Today I Milked a Yak: Orkhon Valley, Mongolia

Today, I woke up to a stunning sunrise and the sound of yaks grazing in the pastures surrounding our ger camp. Yaks make the funniest sounds—a kind of rhythmic low grunt or hum. From inside the ger, I initially thought it might have been someone snoring in a nearby ger, but it was actually the yaks.

Being from the dairy state, I couldn't resist the opportunity to milk a yak. We settled into our ger in the drop-dead gorgeous Orkhon Valley, with its vast sloping grasslands speckled with grazing animals. Our camp was right next to a nomad family who invited us to partake in the morning milking of their yaks. They tie the baby yaks up in front of the mother to stimulate the milking process—it was all so fascinating. Later in the day, we visited their gers and watched them make homemade alcohol from fermented yaks' milk and spin camel yarn. This was one of the highlights for me, as I witnessed a real nomad family and their daily life while sampling yak curd and yogurt.

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Another spontaneous opportunity we had was to see a nomad family lasso wild mares and their colts, then later milk the mares to make a local fermented mares’ milk alcohol. It was a somewhat disturbing experience, as they lasso the colts and tie them to a rope to get them used to the milking process. Later, the colts would be tied up in front of the mares to stimulate the milking process.

Beautiful Orkhon Valley

This day was a true immersion into the life of Mongolian nomads, filled with unique and unforgettable experiences.

Making alcohol from fermented yak's milk

making dumplings.

Ulaan Tsutgalan waterfall

the day ended with a bonfire. I was too tired to hang out for too long.