June in Mongolia

Recommended tours: The Jewels of Mongolia, The Horse Breeders' Paradise
Average temperature: 22.5°C (72.5°F)

June is one of the best times for traveling in Mongolia, to observe the livelihood of nomads and enjoy blooming flowers in pleasant weather. In June, nomads migrate from their contemporary spring pasture to summer pasture. Herders leave many possessions behind as they travel in a smaller and lighter Ger, with as little furniture as possible. Summer encampments usually have semi-permanent structures, such as milking pens and hitching posts. In early June, sheep are sheared by hand, to make them ready for hot summer. Sheep shearing day is usually announced to the people in the community. Relatives or neighbors nearby come with scissors and strips to bind the legs of the sheep to assist in the shearing. Sheep wool has a special ability to easily absorb moisture but also to release moisture, thus, nomads have been using it to make a covering of Ger by felting for centuries. As organic felt regulates temperature well, Gers are warm in the winter, cool in the summer. Compared to cashmere, sheep wool products last longer and become softer over time. Besides keeping the skin dry, absorbing the quality of wool naturally prevents fungus. Wool from Mongolia is amongst the best in the world since sheep yield superior quality wool fibers due to harsh winter.

In mid-June, the horse milking starts. During this period, foals and colts are tethered in order to milk mares without resistance. When the day of tethering arrives, nearby horsemen gather. The most acclaimed horseman binds a ritual band to his lasso pole, catches the first-born foal, and then hitches it to the first leg of the tethering-line. After tethering all foals, the household ferments their mare’s milk by stirring or churning and preserves it. During the fermentation, lactobacilli bacteria acidify the milk, and yeasts turn it into a carbonated and mildly alcoholic drink known as airag. Every Mongolian enjoys drinking airag. There is a custom to celebrate the occasion of fermenting mare’s milk with a feast, which is held within three days after the tethering colts. During one season, a mare produces approximately 1,000 to 1,200 liters of milk, of which about half is left to the foals.