Western Mongolia feels different from the rest of the country. The landscape is wilder, with the Altai Mountains rising across the horizon, wide valleys, rocky roads and huge stretches of open steppe.

This is also where you’ll find Mongolia’s Kazakh communities, who have their own language, traditions and way of life. One of the best-known traditions is eagle hunting, passed down through generations and still practiced today.

Traveling through this region means spending a lot of time outdoors, such as crossing mountain passes, visiting small communities, meeting local families and seeing how people live in one of the most remote parts of Mongolia.

The roads can be rough and the distances are long, but that is part of the experience. There are few crowds here, little traffic and plenty of space to simply enjoy the landscape.