5-Day Express Gobi & Karakorum Loop
Day-by-Day Itinerary
Ulaanbaatar β Gobi Gurvan Saikhan
We pick you up from your accommodation at 08:00 for a full day's drive south to Gobi Gurvan Saikhan National Park, about 640 km and 9 hours on a paved road. It's a long day, but a fascinating one: the green, rolling steppe around the capital slowly flattens into the dry plains of the Middle Gobi, gers and herds of horses give way to camels and goats, and the horizon seems to grow wider by the hour. Gurvan Saikhan, meaning 'Three Beauties,' takes its name from the three ridges of the mountain range at the heart of the park, one of Mongolia's largest protected areas and home to ibex, argali sheep, and the elusive snow leopard. Arrive in the evening and settle in for the night near the mountains.
Yol Gorge β Khongor Sand Dunes: Camel Ride
After breakfast, drive about 10 km on dirt roads to Yol Gorge. '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 and visit the small natural history museum; an optional horse ride is possible here. After lunch, drive about 190 km (5 hours on dirt roads) to Khongor, the largest sand dune field in the Gobi Desert. The dunes stretch nearly 100 km long and 5 to 10 km wide, with crests rising 80 to 300 m above the surrounding land. On windy days, the moving sand produces a deep booming sound, which is why locals call them the 'Singing Sands,' and a green oasis fed by the Khongor River lines their northern edge. Ride Bactrian camels to explore the dunes, and the energetic can climb a crest for endless views across a sea of golden sand.
Khongor β Bayanzag (Flaming Cliffs) β Ongi Monastery Ruins
After breakfast, drive about 150 km (4 hours on dirt roads) to Bayanzag. American explorer and zoologist Roy Chapman Andrews named this place the 'Flaming Cliffs' in the 1920s, and many important dinosaur finds, including Protoceratops skeletons and the first dinosaur eggs ever discovered, were made here. The red cliffs are imposing from a distance and glow especially fiery in low sunlight. Walk around the site, then after lunch continue about 155 km (4 hours on dirt roads) north to the ruins of Ongi Monastery on the banks of the Ongi River. Founded in 1760, it was once one of the largest monasteries in the Gobi, until it was destroyed in the communist purges of 1937, and the raw violence of that destruction is still visible across the site. Hike among the ruins, visit the small local ger museum displaying objects saved from the monastery, and step inside the small, active Buddhist temple that has been rebuilt here.
Ongi β Karakorum (Kharkhorin)
After breakfast, drive about 240 km (6 hours on dirt roads) north as the semi-desert gives way to the grassy hills of the Orkhon Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage cultural landscape. Karakorum was the capital of the Great Mongol Empire, founded by Chinggis Khaan and built up by his son Γgedei, and today a small township stands on the site. Some two centuries after the city was sacked by Chinese armies, builders reused materials from its ruins to found Erdene Zuu Monastery in 1586, the first Buddhist monastery in Mongolia, ringed by a wall topped with 108 white stupas. Visit Erdene Zuu, the Karakorum Museum with its finds from the ancient city, and other historical sights around the town, such as the granite turtle that once marked the city's boundary.
Karakorum β Khustai National Park β Ulaanbaatar
After breakfast, drive about 300 km (5 hours on a paved road) to Khustai National Park, where takhi wild horses have been reintroduced since 1992. Known in the West as Przewalski's horse, the takhi is the last wild horse subspecies to survive into the 21st century. Russian explorer N. M. Przhevalsky first described it in western Mongolia in the late 1870s, but it later died out in the wild and survived only in zoos until breeding programs returned it to the Mongolian steppe. Spend time hiking in the surrounding hills to find the wild horses, and with luck you may also spot maral (red) deer and other wildlife. Then drive about 105 km (2 hours on a paved road) back to Ulaanbaatar, arriving at your accommodation at around 18:00.