NORTHERN MONGOLIA Milk) Orpickberriesintheforests

NORTHERN MONGOLIA milk) orpickberriesintheforests. Mongolians offtoseethesights,stoppingenroute totaste thelocal These are fordomestictourists;youmaycomeacrossavanloadofurban alsoattractions orhorsetrek inthewondrousAmarbayasgalantKhiid bytheshorestake Nuur. ofKhövsgöl is stillrelatively unknown.Oldhunters lamentthatwildlife isnowmore difficulttospot. inroads,theconceptofsustainabledevelopmentfor minerals. Althoughecotourismismaking between environmentalistsandbusinessinterests thatwanttologtheforests andexplore choice intheforests and,after decadesofpersecution,itisbeingrevived andencouraged. peoples, includingtheTsaatan, thereindeer herders. Shamanismhaslongbeenthefaithof Nuur,themajorfeatureKhövsgöl oftheregion, Siberiainthebelly. pokes The area teems withelk,reindeer andbear,therivers brimwithfish.Beautiful andlakes inSiberia. Baikal toLake andrivers,and thesnowmeltfillsuplakes manyofwhichflownorth are longandcold,withsnowstayingonthegrounduntilMay.Summers bringwildflowers have aimagsactually moregan andKhövsgöl incommonwithSiberiathanMongolia. Winters lush andserene vegetation thatonemightconfuse desolate steppes. borderare three Butstrung alongitsnorthern aimags(provinces) ofsuch Log cabins,pineforests andmonstrousfishdonotconformtotheclassicimageofMongolia’s Mongolia Northern 132 © LonelyPlanetPublications If travelling bytraintoorfromRussia,you’llpassthroughSelenge. adiversion Make and The fragile environmentiscrucialtotheeconomyandthisarea isamajorbattleground hereAlthough themajorityofpeopleare are Khalkh, alsoBuriatsandTurkic-speaking

HIGHLIGHTS

POPULATION: 448,600 Journey to workshop Visit the bow-and-arrow-making Wanderaround thegroundsofspectacular ahorseintothetaiga (coniferous Ride forest) Dropafishinglineinto in tectural highlightofthecountry Amarbayasgalant Khiid enous sion forauniqueencounter withtheindig- around Tsagaannuur Depres- intheDarkhad sacred caves andlushforests Mongolia’s most spectacular alpinelakeMongolia’s mostspectacular ( p152 ), andwhileawayanafternoon by Dulaankhaan Tsaatan reindeer herders Chandman-Öndör ( p137 inMongolia ), oneofthelastitskind Khövsgöl Nuur ( p140 ), thearchi- ( p159 ), alittle-visited region offish-filledstreams, hotsprings, (p160)

AREA : 192,800 SQKM Tsagaannuur them forbitsofSwitz Khövsgöl Nuur Chandman- Öndör Amarbayasgalant airag Khiid erland. S (fermented mare Dulaankhaan elenge, Bul- Mongolia, notably theTsaatanMongolia, notably peopleof inSome of theSiberiantribesstillsurvive rations of theHuns,Uighurs andMongols. tribes of Siberiaandthegreat steppe confede- theTurkic-speaking the borderlandbetween For ofthousands years northernMongoliawas lonelyplanet.com now runs asfarBulgan City.Ifyour or railfrom Ulaanbaatar. A paved road aimagisaccessibleby pavedSelenge road Getting There& Away spectacular. visually whentheleavesSeptember, change colour,is (traditional circularfelt yurt)campsteeming. the timeof thetouristcrunch, leaving ger is warmandrelatively dry,but thisisalso as vehicles won’tget bogged inthemud.July means faster drive timesaroundthe aimag thethinice.fall through Travelling inwinter can ardous atthistimeastrucksandjeeps remain frozen untilMay; travel canbehaz- ing winter. After winter, thelakes andrivers 2minsomeregionsSnowfall canexceed dur- there’s plenty of rain(often 600mmayear). forest) of Siberianlarch andpinetrees, where terrain (subarcticconiferous ismainlytaiga In theregion aimag,the aroundKhövsgöl timber mills,fisheries and wool processing. athrivingindustryof developed Khövsgöl came hometotheErdenetcoppermine,and centresimportant of agriculture, Bulganbe- became of andSelenge industries.Darkhan avariety ing withthelocalsbydeveloping theRussiansimprovedLater, theirstand- soldiers upintrees andskinningthemalive. north, where monkswere reportedly stringing wasparticularlybloodyinthe The fighting ofsands monksandMongoliansoldiers dead. boiled over intoa1932rebellion thatleftthou- hadmoreKhiid, than 2000 lamas. largest centre of religion, Amarbayasgalant into givinguptraditionalpractices.The assed Buddhism localshamans were purged andhar- asteries. As thenomadswere converted to China toassistintheconstructionof mon- monks poured intothearea fromTibet and tury underManchu of rulewhenthousands of numerousburialmoundsand stones. deer intheform nomads isalsofoundinKhövsgöl Evidencenorthern Khövsgöl. of steppe these History Climate During communism,religious persecution history really beganinthe18thcen- Settled SELENGE gest revenue earner istheCanadian-owned big- Erdenet mine inBulganaimag. Selenge’s of coaleach yeartoprovide electricity forthe Sharyngol producesabouttwo milliontonnes economy. local border townitremains aviable partof the iscomparativelySükhbaatar, small,butasa Theaimagcapital, tiny aimag,Darkhan-Uul. thecityisactually partofalthough itsown some beautiful scenery. andmonastery, AmarbayasgalantKhiid, reasons tovisitare themajestic butremote lers headingtoandfromRussia. Themain particularly fromtravel- traffic, through asteady flowof sees means thatSelenge ture of paved roads,citiesandtrainlines far outnumbergers and camel caravans. nowadays woodcabinsandlumberingtrucks agriculture manynomadsand hassettled chards andmeanderingrivers. Wide-scale landscape of rollingwheatfields,appleor- Mongolia’s breadbasket, isafertileSelenge pop 181,500(inclDarkhan-Uul)/area42,800sqkm SELENGE River) to City! Sükhbaatar Gol(Selenge dled kayaksdowntheSelenge in theregion. Afew crazieshave pad- even tour companiesoffer mountain-biking trips very littleorganised adventure travel, some Whiletheretransport inthemountains. is from there. isapopularformof Thehorse the railsasfarErdenetandhire avehicle Travellers whoenjoytraintravel canride with theusualdirtroadsandrockyterrain. asyoutravelThe funstarts furtherwest, easier interms of getting intothe region. border, ErdenetandBulganmake life alot Improvements totheroadsRussian Getting Around first,Ulaanbaatar orgo by horse. the east,you’llhave tocomebackthrough find. Totravel aimagand Selenge between in centralMongoliaare more to difficult but tracksheadingnorthfromTsetserleg inthewesttoMörön,and Tosontsengel Main tracksalsorunfromUlaangom jeep viaBulgan. toMörönorbyjeep Ulaanbaatar way intothearea from iseitheronaflight Nuur,thequickestdestination isKhövsgöl Darkhan isthemajorDarkhan populationcentre, The relatively infrastruc- welldeveloped In thesoutheast, open-pitcoalmineat СЭЛЭНГЭ

133 NORTHERN MONGOLIA MONGOLIA NORTHERN NORTHERN MONGOLIA 134 NORTHERN MONGOLIA Zagastain Uul Dayan Otgon Davaa Telmen Uul(4021m) Nuur Tenger OTENMNOI MONGOLIA NORTHERN Otgon Telmen Ider Sh ava rG Zavkhan

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Gol NORTHERN MONGOLIA MONGOLIA NORTHERN NORTHERN MONGOLIA ad MasterCard. and Hotel.Alsogivescash advanceonVisa Sat) NeartheKharaa Adjacent totheTelecom office. on Visa and MasterCard. cheques, USdollarsand euros,andcangivecashadvances Nearthetrainstation. Changestravellers 5pm Mon-Fri) Zoos Bank Bank Trade &Development Telecom office café Internet stocked. well is lively andfriendlyand,asabordertown, istothesouth The policestation of town. inRussia). on theTrans-MongolianRailway are worthless anywhere inRussia (including Mongolia trytoget ridof allyourtögrög–they atrainarrives.whenever Ifyouare leaving and town square. town, where you’llfindthemainhotel, market Just northof isthecentre thetrainstation of Orientation &Information goods. smuggling travelling oncheaper localtrainsoryouare the trainjourneyto/fromRussia, youprefer unlessyouwanttobreak however, stay, up Thereindependent status. islittlereason to treaties were drawnupformalisingMongolia’s and time innearbyAltanbulag where Kyakhta munism in1921. spent himself Sükhbaatar Mongolian general whohelpedusher incom- USSR andMongolia,wasnamedafter the the tradebetween in the1940stofacilitate into oroutof Russia. Thetownwasfounded stopovera pleasant fortravellers heading and unhurriedpaceof life, makesSükhbaatar With itshillybackdrop,riverside location x SÜKHBAATAR near Sükhbaatar. Gol theSelenge Gol,meets river, theOrkhon km of landinbothcountries.The othergreat inSiberia,drainingnearly300,000sq Baikal oftains western MongoliaandflowsintoLake gold peryear,netting US$65 million. Boroo goldmine,which produces5tonnesof 136 h a woman. a for aMongolianmonastery, itsheadlamais Datsan The mighty Selenge Gol starts inthemoun- Golstarts Selenge The mighty The dailymarket, Hotel, behindtheSelenge Private moneychangers appearatthestation If youhave timedropbythe 01362 /pop19,700elev626m 24hr) Thepostofficeisalsolocated here. EEG • Skbaa SELENGE ••Sükhbaatar temple nearthetownsquare. Unusual ( x ( x ( 23110; x 23901; perhrT400; СҮХБААТАР 22385; Tsagaan Eregiin Gudamj; h 8am-8pm Mon-Fri, 8am-3pm 8am-8pm Mon-Fri, ( x 22407; h Khutagt Ekh Ekh Khutagt 24hr) h 9am- under renovation atthe time of research. ket. was mainhotel, Sükhbaatar’s theSelenge, spots amongthe hills northeastof themar- just westof town.Alternatively, there are great is acrossthetrain lineandamongthefields, thebestplacetotry camping. AtSükhbaatar, for aimagisparticularlypleasant Selenge Sleeping &Eating (12km) To Naushki 4 1 3 2 5 SÜKHBAATAR (12km) To Naushki 1 Station Train Darkhan...... Taxis &MinivansforAltanbulag TRANSPORT Bayankhangai...... EATING Voyage Hotel...... Railway StationHotel...... Kharaa Hotel...... SLEEPING Khutagt EkhDatsan...... SIGHTS &ACTIVITIES Zoos Bank...... Trade &DevelopmentBank...... Telecom Office...... Post Office...... (see1) Internet Café...... (see1) INFORMATION Square Town 3 4 Selenge A Hotel 9 Ulaanbaatar (311km) 6 To Darkhan(92km); 2 5

