Local Travel Experiences In Mongolia

Meet Tomorbat. Tomorbat is the driving force of one of the  local travel experiences in Mongolia that we offer.

Tomorbat through the lens of our guest – Nick Rains, the Australian photographer

Tomorbat lives close to the Orkhon Waterfall (Ulaan Tsutgalan) in Bat-Ölzii, Övörkhangai Aimag. Tomorbat and his wife Namjilmaa own and manage a small tourist ger camp close to the Orkon Waterfall.

Namjilmaa, through the lens of our guest – Nick Rains the Australian photographer

The area surrounding the Orkhon Waterfall (Ulaan Tsutgalan) was created by a series of volcanic eruptions. The 20-meter high waterfall is formed by a series of small streams and rivers including the Ulaan Gol.

We have worked with Tomorbat for many years and our guests can join Namjilmaa in the morning as they milk their yak herds. Tomorbat used to lead our longer adventurous style treks that we offer in the region – whether that was on foot or by horse. But, his son now guides these treks –  a good example of where traditional knowledge is being passed from older to younger generations, as it always has been. This helps keep the knowledge alive, in a real, breathing way for the future.

But, as Tomorbat and Namjilmaa get older, we wanted to continue working with them … as part of our philosophy of providing long-term support to the rural families we work with.

So together with Tomorbat we created our ‘ger to ger’ walk. Led by by Tomorbat himself, this simple concept just takes up a morning or an afternoon where our guests spend time with Tomorbat meeting local herding families in the area.  We allow Tomorbat to decide the route and what families our guests visit and although it is a relaxed walk it provides a different more local perspective on Mongolia. It’s a simple enough concept but as well as providing our guests with a local travel experience in Mongolia it means we can continue to work with Tomorbat and support him as well as tapping into his wealth of local knowledge.

And it just so happens that Tomorbat is one of the best woodworkers I have ever met. The region is also famous in Mongolia for the hand production and traditional decoration of Mongolian gers – known as the Uyanga design. At some point our guests always visit the ger of Tomorbat to spend time in his home – hand made, carved, decorated and painted by Tomorbat himself.

The use of auspicious symbolism within the ger is to bring strength, offer protection and deliver long life and happiness. You will see the use of stylised images of the five elements and motifs illustrating respect for the powerful forces of nature.

Our working partnership with Tomorbat is just one example of the local travel experiences in Mongolia that we offer where we work with local families looking at ways to provide our guests with a real experience and the families with long-term support. For an introduction to some of the other families and rural Mongolians we work with look at the Who We Work With page of our website.