Terkhiin Tsagaan Lake

Terkhiin Tsagaan Nuur formed when lava from the Khorgo volcano blocked a valley, leaving a freshwater lake about sixteen kilometres long at just over two thousand metres, ringed by black basalt fields, green pasture and the wooded Khangai hills. The water is clear and cold, the fishing is good and the lake is shallow enough at the edges to warm slightly in late summer for swimming. Herders bring yaks and horses down to the shore in summer and ger camps have grown along the northern side, making this one of the more comfortable wild places in Mongolia to reach and stay. Birds use the lake heavily, including cranes, geese and gulls. Khorgo volcano stands at the eastern end with a climbable crater, and the two are always visited together as a national park.

What you actually see

• The lake - sixteen kilometres of clear water at two thousand metres.
• Lava fields - black basalt from the flow that dammed the valley.
• Ger camps and herders - summer settlement along the northern shore.
• Birdlife - cranes, geese and gulls on and around the water.

When to go

June to September; the lake freezes in winter and the roads are hard going. July and August are warmest and busiest with Mongolian holidaymakers. Nights are cold at this altitude even in midsummer.

Honest expectations

Ger camps along the shore vary in quality and fill in August. The lava fields are hard on tyres and on ankles. Mosquitoes are present near the water. Rubbish left by summer visitors is a recurring problem on the popular shore.

Nearby

Khorgo volcano is at the eastern end; Tsetserleg lies east.