- Gers
- Culture
- Comfort
The ger is the round felt home that Mongolian herders have lived in for centuries. It can be taken down in a couple of hours, loaded onto a truck, a cart or a few camels, and put up again at the next pasture. Around a third of the country's people still live in one, including many on the edges of Ulaanbaatar.
For visitors, it is the one experience every trip shares. Here is what to expect, honestly.
The structure
A ger is built from a lattice wall that folds like a concertina, a door frame, a ring of roof poles and a crown at the top that lets in light and lets out smoke. The whole frame is wrapped in layers of felt and covered in canvas, then tied down with ropes. Two painted pillars usually support the crown.
Inside, it is more spacious than it looks from outside. Beds run around the walls, a stove sits in the centre, and the back of the ger, facing the door, is the place of honour where family photographs and a small altar are kept.
The door and the direction
Doors traditionally face south, away from the prevailing wind and towards the sun. They are low, so you will hit your head at least once. Everyone does.
Inside, people move clockwise, the same direction the sun travels. The left side as you enter is traditionally the men's side, where saddles and tools are kept; the right is the women's side, home to the kitchen. In tourist camps these rules are relaxed, but in a family ger they matter.
The stove
The stove is the heart of the ger. It heats water for tea, cooks dinner and keeps the space warm. In camps, staff usually light it for you in the evening, and fuel may be wood, coal or dried dung, depending on where you are.
Here is the honest part: a ger warms up fast and cools down fast. With the stove roaring, you might be peeling off layers before bed. By four in the morning, it may be close to the temperature outside. In some camps a staff member will come in quietly before dawn to relight it. Elsewhere, you will be glad of a good sleeping bag.
The first night you sleep in a ger, you notice everything: the wind on the felt, the crackle of the stove, a horse snorting outside. By the third, it feels like the most natural thing in the world.
Bathrooms and washing
This is where comfort levels vary most.
- Traditional: a long-drop toilet a short walk from the gers, and washing with a bowl of warm water. Family stays are almost always like this.
- Comfortable: shared shower blocks with hot water, often at set times, and flush toilets.
- Luxury: private bathrooms attached to or inside larger gers, with hot showers.
Whichever level you choose, take a headtorch for the night-time walk to the toilet. The upside: you will see more stars on that short walk than most people see in a year.
Power and connectivity
Many camps run on solar power with a generator for evenings, and charging is often in the dining ger rather than your own. Bring a power bank. Phone signal varies from good near towns to none at all, which most travellers end up enjoying more than they expected.
Staying with a family
A night with a herding family is a different thing from a camp. You may sleep in a guest ger next to theirs, or on a spare bed in the family's own home. You will eat what they eat, which usually means mutton, noodles, dumplings and dairy in many forms, and you will be offered milk tea the moment you sit down.
A few customs help:
- Do not step on the threshold of the door.
- Do not lean on the central pillars or whistle inside.
- Accept food and drink with your right hand, supported by your left if you like.
- Do not point your feet at the stove or the back of the ger.
- Ask before taking photographs, and take time to sit before reaching for the camera.
Your guide will brief you before every visit. Nobody expects perfection; respect and curiosity matter far more.
The morning after
What people remember is the morning. You wake to light coming through the crown, sounds of animals being moved out to graze, someone outside chopping wood. You step through the low door into air that smells of grass and smoke, and the steppe runs all the way to the horizon.
Who it suits
Almost everyone. Families find gers brilliant: children love the round space, the stove and the animals around camp. Couples and solo travellers enjoy the simplicity. If you are worried about comfort, pick a mix of levels across your trip, perhaps traditional for a family stay and comfortable or luxury after a long drive.
What to bring
- A sleeping bag liner, plus a warm sleeping bag for traditional stays
- A headtorch
- Slip-on shoes for night trips outside
- Earplugs, in case the wind or a neighbour snores
- A small gift for host families, such as photographs of home, sweets or something from your region
The ger has outlasted empires for a reason. Spend a few nights in one and you will understand why.
