Ulaanbaatar
Yak Festival Held in Khuvsgul
Society
Ulaanbaatar, July 22, 2023 /MONTSAME/. Yak Festival-2023, a tourism event took place at Dalan Bulag in Alag-Erdene soum, Khuvsgul aimag on July 20-21 within the Years to Visit Mongolia.
Various competitions including yak racing, male yak contest, national archery, poets contest, dairy fair, and scientific conference were organized during the Yak Festival, which aims to promote yak herder nomads, improve and increase the benefits of the yak-related products, introduce the yak culture to the public, and attract tourists.
On the first day of the Festival, 113 herders competed in yak lassoing and yak training competitions, riding and training untamed yaks, and lassoing a chosen biggest yak from a herd of yaks, throwing a lasso only once.
Over 100 delegates representing herders and officials of Alag-Erdene soum, scholars, researchers, and local businessmen took part in the scientific conference themed “Gateway to Development” and discussed possibilities to develop sustainable yak farming, enhance the benefits of yaks and increase their yields, improve the processing of the raw materials.
Studies revealed that yak wool contains melanin, which protects against the sun's ultraviolet and radioactive rays and neutralizes cancer. Therefore, the participating scholars underscored that the time is not far when yak wool will become more expensive than gold and highlighted the importance of utilizing the yields from yaks completely and improving the processing.
According to a survey, a total of some 14 million heads of yaks inhibit in less than 10 countries in Central Asia, of which around 90 percent are in Mongolia and China. As of last year’s livestock census, 1.3 million heads of yaks were counted in Mongolia. Yak herd makes up 10 percent of the livestock population in Alag-Erdene soum, the Yak Festival host.
The mountainous yak habitat areas are Arkhangai, Uvurkhangai, Khuvsgul, Bayan-Ulgii, Uvs, and Khovd aimags are among the top tourist destinations in Mongolia. Not only the mountainous northern and western regions of Mongolia but also mountainous areas of Gobi regions, such as Bayankhongor, Zavkhan, and Gobi Altai aimags are home to yaks.
