Mongolia Overview

Overview

Modern times have brought increased urbanization, but the famed Mongolian nomadic lifestyle is still strong. When visiting Undur Dov to see how many Mongolians live, the experience is of a lifestyle as it is actually still being live. It is not just a museum exhibit representing a rose tinted view of the past. After some hiking around the Bogd mountains and a look at the Manzushiri Monastery, perhaps the national drink of fermented mare's milk should be tried.

A quarter of the Mongolian population live in the capital, Ulaanbaatar. There are a number of Buddhist monasteries and it has a history of changing its name and location that possibly explains the lack of things to see. Kharakhorum was once the capital of Mongolia. Its ruins surround the first Buddhist monastery in the country, the Erdene Zuu Monastery. This is once more active so care should be taken. Another monastery can be seen 360km north of Ulaanbaatar. The trip to the Amarbayasgalant Monastery is not that straight forward. The natural world has some interesting features in Mongolia. Amongst the longest fault lines in the world lies between a spot near lake Sangiin Dalai Nuur in Hovsgal Aimag west to the Khangiltsag river headwaters in the Khan-Khukhii Range. The giant Khovsgol Lake known as 'The Dark Blue Pearl' is home to a number of fish and bird species. The Khonguryn Els are 800m high, 100km long sand dunes which offer a different type of trekking. The Gobi desert and the Bayanzag are where dinosaur bones and eggs were found preserved. In Lake Terkhiin Tsagaan National Park there is the dead Khorgo volcano with solidified bubbles of lave. There is some exciting wildlife such as the bobi bear, brown bears, tahki horses and snow leopards but actually seeing them is often up to chance. Easier to see and eat are the dezern antelope from the steppes zone. Camping is possible almost everywhere, which can be very useful.