Book yourstayatlonelyplanet.com/hotels Tsagaan Eregiin Gudamj Eregiin Tsagaan 8 Market 200m 0.1miles 0 0 To Altanbulag(24km); Ulaanbaatar (311km)

Hospital Darkhan (92km); Bayanhani Gudamj Bayanhani B 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Elevators 7 Grain A4 A3 B5 A4 A3 A3 A3 A4 A3 Border Police Station Police 16,000/25,000) Ulaanbaatar and Sükhbaatar (T3500/8400 andSükhbaatar Ulaanbaatar hotel hasremodelled butunexcitingrooms. cent tothe train station. rooms are available hotel atthiswee adja- Book yourstayatlonelyplanet.com/hotels for Ulan Ude(T17,600),Irkutsk (T34,000) & 8-10pm) 9.45pm. at also optfortrain 264, departingSükhbaatar youcould 6.10am. ReturningtoUlaanbaatar, the nextmorningat parts forUlaanbaatar trainde- daily, arrivingat7.56pm.Thesame at10.30am Train 271departsUlaanbaatar withastopatDarkhan. for ahard/soft seat), about international trains. See p276 and late orvery atnight earlyinthemorning. p275 formore information tion are completed. Thisusuallytakes place or more hours whilecustomsandimmigra- fortwo stopatSükhbaatar Irkutsk orBeijing International trainsgoingto/fromMoscow, TRAIN hicles departfromoutsidethe train station. ve- (T1500,20minutes). These Altanbulag (T5000, twohours) and many toDarkhan share vehicles (T8000),but toUlaanbaatar regularity of thetrain,there are relatively few of thepopularityand Because not necessary. (92km)iswellpaved,Darkhan are sojeeps (311km)through The roadtoUlaanbaatar MINIVAN &TAXI along this road. you’llgetSükhbaatar, aliftpretty easily and Ulaanbaatar the mainroadbetween of theregular transportalongBecause HITCHING Getting There&Away meat) and cluding dishesin- sometasty serves Bayankhangai 11pm) reliable restaurant. Sauna available. the southof thecitywithcleanroomsanda Gudamj; tw/luxT25,000/45,000) sign. Look forthe‘Hotel Bar’ Kharaa Hotel Kharaa Station Hotel The Direct, localtrainstravel between Bayankhangai Voyage Hotel Between themarket Hotel, andKharaa Between train station sells localtickets sells andalsotickets moogtei khuuragmoogtei sharsan takhia Close tothetownsquare, Close this

(

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40371; perpersonT5000) ( 23839, 99495357;Tsagaan Eregiin x 23876; tw/half-lux/luxT10,000/ 22106, 99498949; 40124; Newlybuilthotel in (fried chicken). (mushroomand h SELENGE••Altanbulag 8am-noon, 3-5pm Decent h 9am- 7291; www.hornbow.mn) Mongolia. Bowsand arrowsare madefrom to a your ownvehicle. ishomeDulaankhaan this tinyvillage isworthastopifyouhave kilometresForty-seven southof Sükhbaatar, DULAANKHAAN are dailybuses to Novoselenginsk. theredelays of hours. FromKyakhta several 8amto5pm andyoucanexpect open between any publictransportavailable. Theborder is totryandhitchneed aridewithlocalortake Youcannotcross byfootsoyou’ll Altanbulag. a (T6000). taxi If there is nothinggoingyoucouldcharter atvarioustimesduringtheday. Altanbulag museum. the inthesmallredwas housed buildingoutside curator assured office usthatSükhbaatar’s hisdesk.The –hisboots,gunandeven effects relics includesomeof personal Sükhbaatar’s Mongolia’s independencemovement of 1921; nist propagandaandexhibitsdatingbackto 5pm Mon-Fri) The Altanbulag. minister of war. revolutionary hero wasnamed Sükhbaatar Mongolian revolutionaries inexile,andthe the MongolianPeople’s Party wasformedby inMarch 1921, inKhyakhta At ameeting treaty grantingMongolialimited autonomy. tosigna and MongoliametinKhyakhta In 1915representatives fromRussia, China of toMongolians. somehistoricalimportance Altanbulag. visit there theaimagmuseum, isnoreasonsee to the borderbyroad,ordesperately wantto the borderinRussia. Unless youare crossing ing viewisof only theirskeletons Theonlyinspir- intact. have abandoned,looted andleftwith been cross-border tradeandmanyof thebuildings few benefitsofits location,thetownsees opposite theRussiancityof Despite Khyakhta. asmall,peacefulbordertownAltanbulag, Just 24kmnortheastof is Sükhbaatar ALTANBULAG visa. Russian a and Moscow(T124,750),butyou’llneed Minivans run between Sükhbaatar and Sükhbaatar Minivans runbetween islocated here aimagmuseum Selenge’s in Both are inRussia andAltanbulag Khyakhta The border is located right attheedgeThe borderislocated right of bow andarrowworkshop contains lotsof contains antiquated commu- Khyakhta Cathedral Khyakhta АЛТАНБУЛАГ museum ДУЛААНХААН , oneof onlythree in (admission T2000;

( x 9913 1491,9926 , right across , right h

137 10am- NORTHERN MONGOLIA MONGOLIA NORTHERN NORTHERN MONGOLIA 200m westofthetaxi stand. Trade & Development Bank Trade &Development Telecom office inside theCultural Palace. h Library Internet Golomt Bank country. the joy: a16-storey building,oneof in thetallest prideand inthenewtownisDarkhan’s office ‘new town’tothesouth.Nearcentralpost anda into an‘oldtown’nearthetrainstation isspreadDarkhan out.Thecityisdivided Orientation Khiid. you arrange transporttoAmarbayasgalant here tostay butyoumayneed while to see, mous municipality, Darkhan-Uul. actually partof aimag,butanautono- Selenge mining atnearbySharyngol. Thecityis not to grainproductionandsomerequisite coal economy hassincemadesmallstrides,thanks advisors beatahastyretreat toMoscow.The losttheirjobsandtheRussian 1990 everyone When thebottomfell outof theeconomyin ers, coalminers andgovernment officials. cooperative of factoryworkers, tractordriv- and forawhileitworked asamodelurban forthenorth the 1960sasanindustrialbase TheSoviets createdMongolian Railway. itin isanunassumingblipontheTrans- Darkhan bursts of concrete andlanguorousstreet life, With itsvastacres of parkland,sporadic x DARKHAN or or Darkhan, camp nearby. inthevillage to stay socarryontoSükhbaatar fromSükhbaatar.for ataxi There isnowhere topayabout T15,000 Hwy.Expect Darkhan Ask for Boldbaatar. building, nexttothered-and-blue monument. In thevillage, lookforthetwo-storey wood forabout T180,000. sells complete. set Each theytake aboutfourmonthsyear because to arefish guts.Only30to40sets crafted every ibex and reindeer horn,bambooandeven 138 cheques and givesadvancesonVisa and MasterCard. Changescash,travellers 3pm &4-5.30pmMon-Fri) office are alsolocated here. Information The village is6kmwestof theSükhbaatar– Darkhan isnotsomewhereDarkhan youwould rush 10am-8pm Mon-Fri, 10am-6pm Sat&Sun)Located 10am-8pm Mon-Fri, 01372 /pop73,500 EEG • Drhn SELENGE ••Darkhan ( ДАРХАН x ( x ( x 23928; 23275; 23205, 99409812;perhrT500; h h 9am-1pm &2-5pm)Itis ( x 24hr) ATM andpost 33713; h 9am- [email protected]; dmUS$5; [email protected]; T12,000-16,000) the Telecom office. congregating pointsforlocalswhohangout thenewandoldtowns.Botharebetween road fromeach other,neartheroundabout twonewmonumentsareThese acrossthe MORIN KHUURSTATUE &SEATED BUDDHA minibus and stand. taxi side of theshoppingsquare, acrossfromthe is upstairs inabuildingonthenorthern painted byBTsultem in1953.Themuseum aclassicworkofSükhbaatar, myth-making, is theoriginalpaintingof meeting Lenin animals.Itsmostvaluedpiece tory stuffed clothing, religious artefacts andafew obliga- tion of archaeological findings,traditional 1pm &2-7pm) This MUSEUM OFDARKHAN-UUL asan building served school. elementary in blue host of protector deitiesandatree encased pretty logcabinintheoldtown,ithasa ina isthismonastery. Housed Darkhan Probably themostinteresting in sight KHIID KHARAAGIIN Sights Zoos Bank floor balcony,orcall for directions. the KiwiHotel; lookforthe signonthe4th- for getting around thearea. It’s located nextto andDaveDarkhan canprovide logistical tips theme. It’sagreat placetoovernight in withaScottish-Mongolian setting comfortable Scotsman Dave offers Russell dormbeds ina o HOTELS &GUESTHOUSES good. also fields tothenorthof Hotel are theDarkhan The the drunkswhohangaroundstation. are some empty fields–butget awayfrom spot.Southwestof secluded the trainstation get awayfromthetownandfindanearby Despite thesizeof itisn’thardto Darkhan, CAMPING Sleeping here at sunset. Darkhan Hotel Darkhan museum Jammin ToastGuesthouse khatag ( x contains awell-laid-outcollec- contains ThisSoviet-era monster has

24173; ( x (silk scarves). Until1989the (silkscarves).

