Visiting the Tsaatan Reindeer Tribe in Winter: What to Know

Planning a winter trip to Mongolia’s Tsaatan reindeer herders? Here’s the best time to go, what the weather is really like, and how to reach the taiga.

Winter is a different world in the taiga. The families move, the terrain changes, and even how you physically get there shifts depending on conditions. If you’re planning a winter visit to the Tsaatan reindeer herders in northern Mongolia, here’s what actually matters before you go.

First Time in Mongolia? Here's Where to Start

Understanding how things work in Mongolia can be confusing. Here are some things I’d book for my first trip to the country.

🚕 Airport Transfer into Ulaanbaatar

Book your airport transfer before you land. Ulaanbaatar taxis are chaotic and this is worth the peace of mind.

→ Book an Airport Transfer

🛌 Where to Stay

My picks at every budget, all within walking distance of the main square:

→ Hostel One: best hostel in the city for solo travelers

→ Urgoo Hotel: locally owned boutique spot, great value and location

→ H9 Hotel Nine: steps from Sukhbaatar Square, ideal for first-time visitors

→ Best Western Premier Tuushin: 4-star hotel next to Sukhbaatar Square, super comfortable

👉 Make the Most of Your Time in Ulaanbaatar

If you have extra days, these are the day tours and 1-day experiences that start and end in Ulaanbaatar I’d actually recommend:

→ Ulaanbaatar: Private Guided City Tour with Car

→ Cooking Class in a Local Home

→ Mongolian Traditional Dance & Music Concert Ticket

→ Chinggis Khaan Equestrian Statue & Terelj National Park

→ Ulaanbaatar: Private Nomad Horseback Ride + Homemade Lunch

→ Day Tour with Traditional Clothes and Photographer

The Best Time to Visit the Taiga in Winter

February is the sweet spot for a winter trip to this region, and it’s not just about the reindeer festival season. By February, Lake Khövsgöl, Mongolia’s largest freshwater lake, is completely frozen over and at its thickest, which opens up a very specific kind of experience that isn’t possible any other time of year. Crossing that much ice, in that kind of silence, is unlike anything else in the country. Earlier in winter, the ice may not yet be reliably thick enough to cross safely, so timing this trip around February rather than December or January makes a real difference.

Weather in the Taiga

Winter in this part of Khövsgöl Province is genuinely extreme, and it’s worth being honest with yourself about what that means before committing to a trip here. Average temperatures in the taiga during winter typically run from around -20°C to -30°C (-4°F to -22°F), and it’s not unusual for conditions to drop even further on a particularly cold night, sometimes approaching -40°C.

This isn’t a place with reliable heating or insulated buildings. Homes in the taiga are heated by wood fires that often go out overnight, so the cold isn’t something you experience occasionally, it’s a constant presence for the entire trip. A proper sleeping bag rated for extreme cold, real winter layers, and realistic expectations about comfort all matter more here than almost anywhere else you might travel in Mongolia.

The Two Gateway Towns: Ulaan-Uul and Tsagaannuur

There are two main towns used as entry points into the taiga to reach the Tsaatan families, and which one you use generally depends on your route and which group of families you’re hoping to visit.

Ulaan-Uul sits closer to the western side of the region and is a common starting point for reaching families in that part of the taiga. It’s a small, quiet town, more of a logistics stop than a destination in itself, where you’ll typically pick up final supplies and meet local guides or drivers before heading further north.

Tsagaannuur is the other main gateway, generally used for reaching families further east and north, closer to the Siberian border. It’s similarly modest in size, but it tends to be the busier of the two during winter, since it’s also a common access point for the reindeer festival season. Expect basic services in both towns, simple guesthouses, small shops, and not much beyond that, since the towns themselves aren’t the point. They’re the last stop before the taiga takes over.

From either town, the last stretch to reach a family isn’t a fixed distance or a fixed method. It genuinely depends on the season and where the families have moved.

Getting to the Reindeer Tribe Families

Here’s the part that surprises a lot of people. In winter, the Tsaatan families often move their camps down from the higher mountains, seeking more bearable conditions for their reindeer herds. Because of that, it’s sometimes possible to drive to a family’s winter camp, at least partway, something that simply isn’t an option during summer or fall, when reaching them means riding in on horseback or reindeer for many hours over multiple days.

That said, driving access isn’t guaranteed and depends entirely on where a specific family has settled that winter and what the roads and trail conditions allow. In many cases, you’ll still cover part of the distance on horseback, or on the backs of the reindeer themselves, particularly for the final stretch into a family’s actual camp.

Why You Need a Local Guide

No matter the season, you cannot simply show up in Ulaan-Uul or Tsagaannuur and expect to find a Tsaatan family on your own. The taiga is enormous, largely unmarked, and the families move throughout the year based on their own needs, not on any published schedule. Without someone who already knows where a specific family currently is, you will not find them.

This is why every visit to the Tsaatan, in any season, needs to go through a local guide, tour operator, or a herder who already has a relationship with the families and knows their current location. It’s not a matter of convenience, it’s the only realistic way in. Beyond the practical necessity, it also matters for the families themselves. A good local guide maintains an ongoing relationship with the herders they visit, which means your visit is welcomed rather than intrusive, and that the impact of tourism on these communities stays respectful and sustainable.

Want to learn more about the Tsaatan?

This Tsaatan reindeer tribe page focuses specifically on visiting in winter. If you’re still weighing when to go, or want the fuller picture of who the Tsaatan are, how they live, and how their camps shift with the seasons, start with our general guide to the Tsaatan reindeer herders of Mongolia. Come back here once February has your attention.

Author: Breanna Wilson

Hi! Sain uu! I’m Breanna, an American travel writer and adventurer living in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia for more than 9 years. I’ve written for and been featured in Condé Nast Traveler, CNN, Forbes, and the New York Times, among others. Read more of my Mongolia travel articles here.