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W

alled in by Russia and

China, landlocked Mongolia

might not look much in

your atlas, but beneath the

dense forests of the north,

and bounded by the Altai

mountains of the west, you will �nd within its

borders the Gobi desert. The coldest and most

northerly desert on Earth, exploring the Gobi

is the adventure of a lifetime.

Korean Air can get you from London to

Mongolia's capital, Ulaanbaatar, in 15 hours,

via Seoul. Those 15 hours are best treated

as an opportunity to enjoy what will not

be forthcoming in the desert: free-‡owing

Perrier-Jouët in elegant Riedel glassware and

Korean table d'hôte meals. Where I was going,

there would be no Champagne bars, no �ne

dining and no ‡ushing lavatories.

More than one-third of Mongolia's

population lives in Ulaanbaatar. An economic

boom, fuelled by the mining and minerals

sectors, has transformed its skyline, with new

builds �lling in the gaps between the starker

constructions of the Soviet era.

Into the wild

My adventure really began the following

morning, when I escaped the city and ‡ew

one and a half hours south to a small landing

strip in the remote town of Dalanzadgad, in

the South Gobi province of Ömnögovi.

My group of eight was met by guides with

Land Rovers and old Russian trucks piled high

with food, camping gear, mountain bikes,

kayaks and all of the other accoutrements

that would make us self-su•cient.

We drove for an hour along rough roads to

the hilltop camp that would be our home for

the night. There were �ve traditional felt gers

(yurts), white and mushroom-like, and around

them only mountains and a spectacular

emptiness stretching for hundreds of miles.

We were briefed that afternoon: the idea

was to travel from Dalanzadgad to the town

of Bayankhonger, almost 400 miles across

the South Gobi.

After our brie�ng we visited a nomadic

family living on a neighbouring hilltop. As

we arrived, the skies opened and we were

ushered inside the warm, dry ger. Our host

kindly oœered a glass of distilled, warm mare's

milk and some noisome, salty cheese. Not

one to oœend, I pretended to eat it.

The entire family of four slept in the ger.

Red woven rugs covered the ‡oor and a tin

stove sat in the centre, with a long chimney

running out of a hole in the roof. Against the

wall was an orange chest of drawers with a

mobile phone on top. Even that far out in

the Gobi, you can get reception.

Outside the ger was a tough-looking

saddled horse. They serve the same function

as a car and are kept in good working

order but, after breaking camp at �rst

light, it was into motorised vehicles

that we clambered.

Our convoy thundered across

the ancient desert, dwarfed by the

immense vault of the sky. The Gobi is

special: you feel a sense of discovery,

as if you are the �rst person to experience it.

River deep, mountain high

We drove along dusty and rutted roads,

through boulder-strewn steeps and deep

sandy riverbeds. We passed herds of twohumped

camels, windswept sheep, wild

horses and hungry-looking vultures. Mongolia

is the world's most sparsely populated

country - see one other car and you can

consider it a busy day.

We would often stop and haul down the

bikes for experimental roller-coaster rides

over the rugged, breathtaking terrain.

WIDE OPEN

spaceDon desert boots to earn your nomadic stripes beneath

the stars and vast, clear skies of Mongolia's Gobi desert

WORDS LISA YOUNG

OUR CONVOY THUNDERED ACROSS

THE ANCIENT DESERT, DWARFED BY

THE IMMENSE VAULT OF THE SKY.

PHOTOS: LISA YOUNG, EXODUS