( 27910; admissionT1000; x h ХАРААГИЙН 20001; s/d T6000/10,000, lux 8am-10pm Mon-Fri) Opposite 8am-10pm Mon-Fri) lonelyplanet.com h

( May-Sep; May-Sep; x

ХИЙД 9996 3154; h i 9am- ) ὈὈὈ ὈὈὈ ὈὈὈ Book yourstayatlonelyplanet.com/hotels beer beer on tap. plusChinggis andpasta goulash, steaks, salads an English-language menuwithHungarian of Hotel inthenewtown,has theDarkhan This Texan-themedtaurant. joint,justsouth Rogers couldnothave designedabetter res- up good,non-Mongolian curries. restaurant. It’srun byaMalaysian andserves food placereminiscent of Berlin Ulaanbaatar’s Kitchen Asian Eating lux T6000) roomssharestandard a bathroom. amenities andnicebathrooms.Note thatthe the newandoldtowns,thishasmodern T12,000/15,000, lux25,000) nightclub. Scorpion the northsideof thenewtown, opposite the and abilliardsroom(T7000).It’slocated on hot water. Ithasarestaurant, (T1000) asauna ter luxrooms, allwithattached bathroomand bet- roomsand slightly oldstandard scruffy 1 3 2 DARKHAN Texas Pub hasa The trainstation Crystal Hotel Station Train onthe top floor. To Ulaanbaatar Park To Sükhbaatar AC (219km)

(Nomin Supermarket; (Nomin Supermarket; (92km) (

x ( x 27961; 36966; s/dT8000/10,000,half-lux 6 9 ὈὈ ὈὈ ὈὈὈ ὈὈὈ 10 20 Market Stuck halfway between Stuck halfwaybetween h 4 hotel Old Town 11am-midnight) 7 h SELENGE••Darkhan

Park Palace Sports ( Ardin x 9am-9pm) Consulate

42263; rT5000, Russian 12 Örgön B 18 Ὀ 2 Choilin Khiid Urjin Sandag Fast- Roy Urtuuchin Hotel

Samdan ChoilinDatsan Chölöö 13 11 3 Town New 16 1 8 the four-hour runto Ulaanbaatar. Vehicles (T8000) andminivans (T6000)regularly do demand ensuresConstant thatshared taxis MINIVAN, TAXI &JEEP from thelotwestof the Urtuuchin Hotel. (T4500,fourhours).Ulaanbaatar Theyleave perdaydepartat11amand 4pmfor Two buses BUS Getting There&Away that hasseen some refurbishment. isanotherclub town. Saturn,nexttoQueens, Club Locals bustouttheirmoves atthe Entertainment the centralparkin new town. shop istheNominSupermarket, southeast of and karaoke bar. turnsintoanightclub thebasement evening aredrag. Steaks andpasta available andby welcomes youtothisbrew pubonthemain midnight) 5 17 If you are self-catering, thebestplace to If youare self-catering, Mongol Brend

( h 14 19 Alife-size photoof Miss Darkhan 6pm-midnight) 0 1 km 1 miles 0.5 0 0

( TRANSPORT ENTERTAINMENT EATING SLEEPING SIGHTS &ACTIVITIES INFORMATION Minivan Stand...... Minibus &TaxiStand...... Bus Stand...... Saturn...... Queens NightClub...... Texas Pub...... Nomin Supermarket...... Mongol Brend...... Asian Kitchen...... (see14) Jammin ToastGuesthouse...... Darkhan Hotel...... Crystal Hotel...... Seated Buddha...... Museum ofDarkhan-Uul...... Morin KhuurStatue...... Kharagiin Khiid...... Culture Palace...... (see2) Zoos Bank...... Trade &DevelopmentBank...... Telecom Office...... Post Office...... (see3) Library Internet...... Golomt Bank...... x inthecentre of thenew 27681, 99399181; D Queens Night h 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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139 NORTHERN MONGOLIA MONGOLIA NORTHERN NORTHERN MONGOLIA 2.30-6.30pm &10.30pm-4.30am) along the way sell along thewaysell most intact architecturalmost intact complex.Itis well andthecountry’s Gandan inUlaanbaatar) and (along withErdene ZuuinKharkhorin top three Buddhist institutionsinMongolia monastery isconsidered tobeone of the attractionof aimag,thisThe star Selenge АМАРБАЯСГАЛАНТ AMARBAYASGALANT KHIID that connectsthenewand old towns. have orhopinaminivan(T200) totake ataxi isspreadDarkhan out,soyouwillprobably Getting Around stop at Darkhan. p272 about international fordetails trainsthat hours), oratanungodly2am.See p276 and T1200/2400,two5.50pm (hard/soft seat (271) leaves at forSükhbaatar Darkhan miss itasthetrainleaves Darkhan at 2.50am. somelovelythrough countryside, but you’ll T2100/5300)goes and Erdenet(hard/soft seat in themiddleof the night. at 12.05am,arriving6am.Othertrainsleave 4pm. Anovernighter (264)departsDarkhan at8.33am, arriving inUBaboutDarkhan T2600/6400), adaytimetrain(272)leaves ing a soft seat. carriages are alwayscrowdedsoconsidertak- forinternational tickets.reserved Hard-seat isatwindows1and2.Window3 station office domestic ticket all trainsto/fromErdenet,stophere. The and all northerntrainsto/fromUlaanbaatar, istheonlytrainjunctioninMongolia: Darkhan TRAIN around T50,000butyou’llneed to bargain. Hotel.the Kharaa Around-tripshould cost near hire atthebusstand ortaxi yourownjeep Many (92km)andErdenet(180km).Sükhbaatar ing apaved (219km), roadtoUlaanbaatar from outsidethemarket inthe new town. (T5000,twohours),For Sükhbaatar vansleave inavantoErdenet(T7000,three hours).seat Urtuuchin Hotel, where youcanalsoget a justwestofdepart fromabusstand the 140 Darkhan enjoystheprivilege ofDarkhan hav- The daily Ulaanbaatar–Sükhbaatar train The dailyUlaanbaatar–Sükhbaatar The dailyfive-hour Darkhan tripbetween Travelling (hard/soft toUlaanbaatar seat For Amarbayasgalant Khiid you’llhaveFor AmarbayasgalantKhiid to EEG • AabysaatKid SELENGE ••AmarbayasgalantKhiid guanz (canteens orcheap restaurants) airag

( x and basic meals. 42301; at Darkhan train at Darkhan h

ХИЙД 7.30-9.30am, GPS: N49°28.648’, E105°05.122’) scenery. surrounding or four-day countrysidetripto take inthe incorporating the monastery intoathree- youareern Mongolia. Otherwise, better off Nuur, orotherareas innorthernorwest- worth visiting on the way to/from Khövsgöl worth visitingonthewayto/from Khövsgöl 4 1 3 2 5 AMARBAYASGALANT KHIID Amarbayasgalant Khiid 0 0 7 11 Yellow ger...... Yam Temple...... Winter gerforlamas...... Tsogchin Dugan(MainTemple)...... Tomb ofZanabazar...... Tomb of4thBogdGegeen...... Temple ofProtectorGods...... Screen Wall...... Sakyamuni BuddhaTemple...... Pavilion...... Pavilion...... Narkhajid Temple...... Monks' Accommodation...... Manal Temple...... Maider (Maitreya)Temple...... Living RoomsofBogdGegeen...... Jaryn KhashuurStupa...... Ger forguests...... Entrance Temple...... Drum Tower...... Dorje ShugdenTemple...... Bell Tower...... Ayush Temple...... SIGHTS &ACTIVITIES 21 A 10 6 4 12 18 3 13 5 17 20 16

8 15 (www.amarbayasgalant.org; (www.amarbayasgalant.org; was originally built wasoriginally built 100 m 23 14 22 19 9 1 2 lonelyplanet.com B 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 B2 B1 A2 B2 B2 A2 B3 B3 B2 B2 A2 A1 A1 A2 B1 B1 A2 A1 B3 A1 B3 B2 A3 0.1 miles Rinpoche Gurdava, alamafromInner metrical layoutandimperial colour scheme. Manchu style,downtotheinscriptions,sym- was moved here in1779.Themonastery isinthe boxed(see text, p142 mummifiedbody ), whose Mongolian Buddhistandsculptor Zanabazar peror Yongzheng,anddedicated tothegreat 1727and1737bytheManchubetween em- Book yourstayatlonelyplanet.com/hotels the monastery, this camp hasflush toilets, 322 529;per personUS$10) Amarbayasgalant Khiid. There are excellentcampingspotsallaround Sleeping like a Buddhistversion of Woodstock. usually campinthefieldsnearmonastery – hike white uptotheeight stupas.Festival-goers emony) isheld.As partof theritualslocals when the is9to11August, to AmarbayasgalantKhiid The mostinteresting time tomake thesojourn of Amarbayasgalant. rangethe mountain Bürengiin Nuruu,north 9am and 4pm. areCeremonies usuallyheldtwiceadayat eigners are charged anentryfee of T3000. roof forfineviewsof the valley. tion. It’snormallypossibletoclimbupthe much of themoneyfortemple’s restora- fore returning toMongoliain1992andraising Mongolia wholived inTibet andNepalbe- two hours to hike there. itfromAmarbayasgalant).Ittakes about see centrenew stupasandameditation (youcan are aroundninetemples open to tourists. or any statues the keys andopenthemupifyouwanttosee soyou’llhaveclosed, toaskthemonksfind 1936. in the monastery, compared withmore than2000 Unesco. daysabout30monkslive These in 1975and1990withthehelpofbetween ders. Themonastery wasextensively restored comman- and procrastinatinglocalmilitary of possibly because and statues, sympathetic but ‘only’destroyed10outof the37temples Festivals Amarbayasgalant Meditation Centre Amarbayasgalant Meditation To helpwiththerestoration work,for- The mainhallhasalife-size of statue To thewestof thecomplexyou’ll findeight The temples inthemonastery are normally Travellers have raved aboutthesceneryof inaround1937, The communistsmoseyed Gongoriin BombaniHural Gongoriin thangka Located 300mwest of (scrollpaintings).There BULGAN (prayercer-

( x 011- and hotshowers. It’srunby Tour.Baigal this modernger camphascleanflushtoilets reaches amaximum altitude of 2058m, it itonly theaimag, andthough Nuruu, bisects and Russianpeople. Buriat Khalkh, The ethnicgroups comprise tural areas andasmall-scaletimberindustry. largest of itskindanywhere, aswellagricul- home totheErdenetcoppermine,one of the makes fornice cycle touring. Bulgan, aswellsomebeautifulscenery that find someinteresting, rarely visited in sights ellers withabitof time ontheirhandscan buttrav- Nuur andAmarbayasgalantKhiid, route tomore such prolificsights asKhövsgöl ern Mongoliacharge theaimagen through it off thebeaten track.Mostvisitors tonorth- Bulgan’s lackof major haskept touristsights pop 143,600(inclOrkhon)/area49,000sqkm BULGAN T50,000. for own caryoucouldcharter onefromDarkhan takes aroundsixhours. Ifyoudon’thave your Altogether, thejourneyto/fromUlaanbaatar ‘Amarbayasgalant35km’. 59.128’) thatsays for thered sign(GPS:N49°12.809’,E104° ontoadirttrack;look and thenturnright TakeDarkhan). theErdenetroadfor90km T-intersection forErdenet(justshort of travelFrom Ulaanbaatar, northtothe JEEP more to difficult) the monastery. the turn-off,thenhitch anotherride(much hitch (whichto Khötöl, iseasy)fromthere to takecatch ashared atraintoDarkhan, jeep cheapest isto andbestwayfromUlaanbaatar mer soyoumaybeable tobumalift.The but acoupleof cars adaycomehere insum- The monastery isnotonthewaytoanywhere HITCHING US$26) tour.mn; GPS:N49°26.688’,E105°05.141’;gerwith3meals of the temples. here towardsthecontinuedpreservation goes Amarbayasgalant soanymoneyyouspend Itisoperatedtion classes. bythemonksof hot showers, arestaurant andfree medita- Getting There&Away A small mountain range,A smallmountain the Bürengiin The aimagisrich innaturalresources; it’s Selenge Great Located 3.5kmsouthof themonastery,

