Crossing frozen lakes and mountain passes, the nomadic Kazakhs of western Mongolia make an epic journey with their livestock every spring - Timothy Allen joined Shohan's family in February.
The Kazakhs of western Mongolia, known for hunting with eagles, are a nomadic people whose lives revolve around the movement of their livestock. Between February and April, about 200 families travel cross the Altai mountains on a 150km journey - it takes them about five days. (1/20) (All images copyright Timothy Allen - www.humanplanet.com)
This is Shohan's winter home: Most of his family and possessions travel to their spring camp on a truck, but his livestock must cross the mountains on foot to find fresh pastures. (2/20)
This is the family's last meal before leaving their winter home. As usual, says photographer Timothy Allen, it consisted of meat and tea - plus a few bottles of vodka to toast good health and safe passage. (3/20)
From their winter home, the livestock travelled through the village of Ulaanhus before heading off into the mountains. (4/20)
Shohan makes the journey with his cousin and his neighbour - plus their dogs. Together they herd about 500 livestock, including horses, yaks, camels, Kashmir goats, sheep and cows. (5/20)
On the lower sections of the migration route where there is no snow on the ground, the wind can quickly whip up a dust storm. The herders must then round up all the animals and wait for the wind to die down. (6/20)
There are clusters of drovers' huts dotted along the route. Provided by the Mongolian government, they are positioned at popular overnight camping spots and near the high mountain passes where bad weather often forces herders to seek shelter. (7/20)
Shohan's golden eagle travels on the back of one of the camels. The bird is wrapped up and hooded to protect it from the cold. (8/20)
As the animals begin to climb, the weather becomes harsher. The recent winter was unusually dry in western Mongolia, with many areas seeing hardly any snow. (9/20)
Shohan chooses to move his animals in February - before the lambing season. While the journey can be much harder than in March or April, it should mean fewer fatalities among his flock of pregnant ewes. (10/20)
The herders' camels carry frozen meat and a stove so the men can cook up a hearty evening meal. Some is kept for lunch the next day to be eaten with bread. The nomadic diet is heavy with meat and dairy products. Few vegetables grow in western Mongolia and imported produce would quickly freeze solid during winter journeys. (11/20)
The small huts that provide shelter for people on the move can fill up quickly. Herders bring animal skins to sleep on. (12/20)
When they reach streams and rivers, the animals are afraid to walk on the slippery frozen surfaces, so herders sprinkle dirt on the ice to create a pathway. They drag a young animal across, prompting its mother to chase it. The rest of the herd then follows en masse. (13/20)
In winter, the lakes freeze solid - the animals are afraid of the ice and will only cross when it is disguised by a covering of snow. (14/20)
Yaks cope well in snow storms, but what the herders fear most is a white-out caused by snow and strong winds. Visibility can go down to zero and animals can easily get lost. (15/20)
This is Shohan one morning, after a -40C night. Each day he starts to move the animals before first light when the temperature is still very low. (16/20)
Camels carry everything that might be needed to survive in the wild - but in reality herders will only need to camp out if they are stopped by bad weather or if the migration route is busy and the drovers' huts are full. (17/20)
Neighbouring families often make the journey together, but there can be problems when different herds accidently begin to mix. Separating them is hard and time consuming. (18/20)
The herders carry long-wave radios so they can listen to weather reports. If the weather gets too bad on the days they plan to cross high passes, they must wait until it improves. (19/20)
After the five-day migration, Shohan is reunited with his wife Perna at their spring home in Tavan Bogd National Park in western Mongolia. Their family moves six times a year between three wooden winter houses and various summer camping spots. (20/20) (All images copyright Timothy Allen - www.humanplanet.com)
