Entrance gate to the Mongolian Altai
The thirty thousand „regional“ city of Chovd (Khovd / довд) is the gateway to the Mongolian Altai. If you want to travel to this part of the country, whether in the mountains or further west, you should stop here. Here you can get all the necessary supplies and get information. Whether from the locals or in a successful „ethnographic“ museum. Chovd is an ideal springboard, which can be reached from Ulaanbaatar via the steppe by car or bus – which takes 3 to 5 days, or arrive by domestic line in about 5 hours.
This
There is traditionally an owl by the road – a sacred pile of stones and everything that was just at hand.
Yurt court
The center is, as usual, lined with extensive yurts.
Ard Ayush Square
The square has a nice view of some of the surrounding mountains, so even the statues of heroes from the 17th century look to the horizon.
Bus station
The Chovd bus is not overflowing with activity. But otherwise it's quite a transport hub …
Well-being on the bus
The local daddy longed for a photo together. What about the fact that Jan saw her on the display, they were happy anyway. However, this was a rather unseen phenomenon in Mongolia, usually people are rather ashamed.
A tag against obstinacy
The locals obviously like billiards, which is played by an outdoor games room covered only with primitive sails.
Markets
At the market you can buy a bunch of vegetables and fruits, as well as famous local melons.
Salt over gold
Not that the traveler needs it, but the locals can get a ton of rock salt here. Quite an important commodity for herdsmen.
Airport
The local airport is very rural. Cars can only get here if an plane is to arrive, which is on average once or twice a day, but it also doesn't have to fly at all. Forget the rush of tourists, the main crowds here are locals who have saved on a ticket to Ulaanbaatar.
Runway
Even looking at the runway of a human area, calm rather than some excitement.
Fokker
The connections are provided mainly by propeller Fokkers and everyone simply has to get on the plane on their own.
Museum
Artifacts of all kinds can be explored in the local museum with a regional focus. Definitely worth seeing. The quality of the exhibits, of course, corresponds to a poor province, but the extent and knowledge of local experts certainly does not lag behind the capital.
Mosque
The Muslim community is not large, so everyone here coexists without any excesses.
Predators
Thousands of kites are sitting around the city waiting for a tasty bite … of absolutely anything.