Tricia Pearsall joined the nomads of Mongolia as they crossed the Kharkhiraa Mountains.
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Ochiroo, the camel man
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Shinee, Mongolian guide
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Gers
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Inside a ger
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Mongolian food
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Erdene Zuu exterior wall
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Young boy milking goats
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Guides applying make-up
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Inside a ger
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Ochiroo crossing the Kharkiraa River with camels
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Starting the Fergon
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Kazakh nomad preparing tea
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Ancient deer stone
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Tavn Bogd
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Hunter with eagle
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Hunter with eagle
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Eagle
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Erdene Zuu blue scarves
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Mongolian highway
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Young boy curling cows
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Man and two sons with his motorbike
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Ochiroo on horse in Kharkiraa mountains
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Blessing the car
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Blueberries
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Pouring airag (fermented mare's milk)
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Wrestlers
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Wrestlers
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Wrestlers
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Ovoo up close
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Shinee making dinner
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Otgontenger uul (Holy Eternal Snow Mountain) with statue of Ochirvaani (Protector God of Mongolia) in foreground
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Tired camel
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Family in Kharkhiraa Mountains
In the 13th century, Genghis Khan united the nomadic tribes of northeast Asia and founded the Mongol Empire. Today, Mongolia is a post-Soviet democracy where modern cities exist alongside mountainous terrain inhabited by nomads. TRICIA PEARSALL joined the latter, and journeyed across the Kharkhiraa Mountains via camel.
View the slideshow of photography taken by Tricia on her journey, or read the full story in our December 2011 issue.