Holy Mother Tree - Mongolia
First of all, I have to say Mongolia is like... the corner of the planet, since almost no one lives there and nothing happens, and, as crazy and adventurer as I am, obviosly the first post of Mongolia had to be in the middle of nowhere in the country that is already itself in the middle of nowhere!!
This tree is situated in the Selenge Province of Sukhbaatar which is
around four hours from Ulan Bator, and it's not a normal tree... is critical religious spot for
the individuals who hone Shamanism here. Local people as often as
possible result in these present circumstances hallowed tree to go to
the spirits that possess the trees; a ceremony that originates before
Buddhism.
Those who practice Shamanism believe that shamans communicate between
the human and spiritual worlds, and the Mother Tree became seen as a
gateway to the spirits after it was struck by lightning, so, worshipers from all over the world came here to do their offerings, consisting in drinks and blue scarves that surround the place.
Until 2015, the Mother Tree was an actual tree, around which a yurt had been built. Following a practice that thousands of others had
engaged in before, one worshipper in 2015 lit an incense stick by the
tree, but this time the tree caught fire, and it was all but destroyed.
The stump was salvaged from the fire and placed in the outside
compound. Today, the yurt is still in its place, and the ground where the
Mother Tree once grew is the object of people’s veneration.
How to visit:
If you go yourself by car from the capitol: Along the main road running through Shaamar, there is a sign saying Eej
Mod (in Mongolian script) pointing left (heading north). There is no
well defined road, but tracks going off road are visible at the sign.
The Mother Tree is a couple of kilometres along those tracks.
In my opinion, the best to explore mongolia is maybe on a campervan or something like that, I think it's pretty similar to Iceland in some points. You can always be based in Ulan Bator and take day trips to other places.
Here's a link for you:
Happy journeys in Mongolia!
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