Before reaching Yolyn Am, we were seeing vast nothingness of only sands and faraway mountain for days. Suddenly things start to turn green, rocky mountains turn to lush rolling hill, sandy lands turns to soft green carpet.
Ger Camps @ Yolyn Am, Mongolia
The place we stayed with the nomadic family was smack right in between rolling hills and the wind was rushing through like bullet trains. We hiked up some slopes and literally could let go and let the wind hold you up, almost as if you are flying! Guess this is as good as it can get for my childhood dream of flying.
There are two sides of the Yol Valley and on one side; we had a short hike up to overlook the valley with frozen waterfall. Few eagle nests dot the rocky mountains, here I even manage the watch the eagle younglings learning to fly!
After that we try to hike up a mountain on the other side of the valley, which at first may seem perilous but in fact it got easier as the path got greener and the view at the top was breathtaking. But overlooking the valley of ice against black rocky mountain atop green lands are as good as it can get.
Ice Trekking and Frozen Waterfalls @ Yolyn Am, Mongolia
The amazing thing is that there is always ice in the valley, we had to tread on ice to get across to hike up the mountain. This is my first time walking on ice and this is where I found the limit of my monkey shoes (Vibram fivefingers). It had taken me up to mountains, climbed rock, down to sea and into the caves, it tried to take me across the ice but my toes were freezing by the end of it. Being there during the end of spring also means that the ice is thinner, and once I felt it crack under my feet!
If you are ever in Mongolia, do not miss out Yolyn Am, for the ‘flying’ experience, the perilous ice treading and rocky hike for view of frozen waterfall, river, green valleys and of course the eagles.
Although Yolyn Am is known as the Valley of Eagles, I for one christened it Valley of the Wind. The strong yet graceful winds that always surround us gave me a sense of being in some place high up in the sky.
Yolyn Am @ Mongolia
hello
I will be at Yolyn Am sometime in late October 2011 and could you
share with me the name of the ger you stayed. Was it a long walk to the gorge?
I read Lonley Planet and it suggested “tavan erdne guesthouse” describing it as
very basic. I hope to stay for at least 2 to 3 nights before leaving for Mandalgov and UB. Thank you for sharing!
hi, I am sorry I could not be of much help because what we did was joined a organized trip by Khongor Guesthouse (they are good and I would recommend them if you plan to try out trips), so therefore we do not know the name of the Gers we stayed in. Also from the Ger camp area to the Yolyn Am, we had to take a short jeep right, so it was not exactly walking distance.