The road after Bayan Tes immediately ran into Tesiin Gol. We passed the ford easily, Diana helped, was a water meter, showed the way (a real navigator!). We drove along the steep coast where eagles live

Beautiful birds. True, proud as hedgehogs, until you come very close, they will not fly.


The road from this side of Tes goes along the sand dunes


Bushes and birches grow along the river. They are strongly pressed to the ground. probably the wind can be strong here


The leaves on the birches are very small, not at all like ours. Struggling to retain moisture.


Sand is pouring down from the mountains


Soon the mountain will turn into sand completely


There is almost no vegetation, but even here people live and keep livestock


We eat almost completely in the desert


But even these places have their own charm ... (but better with a good supply of water)


The road turns into the mountains. And greenery appears


There are a lot of mounds in this valley.


They are of different sizes, but they all do not look abandoned. There are neat calculations of stones around the mounds almost everywhere.
The higher we go, the more grass there is.


And the closer to Russia = the more and thicker the smoke.


Suddenly a sign appeared near the road


The only sign for more than 500 km of the way, not counting the steles with the names of the settlements.
The haze is getting denser.
- And the smoke of the fatherland is sweet and pleasant to us. Mom quotes us.
These lines are lying! He is not sweet - bitter! And certainly not pleasant!


Found a power line. And an outlet and an antenna from the TV are screwed to the pole 🙂 Caring people, suddenly you missed the zombie box 🙂
We reached the border in 2 hours. On the way there was an outpost of border guards. This is where the wires ran. We quickly checked the documents and passed on. We were in Artsur in 30 minutes. Not even a village. 10 houses, including 3 shops and 1 hotel. Everything is terribly Soviet type ("All sorts of people walk around here, if you don't like it, get out!"). A very sharp contrast to what we saw in Mongolia. Maybe this is how the border affects people ?!
Having already said goodbye to Mongolia, we went to cross the border, but it wasn’t there! Border is locked tight! Really, such a padlock! :)
There is a small barracks near the checkpoint, where we found people, they explained to us that the border does not work on Sunday. Day off. Come on Monday we will be happy to miss you 🙂.
So it was worth it to hurry and leave Bayan Tes ?! And where to sleep now? In the hotel, which has not seen renovation since the days of developed socialism, I do not want it at all. In the mountains among the steppe on seven winds - it's not sweet either! Well nafig him! Let's go back to the Tes shore, but not too far away, otherwise tomorrow there will be a traffic jam at the border.
While we were looking for and skating through the mountains, we saw real sand dunes of the Altan Els sands.


Here they are across the river


Several yurts stood on the shore at a considerable distance from each other. We stood farther away so as not to interfere. When we got ready to cook, Alice and I went to the nearest yurt and bought the freshest leg of lamb. Which we cooked with pleasure 🙂.
In the morning we went to the border. The border was open. You do not understand - Well, that's just sucking open and no one! We stood at the open gate, slowly, slowly drove to the territory of the checkpoint (you never know). There are three sitting in the shade and waving their hands "Go, go, do not be afraid!" :). We drove up to the first building. One detached himself and went inside with obvious reluctance. I took a passport, a technical certificate. I wrote something down in the journal. "And now," he says, "we will do customs." I went to the car, looked into it, crumpled the bags. “Ah,” he says, “keep driving.” There is passport control, - we had a nice chat with two girls, we were stamped. They say they only have 10-15 cars per day. So there is no download at all. We said goodbye. And we are in a no-man's land. The whole action took 15-20 minutes. Well, if you don't talk, then you can meet even faster 🙂
But ours are just hell. There were already 3 cars in the "neutral". One car at a time is allowed to pass. They force everything to be unloaded and through the scanner, not to go there, not to look here, not to sit here, not to go to the toilet! We stood for 2 hours in the "neutral"! Then for about an hour we were pounded during the passage. The shuttles were with us, so they were forced to unpack everything. So why do they need a scanner, if they still unpack everything? In short, I thought they were working lousy in Mondy-Khanh, they let 15 cars pass for an hour and a half, but here it is something with something!
From Marina: Arthur is very hard on expectations :))) And when his freedom of action and movement is limited, he definitely wants to act and move :) I can understand why “Chelnokov” are asked to open bags. For prohibited goods, hidden and not specified in the declaration. I once crossed the border with China in Manchuria. After what I had to go through there, in Artsur I was surprised by the searches, but not so much. By the way, in Khankh, in Artsur, about the same amount of time was spent on passing the border - three hours.
And here we are in Russia, in Tuva.


