Altai Tavan Bogd National Park

Mongolia

　　Covering 6362 sq km, Altai Tavan Bogd National Park takes in the Tavan Bogd massif – which includes Khuiten Uul (4374m), Mongolia's highest mountain – and the stunning lakes of Khoton, Khurgan and Dayan. Fauna includes argali sheep, ibex, maral (Asiatic red deer), stone marten, deer, elk, Altai snowcock and...

Central Museum of Mongolian Dinosaurs

Mongolia

　　Dinosaurs of all shapes, sizes and appetites once roamed the Gobi Desert. Their fossilised bones and eggs were first uncovered by American explorer Roy Chapman Andrews in the 1920s. Today you can come face-to-skull with some of the best examples of Mongolian dinosaur fossils in this museum. The centrepiece of...

Mongolian National Modern Art Gallery

Mongolia

　　Sometimes called the Fine Art Gallery, this place contains a large and impressive display of modern and uniquely Mongolian paintings and sculptures, with nomadic life, people and landscapes all depicted in styles ranging from impressionistic to nationalistic. The Soviet romantic paintings depicted in thangka style are especially interesting, but the...

Khavtsgait Petroglyphs

Mongolia

　　If you take the main route from Dalanzadgad to Khongoryn Els, keeping the mountains to your left as you go, you can stop and hunt the hills for this exceptional collection of petroglyphs dating from between 8000 BC and 3000 BC. From the parking area trail head, a rocky path...

Khuisiin Naiman Nuur Nature Reserve

Mongolia

　　The area of Naiman Nuur, which was created by volcanic eruptions centuries ago, is now part of the 115-sq-km Khuisiin Naiman Nuur Nature Reserve. Despite the name, there are actually nine, not eight, lakes. The lakes are about 35km southwest of Orkhon Khürkhree (waterfall), but the roads are often virtually...

Khermen Tsav

Mongolia

　　Way off the beaten track; you are likely to have this complex of canyons all to yourself. Some say they are even more spectacular than Bayanzag. Be sure to have well-maintained transport and a driver who knows their way around. ...

Gorkhi-Terelj National Park

Mongolia

　　Located 55km northeast of Ulaanbaatar, this popular national park is characterised by picturesque alpine scenery. It offers great opportunities for hiking, rock climbing, swimming (in icy-cold water), rafting and horse riding. For hard-core extreme-sports fanatics, there's skiing and dog-sledding in the depths of winter. The southern section caters to tourists,...

Yolyn Am

Mongolia

　　Yolyn Am was originally established to conserve the region's bird life, but it’s now more famous for its dramatic rocky cliffs and narrow, heavily shaded canyons that allow sheets of blue-veined ice to survive well into the summer in what is known as Yolyn Am Gorge. Yolyn Am is in...

Bayanzag

Mongolia

　　The so-called Flaming Cliffs are a Gobi highlight and an important palaeontology site first excavated by Roy Chapman Andrews in 1922. Even if you are not a ‘dinophile’, the eerie beauty of the surrounding landscape is a good reason to visit. It’s a classic desert of rock, red sands, scrub,...

Shambhala

Mongolia

　　In 1853 Danzan Ravjaa told the local people that he would die in three years but that they could forever come to this place and speak to his spirit. Indeed, he died three years later and the site was marked by an ovoo. Shambhala is now surrounded by 108 new...

Yolyn Am Gorge

Mongolia

　　A pleasant 2km path leads from the parking area to this gorge filled with blue ice, one of the park's can't-miss sights. You can hike, bike or hire a horse and ride here. Along the way, you'll see herds of shaggy yaks and, if you're lucky, an ibex. You'll have...

Khongoryn Els

Mongolia

　　Khongoryn Els are some of the largest and most spectacular sand dunes in Mongolia. Also known as the Duut Mankhan (Singing Dunes – from the sound they make when the sand is moved by the wind), they are up to 300m high, 12km wide and about 100km long. The largest...

Ikh Nartiin Chuluu Nature Reserve

Mongolia

　　This 670-sq-km nature reserve, only a four-hour drive from Ulaanbaatar, at an elevation of 2200m, is home to hundreds of ibexes (mountain goats), argali (big-horn sheep), gazelles, black vultures, wolves and other wildlife. There are 10 nomadic herder families living in the park, which is studded with spectacular glacial rock...

Ongiin Khiid

Mongolia

　　The bend in the river here marks the remains of two ruined monasteries which are today considered one vast complex known as Ongiin Khiid. Bari Lam Khiid was built in 1810 on the north bank, the same side of the river as the area's tourist ger camps. Khutagt Lam Khiid...