( x БУЛГАН 011-451 743;www.nomadic-empire

141 NORTHERN MONGOLIA MONGOLIA NORTHERN NORTHERN MONGOLIA is modern(builtin1974)andcomparatively and isthelifeblood of the city. per mine,which employsabout 8000people The reason forErdenet’sexistence isthecop- Erdenet isalittlesliceof RussiainMongolia. and nottechnically partof Bulganaimag, In theautonomousmunicipalityof Orkhon, x ERDENET the Ulaanbaatar.capital, previously runasafederal municipalityunder This aimagwasformedin1994after being thecityof which contains Orkhon, Erdenet. foundincentral with sights Mongolia. which are bothgeographically more inline Taijiin Tsagaan Balgas, Bukh andKhar Balgas aimag are Tsogt twouniquehistoricalsights, Inthesouthof the completely self-sufficient. todosuch tobe although atripyou’dneed Golonaraft, floating downthebroadSelenge lers landscape while have thisspectacular seen mals andlivestock. Afew adventurous travel- provides plentyof forwild ani- lush habitat 142 Erdenet, Mongolia’ssecond-largest city, includesthesmallaimagofThis section by DonCroner. in hisrighthandand thebellinhislefthand. recognise imagesofZanabazar byhisbald,roundhead,the Tara andDhyaniBuddhastatues)in theZanabazarMuseumofFine inUlaanbaatar. Arts Youcan his monasteries (particularly andmuseumsinMongolia,there ofhisart isafinecollection YouwillseemanyofZanabazar’screationsentombed inastupaAmarbayasgalant Khiid. in submission totheManchusin1691. was alsoapoliticalfigure and hisstrugglewiththeZungar leaderGaldanledtoMongolia’s the renaissance andbecomeMongolia’sgreatest sculptor. Inhisspare timehereputedly invented (reincarnated BuddhistleaderofMongolia).HeisalsoknowninMongolia asÖndürGegeen. the reincarnation oftheJonangpalineTibetan Buddhismandbecamethefirst Bogd Gegeen turned 14hewassenttoTibet tostudyBuddhismundertheDalaiLama. Hewas alsoproclaimed in 1635andatthetender ageofthree wasdeemedtobeapossible real man,andtodayisconsidered oneofthegreatest inallofAsia. Renaissanceartists Hewasborn sculpture before that had thembegging theireyes,anact forforgiveness. of molten bronze inherbare hands. Sheproceededto fashionthehotmetalintoabeautiful Girl Prince,whowasdeeplyoffended bythemen,appeared fromtheworkshopholdingalump 18-year-old girl, whichwentagainsthismonasticvows. Zanabazar’sfemale disciple,theso-called One day,whileinhisworkshop,agroupofaristocratsarrived tochastisehimforlivingwithan The life statesman ofthegreat andLivingBuddha,wasnotwithoutcontroversy. Zanabazar,artist, ZANABAZAR: THEMICHELANGELOOFSTEPPES 01352 /pop73,450 UGN • ree BULGAN ••Erdenet For more onZanabazar,lookfor the Zanabazar died in Beijing in 1723. His body was taken toUrga bodywastaken (modernUlaanbaatar) andlaterZanabazar diedinBeijing1723.His When hereturned fromhisstudiesinTibet, aMongolianartistic kick-started theartist-lama Although someofZanabazar’slife a seemspulledfromthepagesofafairytale,hewasinfact soyombo, ЭРДЭНЭТ the nationalsymbolofMongolia,and reformed theMongolianscript.Zanabazar Guidebook to Locales ConnectedwiththeLifeofZanabazar, te centre. the conveniently located more than9kmeastof isin- Gudamj.Sükhbaatar Thetrainstation isalongthemainstreet,thing youwillneed every- Erdenet isasprawlingcity,though Orientation incorrectly. marked on mostoldmapsErdenetwasdeliberately USSR preferred tokeep thecityasecret and likely undercommunism–backthen, the Erdenet.Such afeatpassing through wasless likely findyourself thatyou’lleventually have upalarge set here.base bump intoapairof clean-cutMormons,who days,youarelings). These justaslikely to rather than featuring the streets andwillfindrestaurant menus the mine. You’llhearplentyof Russianon Russians stillworkastechnical at advisers nowonlyabout 1000 munist times,though lation of ErdenetwasRussian duringcom- of Ulaanbaatar. Uptoone-thirdof thepopu- wealthy, sothefacilitiesare thebestoutside With goodroadandrailconnections,it’s dorje peroshki buuz (thunderboltsymbol) heholds gegeen (steamed muttondump- (meat-filled friedpastry) (saint),sowhenhe lonelyplanet.com this isthe only practical waytoreach it. most solidcopper andmolybdenumore, face. isal- Sincethisparticular mountain mineshaftsthan digging below thesur- to theenvironment butinfinitely safer lonelyplanet.com Mnoi’ electricity. Mongolia’s infrastructure andconsumesnearly50%of also atremendous burdenonthecountry’s 10-largest copper mines intheworld.Itis tothenorthof thecity,isoneofseen the The COPPER MINE Telecom office Café Saturn Internet Café Nomin TövInternet Golomt Bank Information Gudamj; perhrT500; gives cashagainstVisa and MasterCard. 9am-5.30pm Sat&Sun)ChangesUSdollarsandeuros h lctd here. located Natsagorjiin Gudamj; Sights Café (180m) Saturn Internet (160m); To NominShop Consulate 1 3 2 ERDENET Shadurviin Russian Open-cut miningismore damaging Gandan 10am-10pm) Smallinternetcaféonthe main road. Khiid To Bulgan(55km) open-cut mine 11 9 Culture Square Palace Magsar 6 AC ( javiin Gudamj x 8 ( 17 x Sükhbaatar Gudamj BULGAN••Erdenet h 25200; 16 h Stadium 27427; cnr Sükhbaatar Gudamj& 27427; cnrSükhbaatar ( 13

Hospital 9am-midnight) Has40 computers. x 24hr) ATM andpostofficeare also Ὀ Ὀ ὈὈὈ (www.emc.erdnet.mn) 2 h ( 9911 8277; Sükhbaatar 9911 8277;Sükhbaatar

x 8am-7.30pm Mon-Fri, 8am-7.30pm Mon-Fri, Gudamj Natsagdorjiin

20922; perhrT400; Tsagaan Park 1 14

Chuluut Gol 3 B

12 Turikov Gudamj Turikov Station , easily 10 Police 18 5 15

7 Otgonbilegiin Gudamj Otgonbilegiin Mongolia’s hard-currency earnings,pro- northeast of Hotel, iswortha the Selenge This communist monument,about200m MONUMENT FRIENDSHIP about T4000,including waiting time. the mineandbackfromtowncentre costs to ontheleft.Ataxi from theguardstation, in attheadministrationbuilding,up thehill tocheckon yourown,butitwouldbewise tomindif you lookaround No-one seems show yourpassporttotheguardat thegate. visited onelike thisbefore. to You’ll need it maybeinsideyour mobile phone. toChinaandsomebitsofall thecopperissent and US$200millioninprofit annually.Nearly US$150million and itearnsbetween itable rocketing copperpricesthemineisnowprof- molybdenum ore perannum.Thankstosky- ducing some25milliontonnesof copper/ where rivers are beingpolluted. as badthegoldminesinnearbyZaamar, aren’tthe long-termeffects environmental Despite thedestructionof themountain, 4 The mineaccountsforaround40%of The mineisworthavisitifyou’ve never To CarpetFactory(2km); Fields Train Station(8km) Darkhan (180km) 0 0 To CopperMine (5.5km); TRANSPORT SHOPPING EATING SLEEPING SIGHTS &ACTIVITIES INFORMATION Train TicketOffice...... Taxi Stand...... Jeep &MinivanStand...... Bus Stand...... Uilchilgeenii Töv...... Daily Market...... Restaurant...... (see14) Casablanca Bar& Art Café...... Sonor Khairkhan...... Selenge Hotel...... Sansar Hotel...... Sports Palace...... Museum ofOrhonAimag...... Mining Museum...... Marx Mural...... Friendship Monument...... Telecom Office...... Post Office...... (see3) Nomin TövInternetCafé...... Golomt Bank...... D 800 m 0.5 miles 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

143 A2 B2 A2 B2 C1 B2 A2 B2 B2 A2 A3 B2 B2 A3 B2 A3 B2 A2 NORTHERN MONGOLIA MONGOLIA NORTHERN NORTHERN MONGOLIA 9pm) model of the copper mine (you can see itinmodel of thecoppermine (youcansee is stillpossible tocampnear Erdenet.The thecityiscomparativelyAlthough large, it CAMPING Sleeping nation before theylet you swim. byinsistingonamedicalexami- life difficult maymake only,butthe staff open weekdays the back.There’s anindoorpool(T2000), or go at ice-skating inwinter atthestadium (T2000perhour),watchsauna some wrestling Palace Sports If youhave sometimetokill,check outthe Activities supply. water tion of whatthemineisdoing tothelocal headed calf,which hopefullyisnoindica- inside. Lookoutforthetwo- ger withaTV andamodelof‘day’ or‘night’) amodern & 2-6pm) this small sideof mural,complex ontheright theMarx Opened in1983andhiddenaconcrete MUSEUM OFORKHON AIMAG town square, andisworth a look. the 2ndfloorof theCulture Palace onthe mining company,ErdenetConcern.It’son T1000; This Soviet-built MUSEUM MINING arestadium great for short hikes. hills northof themonument andsouthof the sive ifyouhaven’t toomanybefore. seen The stones, woodorotherofferings) isimpres- the east, Lenin you passafine quick look.Onthewayfromtowncentre 144 Anak Ranch DOWN ONTHERANCH will meetyouatthestationwithhorses. oftimesomeone theranchahead at7.35pm).Ifyoucontact (from Ulaanbaatar,trainsdepart which youcaneasilyaccessbytrainfromUlaanbaatar;there are dailytrainsinbothdirections Gants-Hudagprison.Theat Ulaanbaatar’sdungeonlike ranchisclosetothetownof Orkhon, fish. Pricesare oftheproceedsgoestoimproving US$39all-inclusive conditions andaportion lasso ahalf-wildhorseortwo. There isalsoplentyoftimetorelax, and enjoyabarbecue,hike cheeseand Youcan milkcows,herdthesheep,make doingfarmwork. get theirhandsdirty . Youcantake ahotshower(T1000)or bolted tothewall.Alittlefurther UGN • ree BULGAN ••Erdenet h includesafew odditiesincludinga 8am-6pm Wed-Sun) museum

