Day #61: Spiritualism on the road

---

As we travel through the country we often come across along the sides of the roads monuments consisting of piles of stones, usually surrounding some kind of post, with blue scarves, animal bones, small notes and various other ephemera mixed in amidst the rocks. These are believed by Mongolians to bring blessings to travellers, and the tradition is to stop, pick up a stone from the bottom, and throw it up to the top, seemingly part superstition and part prayer, perpetuating the monument. The ritual is primarily Shamanistic, but has now become tied into Buddhism, with prayer wheels and other Buddhist offerings sometimes found at the sites.

We stopped at Pak Atzer ("Land of Stones") today. There used to be a Buddhist monastery situated in the valley, but this was abandoned in Soviet times when the monks were killed (there is almost nothing left of it, only some beautiful trees growing in the ruins). It remains a very holy site and is now dominated by hundreds of piles of stones like the ones I often see by the side of the road, but smaller, I suppose built by individual pilgrims. The stone valley is dramatic but very peaceful. We spent some time alone wandering through the extraordinary landscape.

---