30

Hagiin Har Nuur (Hagiin Black Lake) is a remote lake hidden inthe deep interior forests of the Khan Khentii Strictly ProtectedArea, part of the Hentii wilderness northeast from Ulaanbaatar.It is Mongolia’s only true wilderness in the sense that it is completelydevoid of people and domestic animals. It is a realm ofwolves, moose, red deer, gazelle, wild boar, lynx and brownbear. We will not meet any people for most of the journey.The Tuul River originates close to Hagiin Har Nuur, eventuallywinds its way through Ulaanbaatar and finally drains out to the north into the Selenge River. In turn feeds two-thirds of its water into Lake Baikal, which ultimately empties into the Arctic Ocean. A couple of kilometers away the Herlen River originates.It belongs to the separate Pacific drainage basin. Hagiin Har Nuur is located within the taiga lifezone at 1800 meters above see level. It is near the starting point of a number ofAsian rivers, some of which drain north to the Arctic Ocean andothers east to the Pacific Ocean.