Open steppe, a few shallow lakes and a very large sky: that is the landscape of Dauria, the borderland where eastern Mongolia meets Russia and China. The Chuh-Nuur lakes lie in the Mongolian part of it, a region of rolling grassland dotted with salt-edged basins that fill and shrink with the rains. UNESCO lists the Landscapes of Dauria as a transboundary site, because it is the migration crossroads that matters, not the border drawn across it.
The reason to care is birds. Dauria is on a flyway used by cranes, geese, swans and waders, and several crane species stop here, among them white-naped and red-crowned cranes, while Siberian cranes pass through in much smaller numbers. Mongolian gazelles travel the steppe in big herds, sometimes in the thousands, and can cross a road in front of you at astonishing speed. The grass is short and wind-combed, and in a dry year the lakes can almost vanish. In a wet year the shores are alive with sound.
Riding here means tracks more than roads. Surfaces are a mix of packed earth, sand and washboard, and after rain the dirt can become sticky. Navigation is by GPS, because tracks braid and split and herders' paths can look more convincing than they are.
Weather is the second challenge. Summers are warm and can bring sudden storms, while winters are bitterly cold and the wind off the steppe never really stops. Late spring and early autumn are the best times for birds, and early mornings are best for light. The herders you meet are generous with tea and curiosity, and will usually know the state of the tracks better than any map. Be polite about gates and animals, leave nothing behind, and let the quiet work on you for a while before you start the engine again.