2-Day Gobi Dash by Car: Bayanzag & Yol Gorge
Day-by-Day Itinerary
Ulaanbaatar β Bayanzag (Flaming Cliffs)
We pick you up from your accommodation at 07:00 and drive south to Bayanzag, about 700 km and 9 hours, mostly on a paved road. It's a long day on the road, but a rewarding one, as the green steppe around the capital slowly gives way to the dry, open plains of the Gobi, dotted with grazing camels and the occasional herder's ger. American explorer Roy Chapman Andrews named Bayanzag the 'Flaming Cliffs' during his expeditions of the 1920s, and many important dinosaur finds were made here, including Protoceratops skeletons and the first dinosaur eggs ever discovered. The red sandstone cliffs are imposing from a distance and glow especially fiery in the light of the setting sun, and you arrive just in time to see them at their best. Walk around the site in the evening, then spend the night nearby.
Yol Gorge β Ulaanbaatar
After breakfast, drive about 100 km (2 hours on dirt roads) to Yol Gorge in the Gurvan Saikhan mountain range. 'Yol' means bearded vulture in Mongolian, and the gorge stretches for more than 10 km. At its narrowest point only three or four people can walk side by side, and the high rock walls shade the valley floor from direct sun, so ice formed by its small stream in winter often survives until mid-July. Enjoy an hour's hike through the gorge, keep watch for ibex and vultures on the cliffs, and visit the small natural history museum at the park entrance. An optional horse ride is also possible here. After lunch, drive about 650 km (8 hours on a paved road) back to Ulaanbaatar, arriving at your accommodation at around 21:00.