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It’s early in the morning and an orange glow fills the sky as the sun slowly rises over a seemingly endless desert landscape.
Every few hours, shepherds come into view, with hundreds of sheep and goats in tow, on their way to the nearby water source.
The only sounds you can hear are the wind, the braying and barking of native animals and the occasional rumble of 4×4 vehicles bringing newcomers.
It’s all part of the isolated wilderness experience on offer at the Three Camel Lodge, an eco-resort in Khan Konghor in Gobi (which means desert) in Mongolia, one of the most remote places on earth.
Far from civilization, the lodge aims to give visitors a glimpse into Mongolia’s traditional nomadic lifestyle: a community of people who survive on the Central Asian plateau by relying on domesticated livestock.
Although there are not many nomadic cultures left in the world, it is still an integral part of Mongolian life. Today, nomads make up about a quarter of the country’s population of more than three million.
The lodge has 24 gers. These round, tent-like homes are made of wood, felt and rope; materials that are flexible enough to carry, easy to assemble, and strong enough to withstand the high winds of the desert.
Inside, the furnishings are simple: there are wooden furniture and other decorative items. But they all have luxuries not normally found in a nomad’s home – like a private bathroom with running water and solar-powered electricity.
The Three Camel Lodge also has its own restaurant, bar (with a very extensive whiskey selection) and even a spa – surprisingly extravagant, especially in this part of the world.
How the Three Camel Lodge was born
The Three Camel Lodge was the brainchild of 68-year-old Mongolian-American businessman Jalsa Urubshurow.
As a child growing up in the US in the 1960s, he could only dream of the dramatic landscapes of Mongolia. But the country’s culture was always in his heart, thanks to his father’s colorful stories.
“Mongols have a pretty accurate genetic tracing system … you can pretty much determine which geographic region within a 100-mile radius your tribe, your ancestors, come from,” says Jalsa, whose father was born in Kalmykia, now a southern region of Russia.
“(My dad) reminded me of this in the middle of New Jersey when I was growing up.”
In the early 1990s, when Mongolia opened its borders to international tourists, Jalsa was able to visit the country for the first time.
“I’ve been to a lot of Mongolian weddings in New Jersey, you know, but that was the extent of it. (The visit) conjured up so many different images,” he says.
“I got to go to the countryside, meet a shepherd and stay in some ger camps… it was an amazing experience.”
Shortly afterwards, Jalsa was tasked by the Prime Minister of Mongolia to bring in more travelers from the West. In 1992, he started a travel services company, Nomadic Expeditions, which provided tours in Mongolia and other countries.
“It took me two years before anyone came,” he recalls.
In 2002, Jalsa decided to build something more permanent in the Gobi, and the Three Camel Lodge was born.
A land of dinosaurs and flaming cliffs
The Gobi is known as the land of the dinosaurs – and it is an intrinsic part of Mongolian culture.
Just half an hour’s drive from Three Camel Lodge is one of the most important dinosaur fossil sites in the world.
In Bayanzag, explorers made the first scientifically recognized discovery of dinosaur eggs a century ago. When paleontologist Roy Andrews and his team from the American Museum of Natural History found the nests in the 1920s, he aptly named the site “The Flaming Cliffs,” after the red sandstones that seem to come to life at sunset, making the entire area turns into a fiery fire. Red colour.
Dinosaur fossils are still found here.
‘This place is really mysterious… it’s a bit secretive and remote. It is a really special place for me,” Buyandelger Ganbaatar, director and chief tour guide of Nomadic Expeditions in the country, told CNN Travel.
“About 70 million years ago these were sand dunes. The Flaming Cliffs were known as an ancient settlement. One of the reasons for Andrews’ expedition was to prove that humanity originated in Central Asia and he was looking for evidence.
Speaking of dunes, another popular attraction within reach of the lodge is Moltsog Els, just a 15-minute drive away. Despite being in the desert, it is one of the few regions in the Mongolian Gobi that is covered in mounds of sand.
Here guests can explore the dunes on foot or rent a camel from one of the local shepherd families in the area.
In addition to the dunes and red stone cliffs, the Gobi is also known for its greenery. An hour’s drive from the lodge is Yol Valley, originally established to protect birds, including the Yol or bearded vulture.
Guests can also travel to the protected Gobi Gurvan Sakihan National Park, which is rich in biodiversity – from white gazelles to leopards and golden eagles. The valley can be explored on foot or horseback; in summer a stream flows through the deep and narrow gorge.
Other experiences the lodge offers include nomadic archery sessions, stargazing, cycling and cooking classes.
Pioneer in the field of sustainability
With such untouched nature all around, conservation was crucial from the start. Because Jalsa and his team were in such a remote area, it was important to set up the right infrastructure.
Considered a pioneer in sustainable tourism, the Three Camel Lodge today follows three main pillars: sustainable stewardship, conservation and community empowerment.
The lodge began eliminating loose plastic bottles and instead handed out reusable metal cups to its guests. They also built a waste management system from scratch, diverting waste from landfills by creating a greenhouse for composting. Solar panels power almost all of the lodge’s lighting. Materials for construction, furniture and furnishings are purchased as locally as possible – within a radius of 80 km from the lodge.
“I think you have to have a commitment to the culture you’re trying to promote through the architecture, your environment, the design and the operations,” says Jalsa. “Finding a level of authenticity that is constant, that is the underlying spirit. Continued sustainable tourism is based on local hiring.”
For Jalsa, this means investing in the local population. There are almost thirty full-time Mongolian staff working at the Three Camel Lodge – and it was important that they shared the same feeling.
“It’s a great thing if you can protect our planet and share your culture with people,” he says.
Investments in the wider Gobi community are also an important part of the lodge’s sustainability goals, whether supporting education programs or working with international paleontological organizations to help protect dinosaur fossils.
“Mongolia is one of the last places where you can escape and see pristine wilderness and beautiful landscapes,” says Jalsa.
How do you get there?
Traveling to and from the Three Camel Lodge is not for the travel-weary – did we mention it’s remote?
“It’s a seven, eight-hour drive (to the Gobi), and the average tourist doesn’t want that,” Jalsa told CNN of the trip from Mongolia’s capital, Ulaanbaatar.
There are flights to the Gobi, but they usually leave in the middle of the night and arrive at Dalanzadgad airport just as the sun rises. Then it’s another hour’s drive through the roadless desert before the lodge looms in the distance, almost like an oasis.
Getting out of the Gobi can be even more complicated: flights back to the capital are often canceled at short notice (ours was canceled twice). In winter, some flights do not operate at all.
Currently, Jalsa says the lodge is open from early May to November. He hopes that more government support can be forthcoming to improve logistics and also expand the annual tourist season, at least ‘for a while’.
“I think that in order to embrace tourism, the government (should) subsidize air travel domestically, especially when it comes to tourism,” says Jalsa.
“In essence, you bring customers to the country and make places in the country accessible to them. I think it is a wonderful opportunity, and we have been working to put it on the map for more than thirty years.”
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