Cheeses of Arkhangai
Mongolia's green Khangai country, where herding families dry aaruul on the roofs of their gers all summer.
Made, aged and sold here
Best time: June to August, the white season of plentiful milk.
Arkhangai province, on the northern slopes of the Khangai mountains, has some of the best grazing in Mongolia. Herding families move between summer and winter camps with cattle, yaks, sheep, goats and horses. Summer is the white season, when milk is plentiful and turned into airag, butter, cream and many kinds of curd, most famously aaruul, dried on the roof of the ger.
The white foods
Mongolian herders call dairy foods tsagaan idee, white foods. Byaslag is a pressed cheese of cow or yak milk. Aaruul is curd pressed, cut and dried in the sun until hard, sometimes sweetened, and it keeps through the winter. Eezgii is curd boiled until it browns and crumbles. Guests at a ger are offered a bowl of these with milk tea.
Summer camps
In summer, white gers dot the river valleys of Arkhangai, and travellers on the road between Tsetserleg and the Khangai lakes can see racks of curd drying in the sun. Naadam, the summer festival of wrestling, archery and horse racing, is held in July, and local naadams in the provinces bring families together with plenty of white food on the table.
A trail idea for Arkhangai
- Tsetserleg The provincial town, with a monastery museum and a market.
- A herding family's ger Taste aaruul and byaslag with milk tea where hospitality is offered.
- Tsenkher hot springs A valley of hot springs and summer pasture.
- Terkhiin Tsagaan lake A volcanic lake further west, surrounded by herding camps.
Written by the EveryCheese desk with AI assistance. Background: "Arkhangai Province" on Wikipedia. Opening hours, markets, caves and tours change; check locally before travelling. If something is wrong, tell us.
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