The roads have become asphalted, of very good quality!


In places, they are simply gorgeous! We know how to do it sometimes! Although maybe aliens did 🙂


Otherwise, everything is the same.


Well, except for the tractor. I have not seen one in Mongolia. The same yurts, but there are very few livestock and a lot of grass. Maybe the climate is not the same?
We stopped at Erzin, hoping to refuel and have a snack. The gas station is closed, no cafe-canteens were found. We dropped into the store, bought sausages (I guess my mother missed soy 🙂) and a watermelon. We got up on the Erzin river and ate it with pleasure!


Well, very tasty 🙂


We swam in the river and set off to look for a gas station. I decided, in Mongolia, why refuel at the very border, if our fuel is 2 times cheaper ?! Who expected such a setup ?!
Along the way, they accidentally found the legendary


And why look for him ?! Maybe they just call it wrong, the locals don't understand what Shambhala is? There is Shambalyg! If you go from Mongolia, then on the right side after Erzin 🙂

A gas station was found only in Samagaltai, and then one of the two does not have a diesel engine, while the other costs 38 r and judging by the smell of some kind of singed. But there is nothing to do. Fill and go.
And here is probably the homeland of the well-known fast food 🙂


We flew to Kyzyl quickly.


There is such a wonderful monument in front of the entrance to the mountain.
And here is Kyzyl itself, the capital of Tyva.


In the city itself, we found a very original fishing shop


Apparently, creativity in the names is a national feature of Tuvinians 🙂 There is also Lake Cheder (well, like cheese).
But beyond Kyzyl, a nightmare began! Everything is burnt out from edge to edge. As far as the eye can see, everything is black and black! A terrible sight. Like in films about nuclear war. Only firebrands and smoke. A very scary picture. They didn't even shoot.

I've seen a lot of boundaries, a hell of a lot. Somewhere everything happens quickly and clearly, as in Europe and the USA, somewhere it is traumatic for the psyche and the contents of your wallet, as in the Gambia. But such a cool border as between China and Mongolia has never crossed. As you remember, due to being in southern China, I got stuck at the airport in Changsha for a long 8 hours, arrived in Beijing with a huge delay and the Beijing-Ulaanbaatar train left without me. Is it a shame? Still would. But he did not lose heart and chased the departed train by plane, flying from Beijing to Erenhot, bordering Mongolia, where all trains going to Ulan Bator and Moscow make a stop. And I caught my train, but experienced a second bummer - me into it at this border station. But this time, too, I did not lose my infinite optimism and decided to cross the border to Mongolia on my own and from the very first Mongolian border station Zamun-Uud to leave by a local train to Ulan Bator.

But I did not even imagine that the border crossing would turn into a crazy race of hundreds of old UAZs across the Gobi Desert, and each car will have 7-10 people, and all these riders will have trunks with things on their heads and knees. A real cross-border rally, not Paris-Dakar, but rather Erenhot - Zamun-Uud. It was amazing -

I talked about Chinese in a separate article, it is very interesting there. In short, both towns live on an exceptional border. The vast majority of trade and passenger traffic between China and Mongolia follows this transport link. For some 10 years, the godforsaken aul Erenhot has turned into a rather large modern city with 15-storey buildings, shopping centers, hotels and even an airport. Mongolia may be small in population, but it is entirely in Erenhot that it is purchased entirely. As Khabarovsk residents go to Fuyuan, and Vladivostok residents in Suifenhe, so the Mongols have mastered the Chinese border area.

If Erenhot can be easily reached by five daily trains, a dozen buses from Beijing and other cities, or by plane, then as for the Mongolian Zamun-Uud, everything is more complicated there. The Mongols do not have the enormous resources that China has. Ten years ago, both towns were natural auls, but now only a Mongolian twin brother remains an aul. One daily train connects Zamun Uud with Ulan Bator. There are two more passing, one "Beijing - Ulan Bator" (which left without me) and "Beijing - Moscow". But they only pass by the town, there is no landing in them. There is another train coming from China and making a stop here, this is "Erenhot - Ulaanbaatar", but the Mongols do not like it. Dear, they say a dog. And there is. Since it is considered international and branded, it costs exactly twice as much as usual. It is on it that I am currently driving, sitting in a compartment under the light of a night lamp and writing these lines. All the same, I can't sleep, the car is shaking too much and everything creaks terribly. Well, by our standards, even a very expensive Mongolian train is quite cheap. Consider for yourself, a compartment carriage, 750 kilometers of track, costs 32 thousand tugriks, which corresponds to exactly 700 rubles. Is it expensive? But that first train is half the price.

