Tulga Otgonbataar, Mongolia
From the souls of the steppe nomads, Tulga grew up in the Gobi area where giant sand dunes, camels and, according to Tulga, the most hospitable people in the world live. Tulga is our guide in Mongolia and when he’s not working for us you will find him trekking, horseback riding and mountaineering. He likes to cheer up his “Wind Horse” (spiritual mind) by riding hardy Mongolian horses rather than going to the monastery to pray. He also has an ‘interesting’ collection of music so you are advised to bring your own unless you are into the 80’s actors-turned singers genre!
Tulgas’ biggest qualities are his generosity and kindness and it is this, along with his quest for knowledge, that has led him to some of the more remote areas of Mongolia where, along with his family, he actively supports the people living there. It is because of this that he is trusted as a friend and brother with the nomadic families and shaman we meet. He is currently working with the vulnerable Tsataan reindeers herders in the Northern Taiga to help the remaining few hundred of these nomadic people to come together and put on their very first festival to celebrate and showcase their skills and traditions….traditions that are being threatened by the sanctions imposed on the land they have lived on for thousands of years.
Tulga organised the very first ‘Horseboy’ camp when he took a young Texan boy with autism and his family on the epic journey to meet the Tsataan and their shamans. That incredible journey has since been documented by the boys father and turned into an international best selling book and film of the same name, The Horseboy.
In his career he has summited Mount Khuiten (4374m), trekked across Potainin glacier, one of the biggest in Mongolia, and cross country dog sled in -40 Celsius.
Leave a Comment