Yurts in Mongolia? Well, of course. Yurts and Mongolia are synonymous. The nomadic people of central Asia have lived in gers (yurts) for centuries, and yurts are still used as housing in modern Mongolia. With their lattice walls, rafters and compression ring- the Mongolian ger is an architectural marvel- and the inspiration for and origination of the modern yurt.

At Colorado Yurt Company, we build a yurt that has updated fabrics, taller walls, high tech insulation, strong wooden structure and engineered strength. But, the basic structure harkens back to Mongolia and the genius design of the ger.

When the phone rang last December, we were thrilled, excited (and a little bit surprised) that the call was coming from Ayanchin Four Seasons Lodge in Mongolia. It was like a call from an old friend.

Ayanchin Four Seasons Lodge is a full service lodge in Terelj National Park about 50 minutes from the Mongolian capital, Ulaanbaatar. They have a main lodge, cabins, traditional gers, hotel rooms and now- five new Colorado Yurts.

The resort is a family business, owned by Mandah Karlsen and managed by her brother Urnuh Gombosuren. Ayanchin Four Seasons Lodge was established in 2005 and is open all year round. Most visitors are Mongolian families, and they also see expats from around the world. In addition to lodging, they have kids’ play areas, an entertainment room, a full service restaurant, bike rentals, horseback riding, guided day trips and a conference center.

When they expanded their lodging options, they chose twenty foot diameter yurts from Colorado Yurt Company. Our designs are “like an upgraded ger”. Urnuh says, “With a Mongolian ger there are two columns in the middle, but with the Colorado Yurt there are no columns which makes it feel like there is more space. The Colorado Yurt is taller than the Mongolian ger, and is a strong structure.”

We’ve kept in touch with Mandah and Urnuh since we made their yurts. We sent updates when the yurts shipped from our shop in Colorado packed in a container. We tracked the yurts as they arrived at the port in China (with some paperwork going back and forth to clear customs). We heard when the yurts arrived on a truck (in the middle of the night) in Mongolia, and Urnuh has emailed through the construction process.

When photos of the new yurts appeared on the Ayanchin Four Seasons Lodge Facebook page, our entire company was thrilled to see the yurts in their new home.

Mandah says, “It’s been a great summer! We’ve built all Colorado Yurts at Ayanchin Lodge. They all look AWESOME! Thank you so much again for your great work!”

Our next project: figuring out how to visit the yurts in person!