So, all the small merchants of almost two million Ulaanbaatar rush about on trains to Erenhot for goods and then take the goods back to the capital by the same train. So there is always a problem with places, on any day, in any season. At the same time, in Mongolia it is still impossible to buy a ticket for a passing train in advance. Remember how it was before in the USSR? When people were on duty near the ticket office of the station, in the hope that there would be seats on the passing train. It's the same in Mongolia. Since the second train from Erenhot (the one that is more expensive) is passing, tickets for it are not sold until it departs from the Chinese Erenhot. Of course, businessmen do not like such an arrangement. Not only is it expensive, but it is also not clear until the very end whether there will be tickets or not. Accordingly, everyone is eager to get on a cheap train, for which you can take tickets in advance. On the other hand, people who go to buy goods do not always know how long the work will take. I am bringing you to the fact that a large part of the Mongols returning from China with goods is trying to cross the border as soon as possible, run to the station in Zamuun Uud and have time to buy tickets. The attentive reader will notice that if the second train leaves Erenhot, then why not immediately load into it? Why drive across the border and try to snatch tickets for another train? Really for the sake of saving $ 15? The answer is: from savings, yes, but not $ 15, but $ 100. The alignment is as follows: Erenhot and Zamun Uud share only 7 kilometers and the border, but a ticket from Erenhot to Udan Bator is considered international and costs more than one hundred dollars, and a ticket for the same train from Zamun Uud costs 20 dollars. Feel the difference.

Race of hundreds of old UAZs

The sooner you cross the border and find yourself at the station, the greater the chance that you will leave by a cheap train. And even if you are not lucky and there are no tickets, then perhaps you will leave second, more expensive. The border opens at 8:30 am, skipping starts at nine. A cheap train leaves for Ulaanbaatar at 17:35 Mongolian time.

I do not know how this is explained, but you can cross the border only in a Mongolian car, and 95% of these cars have the UAZ-469 brand. There are still passing buses from Beijing and a couple of other cities to Ulaanbaatar, but we are not discussing them, since they run twice a day, almost always full and the chance of catching such a bus at the border is small. I saw two such buses today, both to the eyeballs. Plus, buses are unprofitable for Mongolian merchants, you can't load a lot of goods there. In theory, you can try your luck with the bus, especially if you are not in a hurry and ready to stay at the border for another day in case of failure. If so, the bus will cost you 50 yuan ($ 7.5). It's just that the border closes at 17:30, and too long a bus ride is fraught with consequences. The Mongols say that they are about to launch direct buses from Erenhot to Zamun-Uud, but it is not clear when exactly.

Reade set Go!

Sasha would not be Sasha if he forced himself to get up at 7 in the morning and run to catch a passing UAZ to Mongolia. Therefore, I finished my dreams and left the hotel at exactly noon, not denying myself the pleasure of having a bite to eat along the way. UAZs hang out right in the center of Erenhot, next to kissing dinosaurs -

You cannot miss UAZs, there are hundreds of them -

I'm not exaggerating, so many old cars of one single model are rarely found anywhere. All are hastily loaded and leave one by one to the border.

Optimization is at its maximum, 7-10 people are packed into each car, sitting on each other's heads. The goods are stuffed there. The journey costs 100 yuan ($ 15), which is quite expensive for a seven-kilometer journey. Mafia! The carriers know that you have no choice, you cannot cross the border on foot. Bargaining is appropriate, but the final price will just be 100 yuan; initially may ask for more - bargain.

The goods are shoved even under the hood -

Are you packed in the car? Then go ahead, your path lies on ... customs. See what a colorful aunt our chauffeur is -

Yes, in a strange way, the Chinese customs are located in the center of the city. UAZ vehicles rush there, are checked, they are "sealed" by sticking with adhesive tape and then you go to the border. No, well, not immediately to the border. On the way, you call in a couple of other trading places, where craftsmen carefully peel off the tape, put more goods into the car and glue the tape back -

On the remaining several kilometers, the road is straight as an arrow, there are races between ancient and godlessly overloaded UAZs. Good old cars screech and creak with all their details, but the Mongolian Schumachers firmly hold the steering wheel and drive iron horses to the border -

Now passengers are running to put exit stamps, and cars are waiting for them in the parking lot. Everyone is nervous, in a hurry, no one will wait for those who are late! The law of the jungle, there is also Mongolian customs ahead, time is short.