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( x 73436; Sükhbaatar Gudamj; 73436; Sükhbaatar Marx mural Marx (ashamanisticcollectionof museum 011-316 181,99099762;www.anakranch.com)

(admission T1000; belongstothecopper- (

x andapicture of 9935 0888;admission h 9am-1pm h 8am- with cleanroomsandmodernbathrooms.It near the daily market. promptlyat7.30am.It’s in theroomserved andthepriceincludesbreakfast phone, TV clean rooms,anexcellenthot-water supply, should headforthisplace–ithasattractive, lux T28,000) It’s onthe main road. oldlumpybedsandmustyfurnishings. same a few cheaper, unrenovated roomshave the fresh wallpaper,carpetingandbeds,although rooms. Renovations insomeroomsinclude hotel haslarge, cleanroomswithprivate bath- lux T24,000,T30,000) or but noguesthouse ger camp. ofErdenet hasareasonable selection hotels HOTELS the pretty foothills. other sideof Tsagaan ChuluutGolandamong Monument, orsouthof over thestadium, the best placestotryare northof theFriendship soups and salads. dishesandafewmeat-and-potato Russian news. Foodconsists of Mongolian standard istunedtolocal the walls.Abig-screen TV orange interior, couches andmodernart on sive caféandbaronthe mainroadwithvery adventurous, horse meat (T2600). (T3000), friedchicken (T4000)or,forthe cluding stir-fried mushrooms withlamb better-than-average of selection dishes, in- The restaurant Hotel offers inthe Sansar a Eating square. main It’s onthestreet runningnorthwestof the also sportsoneof thebestrestaurants around. lux T40,000) Art Café Art Sansar Hotel Sonor Khairkhan Hotel Selenge is a working ranchwhere guestscanis aworking Budget travellers after goodvalue This newhotel isthebestintown,

( x 27316;

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( x x 27927; rT15,000,half-luxT36,000, h ThisclassicSoviet-style 27359; rT6000-20,000,half- 28120; d13,000,half-lux20,000, 10am-midnight) Aprogres- (icigei Töv). (Uilchilgeenii cooking. It’slocated inthedepartmentstore meat andveggie dish inspired byChinese huge leathercouches. Trythe tocustomers sittingin and beers are served midnight) lonelyplanet.com at the times. same 2pm. Goingtheother waytheydepartDragon hours, 371km) atnoonand(T8000, seven Dragon busstand to Ulaanbaatar’s stand depart fromErdenet’sbus Two dailybuses BUS, MINIVAN &JEEP Bulgan. from comparatively few cars headingtoMörön and thentryingtohitch toMörön.There are Don’t make themistake of first goingtoBulgan outsidetheSportsPalace. stand wait atthetaxi and catch a shared vehicle toMörön;these toErdenet trainfromUlaanbaatar the sleeper have thetime,andwantalittleluxury,take toMörönviaBulgan.Ifyou from Ulaanbaatar Travellers often bypassErdenetandgo straight Getting There&Away store opposite the Telecom office. Töv ( clothing) thebestplacetoshop isUilchilgeenii sized carpetsare aroundT5000 to T20,000. carpet costsfromT90,000andsmaller,towel- the SportsPalace. wall Ahuge Khaan Chinggis buy carpetsandrugshere, about500mwestof from the Friendship Monument. about2km the mainroadtotrainstation, the entire operation.Thefactoryisjustoff the guarditmaybepossibletotake atourof when suppliesof woolare scarce. Ifyouask toAugust) production islowinsummer(June Thefactoryisopenyear-roundGermany. but year usingmachinery fromtheformerEast duces more thanamillionsquare metres every fine souvenir. Thecity’scarpetfactorypro- ient tocarryaround,acarpetwouldmake a couple of tonnesof copperisabitinconven- Factory Carpet Shopping the shopsalong main drag. products here. Mostlocalsbuytheirfoodfrom ofa decentselection (nonrefrigerated) dairy there’ssurprisingly smallandscrappy,though Casablanca Bar&Restaurant Casablanca For general goods(electronics,foodand Nomin Shop The dailymarket behind theSportsPalace is Y Various RussianandMongoliandishes йлчилгээний (

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( x 28546; azu, You canalso afried h Ifa 9am- of town.Lookforthesmalltrainsignon (180km) andtoBulganCity(55km)are Mörön and Ulaanbaatar. ifyouareto spendanight travelling between Asjeeps. aquiet backwater it’snotabadplace of smallhotels andrestaurants andvery few muchto develop –there are onlyacouple hadachance by,thetownhasnever close as youare apassingvehicle. WithErdenetso where youare ahorseman justaslikely to see the middleof townandalazymainstreet Therecapitals. isagrassypine-cladpark in Bulgan isoneof Mongolia’s prettiest aimag x oppositestand, thetrain ticket office. (T5000)leaveand taxis fromthelocalbus (T300),cars Buses (T500perperson)station. the crush starts. (aboutT4000)beforeyou canandfindataxi flowing. It’sbesttoget thetrainassoon off pede of toover- passengers quicklyfillsthese stand. bus side of anapartmentblock,opposite the local h fore, departure atthe but it’sbetter toqueueonthedayof, orbe- Darkhan. in aimag,change inSelenge Sükhbaatar trains Forcosts T2100/5300forahard/soft seat. check fortimesat the station. theschedule isalittleunreliable,though so isadded, weekend trainto/fromUlaanbaatar time(7pm).Insummera Erdenet atthesame roof. Thetrainreturns from toUlaanbaatar carriages aregrög: thehard-seat packed tothe isdefinitely worththeextratö- The sleeper sleeper.T3600/9000 forahardseat/soft-seat at 7pm,arriving11hours later. Itcosts forErdenet Train 273departsUlaanbaatar TRAIN paved. both isoutsidethe to Ulaanbaatar Sports Palace. ket 20 hours), thebestplacetolookisatmar- hours) (T40,000, andUliastai (T20,000, seven hours), Bulgan(T3500,onehour),Tsetserleg BLA CITY BULGAN You canbuytickets atthetrainstation, (5½hours), thetrainTo Darkhan The roadsfromErdenettoDarkhan For shared vehicles toMörön(T20,000,10 It ismore goingbybus sedate arrivingtrains,butthestam- meet Buses 9am-1pm &2.30-6.30pm) 01342 /pop11,000elev1208m (zakh) . Thebestplacetolookforavehicle БУЛГАН train ticket office train ticket inthenortheastend to ( thetrain x

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145 NORTHERN MONGOLIA MONGOLIA NORTHERN ὈὈὈ ὈὈὈ

NORTHERN MONGOLIA formation onobscure intheaimag;a sights Mon-Fri) Inthesamebuildingas Mon-Fri) Telecom. Behind thepinkgovernment building. 30.687’) tery complexcanbe nearby. seen mains of stupasfromthe oldmonas- several arrested and, presumably, executed. There- before Khuree shipped atBangiin theywere in 1937.About 1000 monks lived andwor- which Khuree, tery, wasdestroyed Bangiin (built in1992)replaced theoriginalmonas- Like most monasteries inMongolia,thisone ДАШЧОЙНХОРЛОН KHIID DASHCHOINKHORLON instruments, teresting exhibits,such asancientsurgical admissionT1000; Muzei; in space;andsomeinteresting old photos. display onJGurragchaa, Mongolia’sfirst man h The MUSEUMS Telecom office Mongol ShuudanBank café Internet Bathhouse Information 146 The postofficeisalso located here. the maindrag,about150msoutheastofjeepstand. dollars andwillgiveacashadvance on Visa. Sights 1 2 BULGAN CITY The modern Next door,the 9am-6pm) (400m) Mausoleum Magsarjav To Khatanbaatar UGN • ugnCt BULGAN ••BulganCity 10 Aimag Museum contains statues of statues Tsongkhapa contains and Chin VanKhan Dorj Statue ὈὈ ὈὈ ὈὈ (admissionT400; To PetrolStation(500m);KhangaiDiscovery(10km); , onthemainstreet, hassomein- A ( Anag TurCamp(13km);Mörön(353km) x ( Dashchoinkhorlon Khiid(2.5km);

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Museum 8 hasafew in- 3 h 9am-6pm BC Naadam Stadium (Ugsaatny

9 Station Petrol Elevator Grain across thestream andatthetopof ahill, this Located 1kmsouthwestof theBulganHotel, МАГСАРЖАВЫН MAUSOLEUM KHATANBAATAR MAGSARJAV temple, calledDivajin, wasbuilt in 1876. some hills.Therun-downpavilion nexttothe west of BulganCityandishiddenbehind there. Themonastery isabout 2.5kmsouth- monastery layout. About 30monksnowreside Sakyamuni, andfeatures apaintingof theold paigns of theearly 20th century. herestayed cam- during Mongolia’smilitary Magsarjav both andKhatanbaatar Choibalsan postin1921. being transformed intoamilitary as ashopdates until from1668andwasused 2.5km southof Bulgan.Thebuildingitself museum in 1921.Itshistoryisdescribed this small in freeing MongoliafromWhite Russianrule Unit wasakeyThe WestRoadMilitary force ШТАФ UNIT MUSEUM OFTHE WEST ROAD MILITARY caretaker. Ask atthe Aimag Museum. toget themyou’llneed thekeys fromthe see some muralsof battlescenesinside,butto city of rule. Khovd There fromChinese are whohelpedtoliberate the 1911 Revolution, Magsarjav, akeyKhatanbaatar figure inthe of ahat.Itallegedly theremains contains of ger but isactuallyamausoleumintheshape curious bluebuildinglookslike aconcrete БАРУУН

