Several yurt camps have been established on the grassland near the southern shore of Hulun Lake, combining the standard Inner Mongolian grassland experience — horse riding, bonfires, Mongolian food — with direct access to the lake and its extraordinary scenery. The combination of open water and open steppe at this scale is rare anywhere in the world; sitting at the lake's edge at sunset, watching the water turn gold against the grassland backdrop, is the kind of experience that justifies a long journey to northeastern Inner Mongolia.
The camps vary in quality and authenticity. The best are small operations run by Buryat or Mongolian herding families who have grazed the lakeshore for generations; the food is home-cooked, the horses their own, and the local knowledge about where to find birds and fish is genuine. The larger commercial camps are more comfortable but less interesting. Access is from Manzhouli, where taxis and hired cars make the run to the southern lakeshore in about thirty minutes. Overnight stays are the right choice; the morning light on the water is better than anything that happens mid-day.