Before entering Mongolia, a barrier and soldiers in NATO uniforms - the Mongolian army a few years ago began to gradually move away from Soviet-style uniforms and weapons. I don’t know about weapons, but the uniforms have already been changed, as well as M-16 rifles have been spotted, and not Kalashnikov at all. It was not possible to photograph them - they waved their hands angrily, barely noticing the camera. Hundreds of UAZ vehicles stood there for an hour and a half -

Then everyone was launched. And all at once, from which a hellish chaos of hundreds of cars and merchants running back and forth was formed near the customs -

Look, where the sly ones have attached the goods, are the customs officers too lazy to bend down -

The queue for passport control had several tails, which were connected in front of three working booths, where a showdown took place in the spirit of "you weren't standing here." True, the Mongols are calm people and calmed down with a little noise.

At this stage, I left the UAZ, because, unlike the Chinese, the Mongolian customs wool their compatriots very carefully. It is logical: the Chinese are interested in their goods exported abroad, but the Mongols see the dominance of Chinese goods as a threat to their own producers.

I walked outside the border terminal on foot, caught a ride and the remaining several kilometers rolled with a breeze in another UAZ, where without them.

Zamun Uud and train tickets

The first thing I did was buy train tickets. As you might expect, they bought everything for the cheap one, but the road was full of empty seats, both in the coupe and in the reserved seat. Station building in Zamun Uud -

About 4 hours before departure, is it time to walk around the town located in the heart of the Gobi Desert? But this will be discussed in the next article.

Lovers in the piggy bank: Mongolian entry stamp and train ticket -

On the Russian-Mongolian border, 8 automobile crossings and two railway crossings have been opened, operating all year round. For citizens of third countries, it is possible to move only to the automobile checkpoint Tashanta - Tsagan-Nur (Altai), Kyakhta - Altanbulag (Buryatia) and at the railway crossing: Naushki - Sukhe-Bator (Buryatia). If, for example, there are citizens of the former Soviet republics in the group, they will not be allowed across the border as citizens of third countries. The pass for third-country nationals at this crossing is planned to be opened only after the reconstruction of the Mondy-Khanh checkpoint.

For citizens of Russia, it is also possible to cross the road checkpoints: Mondy - Khankh, Solovievsk - Erentsav, Khandagayty - Borsho, Tsagan Dogorod - Arts-Sura, Shara-Sur - Tes, Verkhniy Ulkhun - Ulkhun and on the railway - Solovievsk - Erentsav.

Local taxes apply when crossing the border. At the Kyakhta-Altanbulag automobile checkpoint, the Russian side collects money for paperwork at the exit from Russia and sanitization of cars at the entrance. The Mongolian side levies a transport tax - about $ 10 and car insurance - $ 20-25.

It takes 2 to 4 hours to pass the border, even if there is no queue, but usually, due to queues at the border, crossing by car, for example, in Kyakhta, takes a whole day.

AUTOMOTIVE CROSSINGS ON THE BORDER RUSSIA - MONGOLIA

Checkpoint Tashanta - Tsagan-Nur (Altai)

The automobile checkpoint in Altai in Tashant is located in the mountains. Between the Russian and Mongolian checkpoints there is more than 20 km of a dirt road and the Durbet-Daba pass with a height of 2,400 m. There is a rule here: no one should remain in the neutral strip. This section must be passed before the closure of the Mongolian checkpoint. Checkpoints work with 9 am to 6 pm.

Checkpoint Kyakhta - Altanbulag (Buryatia)

Checkpoint around the clock!

At the Kyakhta-Altanbulag automobile checkpoint, the Russian side collects money for paperwork (about 90 rubles) at the exit from Russia and sanitization of cars $ 5-7 at the entrance. The Mongolian side levies a transport tax - about $ 10 and car insurance - $ 20-25.

It takes 2 to 4 hours to pass the border, even if there is no queue, but usually, due to queues at the border, crossing by car, for example, in Kyakhta, takes a whole day. The modern terminal is designed to handle up to 500 cars per day, but in practice, even if you arrive early in the morning, this does not mean crossing the border before lunchtime.