( To Erdenet x 0 1 km 1 miles 0.5 0 0 (55km) 9996 3472;admissionT1000; ХАТАНБААТАР

ЗАМЫН Truck StopforMörön...... Jeep &BusStop...... Venera...... (see 7) Guanz...... Venera Hotel...... Khantai Hotel...... Bulgan Hotel...... Ethnography Museum...... (see4) Aimag Museum...... Telecom Office...... Post Office...... (see3) B1 Mongol ShuudanBank...... Internet Café...... (see3) Bathhouse...... TRANSPORT EATING SLEEPING SIGHTS &ACTIVITIES INFORMATION

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past themarket andfindadiscreet spot.If you southern sideof theriver, theAchuut Gol;go The bestplacetopitch yourtent isover the CAMPING Sleeping Book yourstayatlonelyplanet.com/hotels its decaying moose headonthewallanda its decayingmoose peaceful locationoverlooking thepark.With charmingly run-downSoviet hotel isina Bulgan Hotel HOTELS Anag Tur camp. About 3kmfurtherupthevalleyisrun-down ridingisavailableframe huts.Horse (US$10). The campincludesabout 20gers andsomeA- ger campisnestledbelowsomeforested hills. Located 10kmnorthof Bulgan,thispretty N48° 50.608’,E103°25.427’;with/withoutfoodUS$30/15) Discovery Khangai GER CAMPS road to Mörön. a few kilometres northof town,alongthe have yourowntransport,considercamping their cache, whichismostly smuggled toChina. protect theirhealth andcleanuptheirmess,ifforno otherreasontheir activities, than totax year. Recognising thattheNinjaswon’tgoaway,government hasconsidered waystolegalise their entire university education. Studentswhocomeinsummerare andpoorlypaidcivilservants. farm workers able to finance has attracted more thanout-of-work nomads. They’ve beenjoinedbypensioners,redundant ofmoney,10timesthatotherruralsalaries,Ninjas earnUS$16toUS$24perday. This kind say US$40million).They receive US$500 pertroyounce,completely illegaland untaxed. Most these methodshave levels ofmercuryintheirurinethatare five tosixtimesthesafe limit. to separate goldfromtherock,addmore problems. thatminerswho use report Healthworkers work sites are often littered withdiscardedbatteries andopenpits. Mercuryandcyanide,used themselves. thelicensedminingcompanies,theydon’tcleanupafter Unlike themselves; their return inlarger numbers. and ger-goldsmiths. Policehave tried,often vainly,tobreak upthesettlements,butNinjas boomtowns’ developed, eachwithger-butchers, bars,ger-sega ger-shops, parlours ger-karaoke attracted interest frombusinesspeoplewhosold themfoodandsupplies. Soon‘Ninjager(yurt) ‘Teenageoperations, earnedthemthemoniker MutantNinjaTurtles’ orNinjasforshort. aimags. The green, strappedtotheirbacks,coupledwithcovert, night-time buckets shell-like manyimpoverishedfortunes, nomadsturnedtoillegalgoldmininginBulgan,TövandSelenge Ulaanbaatar whoare toblame,it’stheNinjas. Butfor once,it’snotjustthemegacorporationsfrominside outinsearchofburiedfortunes. Miners indulging inMongolia’sgreat newgoldrushare turningverdant plainsandpure rivers NOMADS TONINJAS But thisisdangerous business–acoupledozen Ninjasare buriedalive in mineshaftseach (althoughofficialbankfiguresNinjas accountforanincredible US$140millioningoldexports The Ninjas,whonumbermore than100,000,poseaseriousthreat totheenvironmentand The Ninjas,who often panwhatlarger mining operationsdredge fromthefloodedplains, When severe winters atthebeginning ofthemillenniumwipedoutentire herdsandfamily

( x 22811; perpersonT3500-9000) ( x 9979 8810,88766894;GPS: BULGAN••BulganCity This

usually scrape something together. main street, andinthedaytimehotels can There are afew hole-in-the-wall The restaurant sceneinBulganispretty dire. Eating Onthe a walk-incloset. main road. Rooms here are cleanandnewbutthesizeof and cream tothemenu. in late summer, she addsblueberries offer bread eggs, andricemilk.Sometimes, breakfast available foranextracost;shecan water. Thefriendlyownersometimeshas are bothdownstairs andthere is24-hourhot looking thepark.Thebathroomandshower rooms, onewithagorgeous balconyover- This smallB&Boffers sixspotlessdouble good value for T9000. andhot-water shower– include cableTV ard roomsare depressing buttheluxrooms than mostplacesinthecountryside. Thestand- upstairs ithasmorePing-Pong table character Venera Hotel o Khantai Hotel Hotel Khantai

( x 9960 4099,99080944;rT10,000) ( x 22964; s/dT7000/14,000) guanz onthe 147

NORTHERN MONGOLIA MONGOLIA NORTHERN NORTHERN MONGOLIA midnight) the hotel of the same name. It serves upde- the hotel of name. thesame Itserves Neolithic grave sites. E103° 32.735’) AdigynBugan Khoshoo Seeriyn and otheranimals. Thestones,knownas withreindeer thestones arebecause carved lage, stones,socalled deer are standing seven south of Bulgan,justnorthof vil- Orkhon monuments aroundBulgan.About 20km There are acoupleof obscure historical AROUND BULGAN 353km from Mörön. is theway to go. thenorthernroute Amarbayasgalant Khiid, andErdenet.Ifyouwanttovisit Darkhan or thepaved northernroute (467km)via southern route (318km)viaDashinchilen, butmoreand BulganCity;therougher direct about T400toT500 per kilometre. of thepostoffice. Youcouldcharter onefor hang aroundtheÖnöMandal northeast Bar, asthedayissubjecttochange.details Jeeps (T8000,fourhours), butcheckKhutag-Öndör Usually to truckgoes onMonday apostal very rare tend toleave asthese fromErdenet. and thentake the overnight train. minivan toErdenet(T3500,onehour,55km) hours),(T10,000, eight butmostpeopletake a BulganandUlaanbaatar gobetween and jeeps Saturday. Whenthere isdemand,minivans hours)eight onTuesday,Thursday and (T7900, A busdepartsBulganforUlaanbaatar BUS, MINIVAN &JEEP will turn up. 500mnorthwestofstation, town,something orthepetrol stand you askaroundthejeep Bulgan,butif goingthrough much traffic viaErdenet,thereand Möröngoes isnottoo Ulaanbaatar As between mosttouristtraffic HITCHING resume inthe near future. to Bulganandthere will islittleprospectthese At thetimeof research there were noflights Getting There&Away Korean meals are empty. of promises cent Mongoliandishes, although 148 Venera There are Ulaanbaatar tworoutes between Bulgan City is 248km from Darkhan and Bulgan Cityis248kmfromDarkhan Vehicles toMörön(oranywhere are else) HVGL KHÖVSGÖL Thenicestrestaurant inBulganis

( x , markwhat are tobe thought 9908 0944;mealsT1500-2500;

(GPS: N48°38.537’, h 10am- 01.422’, E104°21.091’) tinct volcanoof and easytoreach asit’sjustafew kilo - there are alsoscattered populationsof when visitors arrive. museum Asmall Balgas. sometimes knownasKitan from917to1120,is inhabited bytheKitan metres north of themainroad.Thefortress, N47° 53.198’,E103°53.513’) ruined and keep askingatgers en route. to findwithoutaGPSsoaskinDashinchilen There isa rule. againstChinese whofought century poet the homeof themotherof PrinceTsogt, a17th- sive ruinsof 35km northeastof Dashinchilen, are theimpres- Tsetserleg, via Ögii Nuur. you are travelling and Ulaanbaatar between of beof theaimag,which might interest if in Dashinchilen There are acouple of minormonuments DASHINCHILEN headed to/from aimag. Khövsgöl It’sadecentplacetocampifyouare Reserve. 1600-hectare Uran-Togoo TulgaUulNature 44.003’) Americans. The north is a stronghold ofAmericans. Thenorthisa stronghold sha- and live intepees resembling of those Native in thefarnorthof theaimag,herdreindeer people. TheTsaatan, wholive in thetaiga andDarkhad Khotgoid Buriat, Uriankhai, yaks. and dotted withwhite gers andgrazinghorses to thescenery:rainbowshangover meadows rain alotduringsummer,butthis only adds offers Itdoes newandwonderfulsurprises. river every bendorlakeand seemingly cove It’sMongolia’smostbeautifulaimag tains. rivers, sparklinglakes andrugged moun- isalandofKhövsgöl thickforests, rushing of Mongolia,andthisisnoidleboast. Tourist brochures toutitastheSwitzerland pop 123,500/area101,000sqkm ХӨВСГӨЛ KHÖVSGÖL While the Khalkh dominate thesouth,While theKhalkh About 60kmwestof BulganCityistheex- About 12kmwestof the On thewestern sideof theTuulGol,about andnearby Togoo Uul,partof the Khar Bukh Khar nearbyis unlocked byacaretaker stone stele Tsogt Taijiin Tsagaan Balgas , a 17th-century fort that was , a17th-centuryfortthatwas Uran Uul

sum Balgas ДАШИНЧИЛЭН nearby.Theruinsare hard (district),inthesouth isworthexploring

