Tent heating in Mongolia

I am currently back in Ulaan Baatar after sleeping some nights in a traditional ger tent at the Mongolian plains. After five days on the Trans-Siberian train, that freezing tent felt like pure luxury but right now I’m glad to be back in civilization (sort of) with an internet connection.

These tents are circular with a contained fire in the middle. We used wood for the fire but since there are very few trees around, it seems they normally use coal and manure for fuel.

Traditional ger tent in Terelj.

We had about zero degrees in the middle of the nights but during wintertime it can sneak below -40 degrees. Now that’s cold! How do the nomads cope with that? Maybe they drink a lot of airag (fermented mare’s milk with 6 % alcohol) to keep warm. I tried some of it which tasted like sour-cream, so I would rather head for the fireplace.