Checkpoint: Mondy - Khanh

Crossing the border by third-country nationals at the Mondy - Khankh checkpoint (Lake Khubsugul) is not provided for by the intergovernmental agreement between Russia and Mongolia and is possible only for residents of Mongolia and Russia.


• Mondy-Khanh automobile checkpoint(302 km from Irkutsk) is located on the pass Mungiin Daba (1830 m.) Has a double-sided status. This means that today only citizens of Mongolia and Russia can cross the border here. Open in summer from April 15 to September 15 - from 10:00 to 18:00, in winter - from 10:00 to 17:00. Closed on weekends and holidays.

  A quite decent asphalt road goes to the border from the Russian side. From the village of Mondy, a good quality road constantly goes up. Pass Mungiin-Daba and at the same time the border. After passing the border, a standard Mongolian dirt road begins. The forest has disappeared - around the steppe, with groves on the slopes of the mountains. From the border, the road goes with a general decline. Before reaching the village of Khankh, you must pay an entry fee to Khubsugul National Park.

  Since 2010, the Federal Agency for the Development of the State Border of the Russian Federation has been working on the issue of changing the status of the international automobile checkpoint (checkpoint) Mondy-Khanh from bilateral to multilateral. A positive conclusion to this project was given in Rosgranitsa. However, to date, the issue has not been resolved.

Checkpoint Solovievsk - Erencav

Open 7 days a week from 9 am to 6 pm with a lunch break from 2 pm to 3 pm Chita time.

Checkpoint Khandagaity - Borsho

The Khandagayty-Borshoo border point on the Russian-Mongolian border will soon be equipped for the practical transfer of its status from bilateral to multilateral. Rosgranitsa allocates 15 million rubles for these purposes. Reconstruction of the border point on the Tuvan section of the Russian-Mongolian border will double the capacity of people and vehicles to pass through.

The Consul General of Mongolia in Kyzyl Bazarsad announced the decision taken by the leadership of Mongolia to open this checkpoint up to 3-4 times a month for the passage of representatives of third countries even before the completion of the reconstruction, which usually takes several years.

In the meantime, the Khandagayty-Borshoo checkpoint operates in a bilateral mode and is open to citizens and legal entities of Russia and Mongolia. Numerous foreigners arriving in Tuva cannot cross the state border on the Tuvan section and are forced to use the Kyakhta checkpoint in Buryatia or Tashanta in the Altai Republic.

Tsagan-Dogorod checkpoint - Arts-Sura

Checkpoint Shara-Sur - Tes

Upper Ulkhun checkpoint - Ulkhun

ENTRANCE TO MONGOLIA BY PERSONAL CAR

To enter the territory of Mongolia with your car, one international driver's license is enough; no other permits from the Russian traffic police or the replacement of Russian license plates with Mongolian ones are required.


You cannot cross the border in a car driven by a simple written power of attorney - only valid notarized powers of attorney. When crossing the border, the data of the car is entered into the customs declaration by the owner and recorded in the computer database of the Mongolian customs.


There are no restrictions on driving around Mongolia. The only limitation that motorists may encounter is being in the border zone and on the territory of specially protected natural zones. Traveling in the border zone with China requires a special permit. The border zone is considered to be a 30 km strip of land along the state border of Mongolia. For example, to visit the caves on the Darganga plateau, you must have an agreement with the border guards, since the entrance to the caves is in the border zone. On the territories of reserves, national parks, a paid regime has been introduced for the stay of tourists and the entry of cars. It is legally established at 1,000 tugriks per car, and 3,000 tugriks per person for up to a week in specially protected areas.


On the roads, when crossing the administrative boundaries of aimags, local tolls are levied, most often 1000 tugriks (for a passenger car), for a minibus it is already more expensive. Some aimags charge money to cross wooden bridges. You also need to pay for the use of ferries.


To transport pets across the border, an international veterinary certificate is required.


The use of car radios (27 MHz), satellite phones and GPS is not prohibited (there is no law on the use of civilian radio stations in Mongolia) - their import into Mongolia and work with them is allowed. Problems start at Russian customs - you need permission for the radio stations installed on the cars. According to the current instructions, GPS is prohibited from being imported into Russia. Therefore, when leaving Russia, ALWAYS enter the GPS devices in the customs declaration, indicate its serial number, have a copy of the certificate issued in the store upon purchase.

