Gorkhi Terelj National Park

Два дня рая (Two days of Paradise)

Gers, Horse Riding, Hiking, the Ayrapala Temple and lots of food!

11/09/2017: Day One

Today we headed out to the Gorkhi Terelj National Park where we will be staying at Guru Eco Ger Camp for two nights. It is beautiful out in the park. We are here after the rain season so it is green, and the leaves are starting to change colour on the trees so the forest around looks spectacular.

Once we had arrived, settled in our Ger and had some lunch we were off to walk a few valleys over to the Aryapala Temple. The Aryapala Temple is a relatively new temple nestled in the valleys of the park. It was about a two hour walk from our camp to the temple. On the way we walked past Turtle rock, which actually does look like a turtle. There were also many prayer piles that we walked past. The prayer piles are piles of rocks and other items. The idea is that you walk around three times, throwing something on the pile each time while making three wishes. I wished for good weather for the rest of the trip, and someone must have been listening cause that’s what we got.

The Temple itself is a beautiful complex. There are many mantra lining the path around the temple and a wheel you spin to find out what number is your mantra. I got number 6 and Louise got number 137. We then went up to the main temple at the highest part of the complex. The view from the door is just as amazing as the inside. The temple is bright and full of colour. I can imagine it would be an amazing place to worship at.

The sun was beginning to set as we got back to camp after our two hour walk back again. We got back just in time too. While the temperature in the park is around 25 degrees during the day it drops to about 4 degrees at night. Luckily we had a hearty meal waiting for us and the fire in our tent was roaring.

12/09/2017: Day Two

Our only full day in the park and we woke to a beautiful sunrise before heading to the dining room for a massive breakfast. We will need it though; we have lots of activities planned for the day.

To start the day we got to play dress ups with some traditional Mongolian dress and learn how to play knuckle bones (using real sheep knuckle bones). Then it was some traditional archery, which none of us were very good at. We then had some free time before lunch so Louise and I decided to climb the ridge line around the camp and check out the views. It was well worth the walk as the views across the valleys were amazing. I would have loved to have more time in the camp to walk around the park a bit more, but maybe we can come back some day.

After lunch we headed across the valley to a local nomadic family. They welcomed us inside the Ger and we were treated to traditional snacks and fermented horse milk (which was disgusting but you’ve got to try it I guess). After spending some time with the family we hired horses to ride back across the valley to our camp. I had a great time horse riding but the horses were definitely not designed for western sized people. My legs were very cramped by the end and my horse was quite over me as well I think.

After a beautiful day in the camp Louise and I climbed back up to the ridge line to watch the sunset and then look at the stars for a while before dinner. It will be such a shame to leave such a beautiful place to go back to the city tomorrow. I am pretty sure I will be leaving a bit of my soul in Mongolia; I will have to come back someday to collect it.