Two kids participate in a foot race in an afternoon of traditional Mongolian games.

Not all of Mongolia is dusty desert or endless steppe. We take a helicopter to Lake Huvsgul in the northern part of the country. The landscape is dominated by low mountains, perfectly clear lakes, and a blanket of larch pine trees.

One afternoon, the children and young adults in the area join in a series of Mongolia games, including wrestling, horseback riding, and foot racing. Wrestling is particularly popular in Mongolia. The sport could hardly be simpler: two men wrestle until one touches something other than his feet to the ground. There are no weight classes, there is no time limit, and pretty much anything goes. One of our male tour guides admits, "When Mongolian men don't have anything better to do, they wrestle."

Virtually every kid participates in the afternoon's games in some way, and they all seem very happy. If your summer lasted only two months, you'd be happy in the summer too. Aside from the summer, Mongolia is really cold: the average temperature across a year in Mongolia is below freezing.

[ Previous ] [ Gallery ] [ Next: Pristine Lake Huvsgul ]