Reindeer herders, eagle hunters: New Silversea tour brings rare encounters in Mongolia

Gene Sloan | USA TODAY

EAST TAIGA, Mongolia – The scene is like something out of a Western movie. More than a dozen teepees are spread out along a bubbling creek that winds through a wide, grassy valley. Men in traditional garb move between the simple structures, tending to animals. Women cook around an open fire.

But instead of Native Americans in feathered headdresses, the occupants of this remote encampment deep in the wilderness of northern Mongolia are Mongolian deel-wearing Tsaatan – a nearly extinct tribe of nomadic reindeer herders who still live off the land much like their forbears did centuries ago.

"Where the reindeer are going, that's where we are going," says Zaya Oldov, the only English-speaking member of the small community of 80 people and an impromptu tour guide for a group of representatives from Silversea, the luxury cruise line. "We move six or eight times a year."

Over several hours, Oldov offers a rare glimpse at the community's way of life, which revolves around a herd of more than 500 reindeer. She welcomes the group into the teepee of the tribal chief and his wife, who serve up reindeer cheese and warm bowls of suutei tsai — a traditional salty tea made with reindeer milk. Both are staples of the Tsaatan diet. She introduces the group to the village shaman, who describes her spiritual role, and a huddle of men making tools from reindeer antlers. The community also shows off its reindeer riding skills and sings traditional songs.

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It is a scene that few people in the world ever get to see. There are no roads into this area, and normally it would take days of trekking over undulating grasslands and through boreal forests to reach these little-visited people. But the Silversea group has arrived in just under an hour on a Russian-built Mi-17 military helicopter. Operated by the Mongolian Air Force, the 20-seat aircraft has been chartered by Silversea as part of a test run of a new, first-of-its-kind tour to some of the most off-the-beaten-path parts of Mongolia.

Welcome to the new era of luxury travel for the 1 percent. The new tour will be part of Silversea's just-unveiled Couture Collection – a group of nine super-pricey, super-curated overland trips that incorporate private helicopters and private jets to get travelers to some of the world's most inaccessible and untouched places.

Designed as add-ons to existing Silversea cruises, the Couture Collection tours are aimed at a growing segment of wealthy travelers whose idea of luxury is as much about getting one-of-a-kind experiences as it is about traditional pampering.

"Luxury (today) is about access," Silversea executive Barbara Biffi tells USA TODAY after the visit to the Tsaatan. "Luxury (life) has evolved from the obsession with material possessions into a hunger for personal enrichment."

The cost of the tours isn't for the faint of heart. Silversea plans to charge more than $30,000 per person for the Mongolia trip, which will be seven days. Another Couture Collection tour, to the South Pole, is $78,000 per person. But the tours will offer experiences that are available nowhere else.

In addition to the visit to the Tsaatan, the Mongolia trip includes several days of exploring around Bayan-Olgii, the mountainous province on the extreme western edge of Mongolia. Populated mostly by ethnic Kazakhs (Kazakhstan is just 25 miles to the west), Bayan-Olgii is notable as one of last places on Earth where the locals hunt with eagles – a stunning sight that few outsiders ever witness.

Arriving at Bayan-Olgii's small provincial capital by commercial aircraft, the Silversea group transfers to rugged four-by-four vehicles for an off-road drive deep into the mountain region of Sagsai, where the eagle hunters live. They meet with one eagle-hunter family within its portable, tent-like home, known as a ger (in the West, they're often called yurts), and are given a demonstration of eagle-hunting skills.

The Sagsai region of Bayan-Olgii receives few visitors from the outside world, in part due to its limited infrastructure. The nearest town to the eagle hunters, also called Sagsai, is a dusty, dirt-road affair with no lodging or eateries of any kind, unless you want to barter a stay with a local Kazakh family. But Silversea is going to great lengths to make the area accessible.

Working with a Mongolia-based tour operator, Silversea has created a temporary luxury camp in an idyllic mountain valley near the eagle hunters that will be put up and taken down each time a Silversea group arrives. It features six elegant, upscale tents filled with king-size beds, carpets and wooden chairs. In an impressive display of luxury, each of the tents comes with a separate, private bathroom tent featuring a sink, toilet and shower. A colorful ger on loan from a local eagle-hunter family serves as a dining tent for gourmet meals.

In short, Silversea is creating its own infrastructure for the trip, at times through astounding feats of logistics. It takes three days to truck the temporary camp to the Sagsai region from the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar and another seven days to set it up — all for a two-night stay by the Silversea group. For the Tsaatan visit, Silversea brings in its own dining tent (along with a private chef) for a gourmet lunch.

Silversea also arranges a private version of Mongolia's famed Naadam festival, which features Mongolia's traditional "three games of men" — Mongolian wrestling, horse racing and archery. It takes place on the last day of trip, after an overnight at one of Mongolia's most luxurious ger camps, located near Ulaanbaatar.

It is an itinerary planned without compromise, with little concern for the final cost, Biffi suggests. And that's the point.

"We have these private accommodations and private transportation like the military helicopters available to us, and of course that adds up. These voyages are probably some of the most expensive land tours you can have," she says. "But our guests don't want to compromise. For them, it is a once-in-a-lifetime experience."

If you go ...

Silversea Cruises' new Couture Collection of small-group, pre- and post-cruise tours range in price from $11,299 per person (for a six-day Namibia trip) to $78,000 per person (for an 11-day trip to the South Pole that includes travel by private jet).

The line initially is offering nine of the tours, each focused on a remote destination far from an ocean. In addition to the steppes of Mongolia, destinations include the Australian Outback; the wild lands of Rwanda and Tanzania; the Buddhist sites of Tibet; and the salt flats, volcanoes and hot springs of Bolivia.

All of the trips are marked by luxury accommodations, private transportation, and exclusive activities and special events. They range in length from five to 11 days, and they are available in conjunction with specific Silversea cruises in related regions.

Information: silverseacouture.com; 888-978-4070.

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