The Tsaatan (Dukha) people live in the taiga north of Lake Khövsgöl, in the Darhad Valley and the mountains along the Russian border. A visit to a Tsaatan camp — typically reached by horse from Khatgal over two to four days — offers a glimpse of one of the world's most distinctive ways of life: small family groups living in traditional tepees (ortz), their lives organised entirely around their reindeer herds.
The reindeer are used for transport, dairy, and ceremony — not meat. You can arrange visits through guides in Khatgal, but it is worth finding an operator who pays the families fairly and doesn't overwhelm small camps with too many visitors. The best times to visit are late spring and autumn, when the herders are at lower elevations and the trek is easier.