Annex I
AGENDA OF TRIP TO VISIT CBT PROJECT
11 August
Drive from UB to Baruun Kharaa in Bayangol soum (160km).
12 August
Drive to Uran togoo montain (44km). We stopped today’s trip because of bad weather and visited
nomadic family.
13 August
Drive to Erdenebulgan soum (134km)
14 August
Drive to Egiin tourist camp (144km)
15 August
Drive to Motoi Mountain (135km)
16 August
Drive to Hatgal in Khuvsgul Aimag. Overnight in Hangarid tourist camp. (148km)
17 August
Day in Hatgal. Clean bank of the Khuvsgul lake from litter with Eco-Friendly Youth club
18 August
Drive to Tsagaan Nuur soum (206km)
19 August
To go to the community by car is not easy, almost impossible. For this reason, we went by horse to this
remote community in western taiga (35 km).
20 August
Day in “Tsaatan” community. Meet community members, local families and research the activities. The
community activities are based on one of Mongolian ethnic groups with specific traditions and religion.
21 August
Go to Harmai River by horse. (35km)
22 August
Drive to Moron (258km)
23 August
Drive to Ulziit soum, Arkhangai Aimag (291km)
24 August
Drive back to UB (210km)
“Tsaatan” Community and Visitors’ Centre
Location: Located in Tsagaannuur soum of Khovsgol aimag. The community is in the remotest area of Mongolia. It
is between eastern and western taigas, so we can go there by horse or car.
Capacity: 4 families with 6 comfortable tsaatan huts. Capacity to receive 10 to 15 visitors.
The centre was founded in 2007, with initiatives of Mongolian-American joint organization “Itgel” Founadtion NGO
to support tsaatan people.
This visitors’ centre intends to organize tours in western and eastern taigas and offers possibilities for tour
operators and visitors to plan their tours in advance through the centre.
Products and Services
Tours with local guides:
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7, 10, 14 days horse-riding
3, 7 days hiking
3, 7 days fishing
Explore beautiful landscape of taiga
Experience with everyday life of tsaatan people and their special traditions
Reindeer-riding
Play traditional games
Souvenirs and artcrafts made from reindeer horn and skin or stone
Accommodation and food services
Performance of some shaman rituels
Community members’ experience and knowledge on tourism
For 18 months, the Itgel Foundation NGO has been cooperating with the centre staff and community family
members as involving them in different trainings on general understanding of tourism, tourism services, guiding and
cooking. Apart from this, the Foundation provided the community with the building of centre, huts and other
equipments needed to receive visitors and helped them to make ready.
Impacts on environment
Tsaatan people are trying to prerseve traditions of their ancestry to protect their unspoiled land and not to harm.
Difficulties facing
Over 250 tsaatans live in eastern and western taigas, and also 100 tsaatans in Tsagaannuur soum. Very few, far
away, with a particular language, traditions and shaman religion tsaatan people have difficult life.
Since Democratic Revolution of 1990, this minority ethnic group is abandoned and they have no possibilities to
work, grant pensions or involve in social or cultural activities. Due to the fact that they live in the remotest area
where there is no development of infrastructure.
Later years, some of tourists who come to Mongolia are attracted by this ethnic group, and it gives possibility to
support tsaatan people. With the visitors’ centre and tsaatan community they can have community fund from
tourism benefit to improve their life and go to school in the capital.
Information and training needs
They learn a lot from tourists whose number increases year after year. They told that the trainings organized by the
Itgel Foundation were very useful for them.
Visitors’ Centre and roomn for welcoming visitors
Reindeers
Bark hut
Hut for newly-wedded couple
Huts for visitors
Drying aaruul
Baby reindeer
Tsaatan children
Tourist inside the hut
Milking the reindeer
Shamanist rituel
“Margad-Yumbuu” community
located in Ider soum, Zavkhan Aimag