Far to the north-west of Mongolia, past the salt shores of Uvs Nuur, the country folds into a high rim of mountains where the steppe meets the Siberian forest. Turgen is the name of a river and a mountain massif here, in the Uvs basin, a region that UNESCO treats as one of the great closed drainage basins of Central Asia, with a lake so salty that fish barely live in it and an extraordinary spread of habitats, from desert to tundra, in a short distance.
The riding in this part of Mongolia is real adventure travel. Ulaangom, the provincial capital, is the nearest place of any size, and the way out of it toward the mountains follows tracks of packed earth and gravel that vary with the season. Streams cross the route and may be shallow in the morning and ugly by afternoon, after the glacier melt, and the weather can turn from clear and warm to rain and sleet in an hour. Expect wide open views, big bends in the track, and a feeling that you are sharing the land with horses, yaks and the odd eagle. The short, bright summer from June to August is the only sensible time.
Local life is built on herding. Families live in gers, the round felt tents that are warm in winter and cool in summer, and move between pastures with their sheep, goats and horses. If you are invited in, which is likely if you stop near a ger, accept the bowl of milk tea or fermented mare's milk, called airag, that is offered, take it with the right hand, and drink at least a sip. Snow leopards and ibex live on the high ridges, though they are almost never seen, and the golden eagles that hunt over the valley, sometimes trained by Kazakh falconers further west, are a more usual sight.
Fuel and supplies are the big considerations. Ulaangom has stations, shops and a market, and you should treat it as the last reliable stop. Carry spare fuel, water, tools and food, along with a paper map and a satellite messenger if you can, since phone coverage is patchy. Tell someone your plan, expect nothing, and be generous with the wave and the smile; in the Mongolian countryside, a stranger in trouble will always be helped.