The purpose of the route is to cross Mongolia from west to east, getting to know this wonderful country so that from Altai to get to Lake Baikal. There was only a week for everything, so it was decided to take the simplest route - the South.

• 6 days

• length ~ 2000 km
• photo report and a story about the route -

The aim of the route was to cross Mongolia from west to east, getting to know this wonderful country so that from Altai to get to Lake Baikal. There was only a week for everything, so it was decided to take the simplest route - the South.

Border Russia - Mongolia

This route assumes entry into Mongolia across the border in the village of Tashanta Altai Republic, and departure from the village of Kyakhta Republic of Buryatia. You can drive in the reverse order, there are also a number of other border points between the two countries.

Working hours each point is different and may change, therefore, to plan a trip, it is better to clarify the times and days of operation of the points. To do this, you can search for the latest news on the Russian border website by entering "Tashanta" or another checkpoint in the search. The point in Kyakhta works without breaks and weekends, but there may be changes, just in case, you should also search on the website rosgranitsa.ru. The point in Tashanta is often closed for several days due to the holidays on the Mongolian side, be careful when planning your trip.

The documents necessary for crossing the border: for citizens of Russia, one foreign passport is enough, other documents and visas for up to 30 days will not be required. Citizens of other countries, including the CIS, need a visa. They are allowed to cross the border only by transport. The driver must have a vehicle registration certificate and a driver's license with him, and simple Russian licenses are suitable, in Mongolia at the time of this writing (2016) an international driver's license was not required. There is no need for Russian vehicle insurance in Mongolia, there you will have to pay their own (1,500 rubles in 2016), plus transport tax (500 rubles), - both will be stubbornly sold to you immediately after crossing the border. At the border checkpoint in Mongolia, you will be charged another 50 rubles. for sanitization, which, by the way, may not be done at all, simply by writing out a receipt.

Our impressions of crossing the border

Since the queue at the border in Tashanta was occupied on Sunday evening, the border passed quickly. On both sides it took about 4 hours in total. They work on our side clearly, everything is intuitive, if you get confused, they will always tell you where to go and what to do. They did not check things much, we took several bags and passed them through X-ray, all other things (the whole car to the eyeballs, including the roof rack) did not turn up much, we just examined the car, asking to open everything that opens. The main thing is to answer questions normally and do what they say, then there will be no problems except waiting in queues. On the Mongolian side, it's harder to figure out what's what, and it's harder to ask - they are not doing so well with the Russian language, sometimes it is better to speak English. But even there, if you show attentiveness, everything goes pretty quickly, do not hesitate to ask where to go and what to do. The border in Kyakhta is much more thought out from the Mongolian side, and the round-the-clock operation makes it possible to cross the border at night when there are practically no people. On our side, we, as citizens of Russia, were allowed to skip the line.

Mongolia Roads

The southern route is one of the three main highways running from west to east, and it is the southern route that is considered the most asphalted. Out of 2000 km, about 1100 km are asphalt, as of 2016. Roads are being built in large sections. But nevertheless, this is Mongolia, and often the main path is a dozen roads rolled along the steppe, especially if you turn off the main highway. Country roads in different conditions: some are relatively good, you can go fast, but most of them have a so-called comb - it is not very pleasant to ride on it, but there is a choice, and you can often find a good track, the main thing is not to go astray, as some branches lead to distant yurts or to completely different valleys.

It is very difficult to navigate according to the signs, it is better to use the navigator and maps. There are fords on the Southern Route, in July they presented absolutely no difficulty, even for cars, but it is clear that the rivers flood decently during floods. The new asphalt in the western part is very good, but the one closer to Ulan Bator is quite insidious: every now and then in the middle of the road there are pits of decent size, you should always be on the alert. Most of the asphalt roads are toll roads, there are checkpoints at the exit from the cities, usually they take 1000 tugriks.

On the main highway, traffic is relatively lively, one can hope for help if necessary. Mongols living far from Ulan Bator most often drive prepared "Kruzaks" and, I must say, drive dashingly, carrying 4 spare wheels with them. But if you move a little further from the main road, you may not see a single car for a long time.

Asphalt sections on the Southern Route, Mongolia for 2016

Navigation

Throughout the entire journey, we used the maps.me mobile application. All the necessary maps were downloaded in advance, so the phone worked in airplane mode, without jumping to roaming. The application is convenient, fast, it guides correctly even to the addresses of Ulan Bator - in general, there are no complaints, we were satisfied. We planned to purchase a paper map, but found it only in Ulan Bator, when there was no longer any need. We went all the way with only one application on a smartphone.