Amarbayasgalant Khiid

Mongolia

　　Amarbayasgalant Khiid was built between 1727 and 1737 by the Manchu emperor Yongzheng, and dedicated to the great Mongolian Buddhist and sculptor Zanabazar, whose mummified body was moved here in 1779. The design references Manchu style, down to the inscriptions, symmetrical layout, imperial colour scheme and roof guardians on every...

Monument to Chingunjav

Khövsgöl

　　With a fierce expression on his face, the statue of the mounted Chingunjav looks set to trample you under its hooves. Chingunjav was one of the two major leaders of the 1755–1756 rebellion in Outer Mongolia; though he ultimately failed, he is nevertheless recognised as a fighter for Mongolia's independence...

Khövsgöl Park

Khövsgöl

　　This dusty park consists of a giant map of Khövsgöl aimag with each sum (district) represented by a bit of public artwork that ranges from appealingly kitschy to kind of terrifying (examples include concrete dead-eyed goats, murals, and crumbling statues with faces marred by exposed rebar). A large Buddha statue,...

Khövsgöl Aimag Museum

Khövsgöl

　　Given the variety of wildlife in the aimag, stuffed animals such as the ibex and the lynx are, not surprisingly, the main feature of the museum; there's also a large tusk from a woolly mammoth dating back at least 40,000 years. Highlights of the ethnographic display include a beribboned shaman's...

Danzandarjaa Khiid

Khövsgöl

　　An eerie dusty plain and the ruins of arched gates make for a dramatic backdrop to this monastery. The original structure (Möröngiin Khuree) was built around 1890 and housed some 2000 monks. It was rebuilt and reopened in June 1990 and now has around three dozen monks of all ages....

Uushigiin Uver

Khövsgöl

　　On an arid plain about 20km west of Mörön, 14 deer stones have survived both howling winds and history, and now constitute one of the most enchanting Bronze Age archaeological sites in the country. Some of the stones have vibrant white designs etched against an ochre-coloured background. The most unique,...

Sükhbaatar Square

Ulaanbaatar

　　In July 1921 in the centre of Ulaanbaatar, Damdin Sükhbaatar (the ‘hero of the revolution’) declared Mongolia’s final independence from China. A square later built on the spot now bears his name and features at its centre a bronze statue of the revolutionary astride his horse. In 2013 the city...

Gandan Khiid

Ulaanbaatar

　　Around the start of the 19th century more than 100 süm (temples) and khiid (monasteries) served a population of about 50,000 in Urga (the former name of Ulaanbaatar). Only a handful of these buildings survived the religious purges of 1937. It wasn’t until the early 1990s that the people of...

International Intellectual Museum

Ulaanbaatar

　　This museum contains an intriguing collection of puzzles and games made by local and international artists. One puzzle requires 56,831 movements to complete, says curator Zandraa Tumen-Ulzii. There are dozens of handmade chess sets and ingenious traditional Mongolian puzzles that are distant cousins to Rubik's Cube. An enthusiastic guide will...

Zanabazar Museum of Fine Arts

Ulaanbaatar

　　This fine-arts museum has a superb collection of paintings, carvings and sculptures, including many by the revered sculptor and artist Zanabazar. It also contains other rare religious exhibits such as scroll thangka (paintings) and Buddhist statues, representing the best display of its kind in Mongolia. A bonus is that most...

Zaisan Memorial

Ulaanbaatar

　　Built by the Russians to commemorate 'unknown soldiers and heroes' from various wars, the Zaisan Memorial features stirring socialist realism imagery with Soviet mosaics and reliefs, including that of Stalin and Lenin. Accessed via steep stairs, the monument sits atop the hill south of the city with wonderful views of...

Winter Palace of the Bogd Khan

Ulaanbaatar

　　Built between 1893 and 1903, this palace is where Mongolia’s eighth Living Buddha, and last king, Jebtzun Damba Hutagt VIII (often called the Bogd Khan), lived for 20 years. For reasons that are unclear, the palace was spared destruction by the Russians and turned into a museum. The summer palace,...

Choijin Lama Temple Museum

Ulaanbaatar

　　This temple museum smack in the middle of downtown Ulaanbaatar was the home of Luvsan Haidav Choijin Lama (‘Choijin’ is an honorary title given to some monks), the state oracle and brother of the Bogd Khan. Construction of the monastery commenced in 1904 and was completed four years later. It...

National Museum of Mongolia

Ulaanbaatar

　　Mongolia’s wonderful National Museum sweeps visitors from the Neolithic era right to the present day. It’s UB's only genuine blockbuster sight, offering an unparalleled overview of Mongolian culture, ranging from stone-age petroglyphs and exquisite gold ornamentation to, arguably the highlight, the full gamut of traditional ceremonial costume – which unmistakably...