3-Day East Gobi by Night Train: Khamar Monastery
Day-by-Day Itinerary
Ulaanbaatar β Sainshand by Trans-Mongolian Train
We pick you up from your accommodation at 15:00 and take you to Ulaanbaatar Railway Station to catch train No. 276, which departs at 16:50. The Trans-Mongolian line, completed in the 1950s, links Russia and China across the whole width of Mongolia, and the run to Sainshand takes about nine hours. Settle into your sleeper compartment and watch the natural scenery change from the rolling grassland steppe to the semi-desert of the Gobi, with spectacular sunsets as evening falls and the lights of civilization drop away. The train reaches Sainshand, the capital of Dornogobi province, at 01:50. Our local driver meets you at the station and drives you about 15 km on a paved road to the tourist ger camp, where dinner is served before you turn in for the night.
Khamar Monastery: World Energy Center β Sainshand β Night Train
After breakfast, drive about 35 km on a paved road to the Khamar Monastery complex. It was founded in 1820 by the educator, poet, and noble monk Danzanravjaa, who chose the site believing that the surrounding land radiated a spiritual energy fostered by the Gobi; today many Mongolians come here to recharge at the spot known as the 'world energy center.' The monastery was completely destroyed in the communist purges of 1937, and rebuilding began in the 1990s with great success. See the 108 meditation caves, a dinosaur skeleton lying in the ground, and petrified trees, then hike around and enjoy the small sand dunes nearby. Next, drive about 25 km on a dirt road to Khusliin Khar Mountain, believed to make people's dreams come true, and climb it for a spectacular view. Then drive about 35 km on a paved road back to Sainshand to visit the Danzanravjaa Museum, whose treasures belonging to Mongolia's most revered and multi-talented monk spent decades buried in the desert to hide them from the purges. After dinner, board train No. 275 back to Ulaanbaatar at 23:40 and spend the night on board.
Arrive in Ulaanbaatar
Wake to the sunrise over the steppe as the train rolls north. You arrive in Ulaanbaatar at 09:20, where we meet you at the station and take you to your accommodation, with the rest of the day free.