(Khar Bakhin Fortress; GPS: Fortress; Bakhin (Khar

(GPS: N48°59.855’,E102° sum lonelyplanet.com capital, the capital, (GPS: N48° (GPS: N48°

lonelyplanet.com Mon-Fri) Might be abletoissuepermitsfor bordertowns Might Mon-Fri) Border Guard office Information journey toandfrom regions to the north. travellers theplacetobreak onlyuse upa tive centre. Thetownhasfew andmost sights asanadministra- itspurpose scape thatserves bank of theDelgermörön Gol,atreeless land- nounced ‘mu-roon’)sprawlsover thenorth capital. a ratherdisappointing Mörön (pro- For such abeautifulprovince, has Khövsgöl x MÖRÖN a listof which canbefound on p58 . andresponsiblewith alicensed touroperator, canbehardtoget,these considerhookingup from theMinistryof Nature inUlaanbaatar. As apermit Nuuryouwillneed but Khövsgöl touring. Note thatifyouwantto fish anywhere of opportunitiesforfishing, hikingandcycle south allmake finedestinations,with plenty valley,Chandman-Öndör andthe Darkhad the rest of theaimaghasmuch tooffer. The plore areas beyond thelake andthisisashame; Nuur.mous Khövsgöl Mosttravellers failtoex- as wellitsmajor tourist destination,isenor- a to see shaman ceremony. manism andyoumaybefortunate enough The maingeographic feature of theprovince, taiga landscape. They are trulynomadic,often moving theirsmallencampments There are onlyabout300Tsaatan intotal,spread over Mongolian 100,000sqkmofnorthern and,occasionally,meat. and medicine,transport based aroundtheirherdsofreindeer, forclothes,antlerscarving whichprovide milk,skins NuurliveNot farfromKhövsgöl the Tsaatan (literally ‘ReindeerPeople’). Their entire existence is THE REINDEERHERDERS emt (p160). permits them considerablyreliant onoutsiders. Ifyouare thetrip,read intent upabout onmaking estimated that80%oftheirfoodcomesashandoutsfromNGOsandtourists,whichhasmade sessionsandTarzanbeen subjected tobible-thumping filmsshownbyKorean missionaries. It’s Nuur, aninhospitableelevationfortheirsensitive reindeer (seeboxed text, p155 have). Others their reindeer Touristdollarshave already atrisk. lured Tsaatan membersdowntoKhövsgöl local guide. Plantobeself-sufficientwithaqualitysleepingbag,foodandwaterproof tents. theterrainprone toinsects, isroughandmountainous,it’seasytogetlostwithoutagood of strong practitioners shamanism. tepees, canvas. traditionallymadefrombirchbark,butnowstore-bought The Tsaatan are around 700intotal).The Tsaatan donotusegers, butprefer forspecialtypesofgrassandlichenlovedor three weeks,looking bythereindeer (ofwhichthere 01382 /pop36,100elev1283m The Tsaatan ofthe Tuvan are part ethnicgroup,whichinhabitstheTuvan RepublicofRussia. Irresponsible tourism,research have andevangelicalactivities puttheTsaatan culture and Visiting theTsaatan isdifficultandexhausting. The climate isexceedinglyharsh,thearea is МӨРӨН KHÖVSGÖL KHÖVSGÖL ••Mörön ( x 24136, 24662; h 9am-6pm in Ulaanbaatar. Locatedoppositethe Ider restaurant. such asTsagaannuur, althoughitprefers thatthisbedone office. 10am-5pmSat&Sun)Attachedtothe Mon-Fri, Telecom the newestbathhouse in town. it willchangeUSdollars and euros. Bank, LocatedupstairsoftheKhadgalamjiin 6pm Mon-Fri) h inhabited thisregion formore than40,000 one of intheflesh – theyhaven’t those see tusk fromawoolly mammoth,butyouwon’t mission T2000; main feature of the animalsare,stuffed notsurprisingly,the Given thevarietyof wildlife intheaimag, MUSEUM InformationCentre Tourist Telecom office Bathhouse Orgil cash advances on Visa. of theTelecom office,thisbankchangesmoneyandgives Mongol ShuudanBank café Internet Exchange Centre ( kiosk andaccommodation.Atourist basic tipsontransport Supplies mapsandbooksfortheregion andcangivesome Centre St; [email protected]; square. Thepostofficeisalsolocated here. Sights x 8am-midnight) On the east side of the market, thisis 8am-midnight) Ontheeastsideofmarket, 9938 9564) at the airport openswhena 9938 9564)attheairport plane arrives. h ( orts, x ( x 9am-6pm Mon-Fri). ( ( x x 24706; perhrT700; similartoNative American 21034; 22018; perpersonT1500; 9938 8858;Peace St; ( museum x h h ( 22616) About200meast x 9am-6pm Mon-Fri) 9am-6pm Mon-Fri) 24hr) Oppositethetown 9938 7009;hovsgul (ail)

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149 NORTHERN MONGOLIA MONGOLIA NORTHERN NORTHERN MONGOLIA yahoo.com) travel in the area. speaking guide range transport out of Mörön.LocalEnglish- listed below canhelptoar-The guesthouses Tours welcome. always road, onthewaytoairport.Visitors are of concrete ger, agreat andcontains collection a charming place,designedintheshapeof a 1990, andnowhas40monksof all ages. It’s monks. Itwasrebuilt andreopened inJune built around1890andwashometo2000 wasbut theoriginal(MöröngiinKhuree) The historyof thismonastery isunclear, ДАНЗАНДАРЖАА KHIID DANZANDARJAA the town square. insidethelocalDramaTheatrehoused on people are is alsointriguing.Themuseum years. Photographic exhibitsof theTsaatan 150 1 3 2 MÖRÖN The monastery isjustbackfromthemain thangka. 9 HVGL • öö KHÖVSGÖL ••Mörön Museum...... Danzandarjaa Khiid...... Tourist InformationCentre...... Telecom Office...... Post Office...... (see4) Police...... Mongol ShuudanBank...... (see18) Internet Café...... (see4) Exchange Centre...... Border GuardOffice...... SIGHTS &ACTIVITIES INFORMATION Tosontsengel (237km) Harganat (27km); Uushigiin Uver(20km); To Airport(4km); canalsohelpwith logisticsand 6 Stadium AC Saraa 14

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House Peace St Peace Davaadorj Monument to Square Town 18 To Khatgal (101km) 2 12 Hospital 11 10 3 16 CAMPING Sleeping It is7km past Uushigiin Uver. more than100swansmake theirhome here. when the real time tovisitismid-September summer, swansswim intheriver belowbut stonesatUushigiin Uver.visiting thedeer In it’saniceplace forlunch afternot staying cellent French food.Even andItalian ifyou’re this attractive camphas hotshowers andex- Perched onaridge over Delger-Mörön valley N49° 38.521’,E99°50.030’;with/withoutmeals US$30/15) The toiletsandshowers are both clean. simple roomsinthelodge gers. orcomfortable this extension of theDulempire hascleanand s/d US$15/20,gerUS$20) Dul Juulchin GER CAMPS great spotsontheriver past Burentogtokh. camping. Ifyouare headingwest,there are tiny, unmappedandunnamedlake offers good east of Mörön,ontheroad toBulganCity,a kilometresDelgermörön Gol.Twenty-seven The bestcampingspotsare bytheriver, the 1 8

Harganat Harganat Centre St Centre 17 5 12 11 10 14 13 Bata Guesthouse(1.4km) Orgil Bathhouse(1km); 9 8 Jeep Stand(1.1km); To Market(800m);

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ggis.com; GPS:N49°38.176’, E100°10.798’;perpersonT4000, little self-defeating butinfactthisisthebest little self-defeating 150m; it’s on the left. Look out for the ‘Bata 150m; it’sontheleft.Lookoutfor‘Bata andwalkforanother the water pump house centre, 400mpastthemarket. at Turnright a fenced-in yard)isa20-minute walkfromthe breakfast T4000) GPS:N49°39.053’, E100°10.018’;perpersonincl yahoo.com; Bata Guesthouse GUESTHOUSES Book yourstayatlonelyplanet.com/hotels just northwest of the square. restaurant isworthvisitingon awarmday.It’s Mon-Sat) Jaragalan Café Eating &Drinking located 100mnortheast of thesquare. has anexcellentrestaurant downstairs. Itis isagoodoption.It no hotwater soahalf-lux phone andcableTV. roomshave Thestandard and comewithamodernbathroom, IDD hotel intown.Allroomshave renovated been US$20/25, luxUS$30-45) block northof the Dul. and notasgoodvaluetheDul.Located a tached bathroom,butit’salittledisorganised This placeiscleanandallroomshave anat- dumpy hotel next door. It’s farbetter thantheDelger Mörön,the keepmanagement itreasonably does clean. is anolderhotel andpretty run-downbutthe Hotel Turt HOTELS T3500. available. service Laundry ger camp,withbedsfor ask aboutitsoff-site next totheDulHotel. Foracheaper option, It isonthe2ndfloorof anapartmentblock spotless dormroomandhot-water shower. isthebestvalueintown,witha guesthouse [email protected]; St;dminclbreakfast US$5; sure theeggs are fresh). chickens raises (Baigal soyoucanbe and eggs price includesabreakfast of toast, bread, jam about 800mpastthewrestling The stadium. hot showerT1000) available. are andhotshowers service aimag. Laundry and canhelparrange transportaroundthe speaksEnglish as ‘5-8-4’.Theowner,Bata, sign.LocalsknowtheaddressGuesthouse’ Dul Hotel Ider Hotel Gan OyuGuesthouse Gan Baigal Guesthouse Thestreetside patio atthisMongolian

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duced handicrafts.Onthe main road. maps,books,antiquesandlocallypro- Sells codd bus. crowded thereor taxi (T2500),oryoucanhoponthe centre of town.You willhave totake ajeep Buy yourticket asearly as possible. Nuur.with Khövsgöl Check MIAT fordetails. could theoretically combineatriptothewest headedfurther west,soyou stop forflights there shouldbeatleastoneflight a day. thethree of airlines these Dul Hotel. Between US$120/216 oneway/return; itsoffice isin the way/return. building,fliesheresame forUS$109/194one Mongolia Aero and MörönforUS$90/157oneway/return. MIAT runsdirect Ulaanbaatar between flights opensattheairportwhenplanesarrive.office the MongolShuudan building.Another Bank MIAT AIR Getting There&Away House Antique Souvenir Shopping markets. main road,thisisoneof shopping several night. by byday,beer and Mongolianfoodserved propriate fornorthernMongolia. Chinese surrealhere totally orcompletely seems ap- ing onyourperspective, theouter-space theme gallons oftofeel anyof thestuff its effects. todrinkafewso low(1%)thatyou’dneed fermented ryebread. Thealcohol content is drink of choice isKvas, abrew madefrom barrelsbeer outsideitsentrance. Thelocal ted, thislocalwatering holefeatures twogiant clean, atmosphere.bright are delights enjoyedoncomfysofasthese ina totheirliking.All should findasouporsalad ing cinnamonrollorapplepie. Vegetarians dish. Roundoff yourmealwithanoutstand- oraChinese salad ataco lent pizza,roastbeef, rect (alongshot atbest)you canenjoyexcel- has tooffer. canget yourordercor- Ifthestaff the Dulishardlydescriptive of whatthisplace midnight) Mörön airportis about 5kmfrom the Tes Supermarket Bar Chinggis Torkh Khos o Mörön occasionally serves asarefuelling Mörön occasionallyserves

