tour guide here as no one speaks Mongolian. There are markets and bazaars, and one can get the local dried curd, which is full of vitamins.
This city is also famous for its Eagle Hunting Festival. People tame and train eagles here, then showcase their eagles’ skills in festivals and local competitions. I was also lucky to have tea with a local eagle hunter family on a later day.
The mountains, the grassy land, the many lakes and streams, along with dusty roads and bridges, give this city a very ancient feel as if it has been locked in time for centuries.
Ulgii is a city in western Mongolia and is the capital of the Bayan-Ulgii Aimag. It has a vibrant embroidery industry inspired by Kazakh art and music. One can find animal skin fur hats and exotic fur jackets as well in Ulgii.
Ulgii is situated on the banks of the Khovd River, which is vast. It is a must-see place for travel lovers.
