The little sister of Russia’s better-known Lake Baikal, Mongolia’s extraordinary Lake Khovsgol has all of the beauty and none of the crowds (at least for now). At depths close to 900 ft., this astonishing ancient body holds about 70% of the nation’s fresh water. A new airport south of Ulan Bator will triple existing capacity this year, and the plan to add nonstop Mongolian Airlines flights from the U.S. is set to make the “Blue Pearl of Mongolia” more accessible than ever before. —Yulia Denisyuk
More Must-Read Stories From TIME
- Supreme Court Overturns Roe v. Wade, Undoing Constitutional Right to Abortion
- What the Supreme Court’s Abortion Decision Means for Your State
- The Failure of the Feminist Industrial Complex
- The Fight Over Abortion Has Only Just Begun
- Column: How Stereotypes Shape the Language People Use
- Everything We Know About Beyoncé's New Album, Renaissance
- Homes Made from Straw or Fungi Can Now Get You a Cheaper Mortgage in the Netherlands
- Going on Vacation This Summer? Welcome to the 'Revenge Travel' Economy