Khövsgöl Ice Festival
Winters in Mongolia are extremely harsh. There are times when temperatures drop below -50 degrees Celsius and it is often said that anyone who survives this winter is truly brave! But for Mongolians, this is normal, they even take joy in it. Every March, people gather on Lake Khövsgöl in Khatgal to celebrate such a long and harsh cold season.
As the largest freshwater lake in Mongolia, Khövsgöl belongs to a special group of "ancient lakes" because it has existed for more than a million years.
A person skating on the ancient lake Khövsgöl
Frozen from November to May, Lake Khövsgöl transforms into a magical ice rink during the Khövsgöl Ice Festival. Over the two days, a variety of events take place on the lake, including chariot racing, ice sumo, archery competitions, bone-throwing games, ice sculpture competitions, and more. All of this takes place in the freezing cold on the lake’s thick, slippery ice.
The festival is made even more special by the fact that participants will wear colorful traditional costumes representing the 21 diverse regions of Mongolia. A fire ceremony will then take place to honor the region’s strong and shamanic beliefs, hiding some of its most unique eating rituals.
* In some countries in the world such as Mongolia, Korea, Russia... there is a strange and mysterious religion called Shamanism. This is a popular religion at the end of the clan system, with the appearance of Shamans (also known as magicians) in society, their duty is to "connect" people with supernatural powers.
How to participate?
To save time, visitors can choose to fly from Ulaanbaatar to Murun, the capital of Khovsgol province. Or, if you’re feeling adventurous, take a local bus from Ulaanbaatar to Murun. The 12-hour journey will reveal the vast Mongolian countryside. From Murun, a local truck or taxi will take visitors to Hatgal, a small town on the shores of Lake Khövsgöl, which serves as a base from which to begin your exploration.
In addition, you should also hire a guide (provided by many travel companies in Ulaanbaatar) to lead you from the capital to the lake area where the festival takes place. In addition, the trip will be much more interesting when visitors experience the bumpy roads on an old Soviet UAZ car, because it will give you the feeling of being immersed in the wild nature here and see with your own eyes the winding, dusty steppes. Finally, you should spend a night at home with local nomadic families to experience their cultural life.
