Dariganga
After a 6 hour drive east we arrive at Dariganga. We have our first taste of local Mongolian food of noodles, dumplings and soup, which are a staple. It’s a cuisine I don’t warm to the entire trip. The lack of fresh foods and strange tasting meats is not a good combination. Nevertheless we continue with the camping dried and canned foods which suit our road tripping lifestyle.
Dariganga is a small town surrounded by vast grasslands punctured with volcanic craters, sands dunes and small lakes. We visit some dunes, a small lake and the Altan Ovoo, an extinct volcano topped by a stupa. Men visit the top and women the stupas at the base to make offerings. We also visit a few of the broken balbals (stones carved into roughly human shape, of around the 13th or 14th century Mongol period). More offerings are made here.
We find a good spot in the steppe outside town to camp for the night. A bright red sky surrounding the volcanic craters creates a very apocalyptic sunset which sets the mood for the next days trek up Shilyn Bogd, an eastern Mongolian highlight.
by Ourania Bolis
