Meeting the Reindeer People

One of the highlights of the trip was the chance to visit and stay with the Tsaatan, the "reindeer people" who live in the northern, forested areas of Mongolia near the border with Siberia. There are about 200 or so Tsaatan in what's called the West Taiga area, and to reach them we had to drive up, then hike over one small mountain, down the other side, and then across a valley - altogether about 5 km off the "road". When we got to their campsite, everyone was amazed to see so many tuktu just standing and lying around. Many were tied up to trees, while others just stood around the camp. It was amazing to get so close to them! It was also fascinating to see how they had adapted some very modern technologies to their very traditional lifestyle.