Food

• Water... On the Southern Route, we advise you to stock up on water whenever possible. There will be lakes, but many of them are salty and access to them is not always easy, and the rivers are mostly dirty. A couple of times we tried to collect water in rare wells where local nomads take water, but we used it only for cooking food on gas and for technical purposes - it’s still better to get used to this water (there is a fine suspension and an unusual smell). For drinking on the road, they used only purchased bottled water, which, by the way, becomes more expensive as we move to drier areas.
• Food... Shops in the cities of Mongolia, of course, there are quite decent ones, there are even supermarkets. But we, as true fans of autonomy, back in Russia bought food on the principle of a tourist layout for 2 weeks + a supply of "nishtyaks". So we didn't have to waste time in stuffy cities looking for food, and we could stop to eat wherever we wanted. The only thing that we really missed was fresh vegetables and fruits - they are very rare in stores, or they are very expensive. Next time we will boldly take with us a few kilos of tomatoes and cucumbers - the border guards do not find fault with this. As for the local cuisine - it is there, along the way there are cafes and yurts with signs in Mongolian, but you should not expect good service somewhere other than Ulan Bator.
• Gas... Again, there are no trees in the South direction, so there is no firewood, which means that you can not count on an evening with a fire at all. We rely only on gas or petrol burners and take fuel with a margin, again there were no problems with it at the border.

Overnight stays

A tent or car is the most popular and often the only option for overnight stays in Mongolia. There are konchno guest yurts where you can ask for, and in the towns there are something like hotels, but the amenities there are dubious (with the exception of Ulan Bator), so it is much more pleasant and interesting to spend the night in the endless Mongolian steppes. The main thing is to stock up on water, food and fuel for cooking, so you can leave the road and set up camp at any time. We really loved to drive up some mountain to make the view more interesting.

Money

Money in Mongolia is Tugriki. Currency, as we read, can be changed in every city. But it turns out that not every bank is engaged in exchange. And, frankly, for us this task turned into a real quest: in the city of Ulgiy the doors of the coveted bank were closed right in front of our noses, and in Khovd we spent more than 2 hours walking from bank to bank. In general, it is likely that at least some part of the cash would be worth exchanging at the border with the annoying money changers, so that there was money at least for gasoline, since rubles are not accepted.

Language

Mongols do not speak Russian. Sometimes we were lucky in school English. I often had to explain myself in sign language.

Fuel

There are enough gas stations on the Southern Route, we refueled on average through half a tank. The cost of gasoline is 2 times more expensive than in Russia. I had a spare canister with me, but I never used it. At gas stations there are mainly 92 and diesel, with 95, and even more so 98 a problem, it is only in Ulan Bator. We refueled at Petrovis gas stations, chose it because it looked civil, gasoline was normal, and it was decided to refuel only at stations of this brand. Probably other gas stations are also normal, since local, by the way, expensive cars were also refueled at them. The refueling procedure was a little different: an employee came out to us, filled in gasoline himself, and we paid in cash with the same person.

Preparing the car for Mongolia

Puncture wheels- a common thing on Mongolian roads, so a spare wheel is required, and two are more reliable. Owners of narrow profile road tires need to be adventurous. In settlements, you can fix a puncture, local tire changers are hiding under the guise of "arcing a mess.

Before the trip, carefully inspect the suspension of your car, and it is better to go through a good MOT in some proven car service.

Another feature that should be taken into account is dust. When traveling on the roads of Mongolia, be prepared for dust everywhere. Therefore, it will not be superfluous to provide for the possibility of closing the cabin air intakes and other possible cracks in the car.

In general, there is nothing supernatural in traveling in Mongolia by car, if you know your car and its weak points at least at a basic level. For example, my Suzuki's weak link is the engine drive belt, which whistled towards the end of the trip, but knowing the problem, I had a spare belt with me. By the way, this was the only additional part I took with me on the trip, but next time I will put a couple more parts with me for more confidence, which is what I recommend to you.

Snorkel, winch, power bumpers and all other off-road attributes are completely optional on this particular route. All this can be useful if you are going to go, for example, in the interior of northern Mongolia, away from the main highways. On the southern path, if you wish, you can drive any car.