- the mountains fell away and we were
left with rocky desert to the feet of the
gigantic dunes emerging in the distance.
The slopes of the mountains guide
water into a subterranean river here,
which feeds an oasis. It’s mind-blowing
to have barren desert behind you,
seemingly endless sand dunes ahead,
and yet a watery marsh appearing
in-between. The colour contrast was
remarkable – the greenery leapt out
against the yellowy-beige of the dunes.
We stayed with Baasanhuu (pictured
on previous page and opposite), who runs
a ger camp in this remote place. He and
his family spend the summer there, then
head back to Ulaanbaatar so the children
can go to school. He leads camel rides to
the dunes, half an hour away – you can
try to climb them to watch the sunset.
Camels are pretty much the only way
to get around this area – they’re capable
of walking over the soft ground of the
marshes where vehicles would get
stuck. I had only ever been on one-
humped dromedary camels before and
I found them to be super-uncomfortable,
so I was hoping that two-humped
Bactrian camels would be easier on the
buttocks. They were not.
Conor MacNeill is a travel photographer
who provides bespoke photography
lessons via his website (thefella.com).
Search ‘Lonely Planet Baasanhuu’
for details of the ger camp.
