MONGOLIA’S FORGOTTEN REINDEER HERDERS: The Tsaatan Nomads of Hovsgol

MONGOLIA’S FORGOTTEN REINDEER HERDERS PHOTOGRAPHY TOURS WITH WILD IMAGES

For thousands of years, the Tsaatan people have lived in the remote, deep forests and tundras of northern Mongolia. With only around 200 people, they are an Inuit culture considered one of the smallest ethnic minorities in the world.

Moving from pasture to pasture every seven to ten weeks, this tiny community of nomadic reindeer herders is one of the few remaining tribes of its kind.

Native to Russian Siberia and Mongolia’s northernmost province of Khovsgol, Tsaatan herders depend on their reindeer for nearly every aspect of survival, as well as their cultural and spiritual identity.

But as modern development reaches their remote habitat, their ancient traditions now risk dying out.  The introduction of a conservation area (which has restricted the Tsaatan from traditional hunting) in 2012, illegal mining, and climate change have all added pressure on these special people, forcing many of them to move to towns and abandon their traditional nomadic lifestyle with their reindeer herds.

This tour takes you to the heart of the Taiga forest in northern Mongolia, where we camp alongside a family of traditional Tsaatan people for several days, learning how they care for their reindeer and survive the harsh winters in this spectacular region.

After leaving the remote town of Murun, we will drive to the Darkhad Valley trailhead in 4WD vehicles.  Along the way, we will see some of the most pristine landscapes in the world, gaze upon spectacular views, see stunning wild horses, yaks, and golden eagles, and meet incredible local people who will welcome you into their home with open arms and talk to us about the joys and hardships of nomadic life in Mongolia.

From there, we will trek to a family of herders living in a wild forest region called Tengis Shishegt, near the border between Mongolia and Russia. Reindeer outdo horses in this wild terrain, and they have allowed the Tsaatan to evade many of the upheavals that have historically afflicted people in the lowlands, from Genghis Khan to Communism.

The last remaining Tsaatan are spread across 30 households in this area, and visiting them is like witnessing something magical. A relationship between humans and animals that has stood the test of time, and a culture with a deep respect for the earth and all its gifts.

Originally from the Russian region of Tuva, the Tsaatan people live on the border of Mongolia and Russia in a boreal forest area called the taiga.

The taiga is the largest biome on Earth after the oceans; it is a snow forest (in winter) or swamp forest (in summer) that forms a border between the Arctic tundra and the grasslands.

You can find taiga in any of the world’s northernmost countries, including Russia, Mongolia, the Nordic countries in Europe, Canada and the US (Alaska). The taiga is actually the world’s second-largest biome (apart from the ocean), which is crazy considering I had never even heard of it before my trip to Mongolia.

While the taiga may seem cold and unforgiving, it’s the perfect place for the reindeer the Tsaatan have grown to love and care for like family. And where their reindeer thrive, they thrive.

The Tsaatan and their reindeer have an incredible symbiotic relationship, each dependent on the other for survival. Without the reindeer, the Tsaatan could never survive in the taiga, and without the Tsaatan, the reindeer would die off at the paws of wolves.

The Tsaatan use their reindeer for dairy products (including milk, yoghurt, and cheese) and transportation, while the reindeer rely on the Tsaatan for safety and protection from predators. This symbiotic relationship requires the Tsaatan to live as nomads, moving with their reindeer as they graze on a very specific kind of Arctic moss.

The taiga extends from Mongolia into Russia, and in the past, the Tsaatan migrated freely between the two countries. However, Russia’s involvement in World War II ended that lifestyle. Consequently, food shortages and fear of having their reindeer claimed by the government forced many Tsaatan to move permanently to Mongolia.

Although the Tsaatan have lived exclusively in Mongolia for almost 70 years, they still speak their native language, Tuvan, making communication difficult for visitors without skilled translators.  Very few of them even speak Mongolian.

Life For the Tsaatan

The Tsaatan people live almost completely off the land, sleeping in Ortz, or tepees made from long, skinny tree trunks with a waterproof canvas covering stretched around them. They make beds from logs, heat their homes with a wood-fired stove, and get their sustenance entirely from reindeer. The Tsaatan consider their reindeer as part of the family, so they rarely eat reindeer for meat.

Every few weeks, a family sends a member into town to buy supplies and food they can’t get at camp. Typical purchases would be flour, rice, vegetables, or clothes.

A typical day for Tsaatan people includes waking up, lighting the stove and then heading out to milk their reindeer. After milking, the families gather in their tepees and make milk tea and breakfast on the stove. After breakfast, the families let their reindeer loose, and a few people work together to herd them away from camp to their grazing area, where they graze all day.

During the day, families hang out together drinking tea and tending to different household tasks such as making yoghurt, cheese, and bread, hunting for meat, or gathering berries from the woods (in the summer).

In the evening, Tsaatan families go out to get the reindeer from their grazing area and herd them back to camp, where they are tethered for the night. After dinner, they will do a final night check of the reindeer before going to bed.

The Tsaatan typically move camp up to seven to eight times a year on migration. This massive task involves packing all of their belongings (tepees, stoves, pots, utensils, clothes, etc.) on the backs of their reindeer so they can move to more favourable grazing grounds.

The culture of Shamanism in the Tsaatan Reindeer Herders.

Shamanism, one of the oldest religious beliefs in the world, is still widely practised by the Tsaatan reindeer herders in Mongolia.  Essentially, it underpins the close relationship Mongolian people share with nature and Tengrism (sky worship). Tengrists believe the sky, earth, nature and the spirits of their ancestors guard and bless all people. The Shamanistic practices among the Tsaatan are thought to be the oldest in the country. They not only worship their Shaman, but also have many mystical holy books and use many different treatises in daily life, including those for hunting and for calling or banishing the rain.

We hope to meet a Tsaatan shaman on our tour to meet Mongolia’s reindeer herders.

Uushig Deer Stones

Located on the south-eastern side of rocky Mount Uushig, 17 km west of Murun, the Uushig Deer Stone area includes several square burials and 14 deer stones in a single area, depicting different figures that date back to the Bronze Age. The Uushig deer stones are said to be the most clearly depicted deer stones in Mongolia. The deer stones are aligned from north to south in a single column. Each stone is between three and twenty metres distant from the next and is made of tetrahedral granite. The stones depict a deer, an arch, a shield, a horse, a knife, the moon, the sun, and a mirror-figured belt. A total of 109 deer figures, along with some human figures, are carved on 14 different stones at Uushig, and visiting them on our Mongolia reindeer herder photography tour will give us a snapshot of the ancient ways of these special people.

Accommodation & Road Transport

Road transport is by 4WD vehicles.

Our fully supported camps include beds with mattresses and bedding inside a shared traditional Ortz (or Tepee tent). We will provide a shared toilet tent.  Camp cooks will supply delicious meals.

Please note that minimal washing facilities will be available at the nomad camp.  We can provide a bucket of water for simple washing every couple of days.

Except for the supported camps around the Tsaatan people, accommodation is in comfortable lodges, hotels, and guest houses.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The ability to ride horses is essential on this expedition.  The distances in the Taiga are too long to trek, and a Mongolian horse will be provided to help us access the Tsaatan.  Mongolian horses are generally quiet and sturdy to ride.  A horseback guide will be provided for each rider on the expedition.

Pack horses will carry luggage and our camp to the nomad camps.

Walking

This tour involves walking in sometimes muddy and boggy conditions over relatively flat ground.

Climate

The Hovsgol region lies very close to the border between Mongolia and Russia, and we can expect cool days, with temperatures between freezing and 10C.  During the nights, the temperatures may drop to below zero.