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NORTHERN MONGOLIA MONGOLIA NORTHERN NORTHERN MONGOLIA 39.316’, E99°55.708’;admissionT3000) tombs. A caretaker livingnear thearea can range around1400 burial mountain contains around 2500to4000 years old,andthenearby stones are datedin Mongolia. to Thecarved there are onlyahandfulof stones such deer stone 14,istoppedwiththeheadof awoman; ards describethestones.Themost unique, area byafence isenclosed and smallplac- 1km northof theDelgermörön Gol.The is located 20kmwestof Mörön,andabout altars carved upright stones,plussacrificial deer A BronzeAge site, УУШИГИЙН UUSHIGIIN UVER to Bulgan City. aimagand353km inZavkhan Tosontsengel leaves fromnorthof the market. market. andelsewhere TransporttoKhatgal leavesDarkhan fromthesouthernsideof the (T24,000, 13 and Darkhan hours, 601km). toErdenet(T20,000,10hours)casional jeeps (T7000,twohours).to Khatgal There are oc- UB between and Erdenet. train thesleeper ing aroundinavanbytaking You cancutdownonthetimespentbump- Mörön daily(T25,000,17hours, 671km). and Ulaanbaatar Minivans runbetween MINIVAN &JEEP hitch It’salsoeasierto as it’seasiertoget aseat. fly back.It’sbesttohere fromUlaanbaatar way forthe‘experience’–andthengratefully T10,000 foralift).Sometravellers doitone or more nonstophours (expecttopayatleast 27 andMörönisatough Ulaanbaatar between a problem. Butbewarned:thetripbytruck fairly busy,sohitching arideshouldn’t be roadisThe Ulaanbaatar–Erdenet–Mörön HITCHING Wednesday and Friday. TeeveriinUlaanbaatar’s Tovchoo on Monday, Goingtheotherway,itdepartsfrom stand. Saturday at2pm.Itleaves fromtheminivan (T20,000) onTuesday,Thursday and A direct busdepartsMörönforUlaanbaatar BUS 152 tends tofunnelback the capital. From thecityof Mörönitis273kmto ErdenetandTransport toUlaanbaatar, leave andjeeps Minibuses mostafternoons HVGL • uhgi vr KHÖVSGÖL ••UushigiinUver to (keregsuur) UBratherthan . Thisremarkable collection

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(GPS: N49° ХӨВСГӨЛ of teal, bar-headed bird,includingtheBaikal near-sighted few a wolverines. Italsohasmore than200species and moose sable, bear, ibex, sturgeon, andthearea ishometo argali sheep, forces. tectonic the northeast,andwasformedbysame lion years) of195kmto Baikal, Siberia’sLake istheyounger sibling(by23mil- Khövsgöl 380,700 billionlitres!). speaking, Geologically 1% and2%of theworld’sfresh water (that’s source of fresh between water –itcontains aswelltheworld’s14th-largest262m deep) Hovsgol) lake isMongolia’sdeepest (upto Nuur (sometimestransliterated asHövsgölor the western partof thecountry.ButKhövsgöl size onlybyUvs Nuur,ashallow, lake salty in lake in (2760sqkm)inMongolia,surpassed tourists. international a major destination forbothMongolianand form thebasisforthispopularnationalpark, The lake thatsurroundit andmountains stretches intotheSiberiantaiga. 136kmdeep NuurisanextraordinarylakeKhövsgöl that Known astheBluePearl of Mongolia, camp builtnearbydetractsfrom its allure. Despite theuniquenessof thesite, anuglyger peoples: Darkhad, Buriat and Tsaatan (aka stork and snowcock. Altai ( goose KHÖVSGÖL NUURNATIONALPARK show youaroundandprovide commentary. The region hoststhree unique separate, The lake isfullof fish, such as lenok and In surfacearea, thisisthesecond-largest (see left ). of deerstonesisatUushigiincollection Uver wide, 500are located inMongolia. The best the 700deerstones knowntoexistworld- for successfullynavigatingtheafterlife. Of spears. These accessorieswouldberequired which hangvarioustoolsincludingaxes and stones are withabelt,from alsocarved are representational Many deer ofthisact. of deer. ontothestones The deercarved world andascendedtotheskyonbacks lieved thatafter this deathasouldeparted Bronze Age. The ancientsteppe tribesbe- thatdateancient burialmarkers fromthe Found acrossMongolia,deerstonesare DEER STONES kheeriin galuu kheeriin

НУУР inMongolian),black lonelyplanet.com email isback in Mörön. internet cafébuttheonlyguaranteedplaceto check your The postofficeisalsolocatedhere; there’re plansforan so youare better off purifying your water. to somepollutionof theshore andfeeder rivers, stock usingthearea forwinter pasture hasled is thereligion of choice in parts. these Dukha). Shamanism, ratherthanBuddhism, lonelyplanet.com be required topayanentrance fee atagate to On themainroad, 12kmbefore you’ll Khatgal, Permits Telecom office canbefoundinageraround keys) the back. thearea. (withthe information ontouring Thecaretaker the staffspeaksonlyMongolianandhaslittlepractical but some interesting, museum-styledisplaysonthelake Ithas 8pm) LocatedneartheMSGuesthouseinKhatgal. Information Centre office. park and,maybe,inthenational in Ulaanbaatar Park: AVisitors Guide, let ontheparkentitled Discovery Initiatives book- producesauseful theiceoverthrough the years. luting thewater. About 40truckshave fallen when itwasdetermined thattheywere pol- bers butthispracticewasstoppedin1990 trucks oncemadethisjourneyinvastnum- to crossthelengthof thelake inwinter. Oil depth of trucks 120cm,allowingpassenger are Nuurfreezes toa thenorm.Khövsgöl when theleaves are changing colour. timetovisit,Autumn isanotherpleasant with beautifulwildflowers duringthistime. The meadowsaroundthelake are sprinkled but itcanstillbecold,andoften rains. so crowdedthatitwouldspoilyourtrip), usually remains until early June). on thegroundandicelake (someice it willstillbeveryHowever, cold,withsnow and theflowers andbirdlife are attheirbest. timetovisitasitrainsless Spring isapleasant region. beautiful yourimpactonthis on howyoucanminimise read boxed texts p54 and p60 forsuggestions ingly heavily visited partof Mongolia. Please Information Climate The lake inlive- water isstillcleanbutarise Winter blueskies isamazinglycold,though Nuurisapristinebutincreas-Khövsgöl The summerisalittlemore crowded(not ( x KHÖVSGÖL KHÖVSGÖL NuurNationalPark ••Khövsgöl 01382-26513/36; ( Мэдээллийн Lake Hovsgol National which you canget h

Төв 8am-11pm) ; h ὈὈὈὈ ὈὈὈὈ ὈὈὈὈ ὈὈὈὈ ὈὈὈὈ ὈὈὈὈ 9am- ᝲᝲ ᝲᝲ ᝲᝲ Mongolia, itisagoodlaunching pad forthe some of thebest budget accommodationin isthelargestKhatgal townonthelake. With KHATGAL Sights once. than ticket as youmaybeasked toshowitmore limit yourimpactonthelake. Hang ontothe pamphlet explainingthepermitsand howto permit youshould receive visitors’ auseful patrols thelakeside onhorseback. Withyour formation centre orfromtheranger, who no-one there youcanbuypermitsatthein- person forforeigners/Mongolians. Ifthere’s the nationalpark.ThecostisT3000/300per As Nuur, thesoutherngateway toKhövsgöl Khatgal Strictly Protected Mogoi Khoridol Saridag Mod Ekh Uul (2515m) PARK KHÖVSGÖL NUURNATIONAL Tsartai

Khoridol Saridag (20km) To Renchinlkhumbe Jankhai Area Khuren Uul

Davaa Nuruu To Mörön (2961m) Ikh Uul (3020m)

(92km) Ikh Sayani Nuruu Sayani Ikh

Egiin Gol Jiglegiin Khuvsgol Sor;Nature'sDoor Ashihai; Hangard Davaa Jankhai Uran DöshUul Khirvisteg Toilogt Chuluut (2792m) ХАТГАЛ Khar Us Jiglegiin Am;JiglegCamp Khövsgöl Nuur Modon Huys 0 12 miles 12 20km 0 0 Saridag Uul (3491m) Mönkh Hot Springs Khankh Öndör Chandman- Bulnai Borsog Ikh Santin Alan Goa Davaa Sevsuul Mondy Khövsgöl Nuur National Park To LakeBaikal RUSSIA (175km)

Arig Gol

153 NORTHERN MONGOLIA MONGOLIA NORTHERN NORTHERN MONGOLIA hadak intoauniquespiral,ishonoured with curves Jankhai Davaa (Jankhai Pass). Thistree, which 4km fromtown, pasttheairport,towards Tree; GPS:N50°27.080’,E100° 07.274’) (Snake ( p158 ). You canalsocheck outthe hill immediately northof Nature’s Doorcamp for aneasierviewof thelake, justclimb the mainly economy isnowbased on tourism. headed toandfromRussia, butthetown’s much of anideaof thelake’s size from here. funnels intotheEgiin Gol,soyoudon’tget town isactuallyonthearmof thelake that preparing for, orrelaxing after, atrip.The lake andmostpeoplespendatleastaday here 154 4 1 3 2 KHATGAL There are easywalksupthelakeshore or, to beabusydepotfortrucks used Khatgal To Mörön(101km) Jankhai Davaa(17km) Mogoi Mod(4km); To Airport(3km); HVGL • hvglNu ainlPr KHÖVSGÖL NuurNationalPark ••Khövsgöl (ritual scarves). Buren KhaanShop...... Orgil Restaurant...... Sunway Guesthouse...... MS Guesthouse...... Khövsgöl Inn...... Garage 24...... Bonda Lake...... Telecom Office...... (see2) Post Office...... Information Centre...... SHOPPING EATING SLEEPING INFORMATION A

6 5

0.3miles 0 0 Shops

8 9 Government Khatgal House 3 B To ModotBulan To Port(300m) 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Mogoi Mod , located B3 B3 A3 A4 A4 B2 B3 A3 A4 (6km) 500 m

pronounced ‘toy-logt’butroutinelymispro- 103km from Khatgal. EASTERN SHORE Tsagaannuur. Forthattrip see p156 . onthewayto ern trailtoRenchinlkhumbe, From JiglegiinAmyoucouldtake thewest- almost exactlyhalfwayupthewestern shore. up to is bestmanaged onhorseback forthetrip after which thetrailbecomesovergrown and three days from Khatgal. a great destinationtoreach onhorseback – onions, orsometimesboiled).Thismakes withwildgreenfish are smoked andserved bailius fish foritsmedicinal properties(these flowers. InJunelocalsflockhere toeatthe surrounded bymeadowsof beautifulwild- (GPS: N50°56.132’,E100°14.835’) deteriorates. gradually there isarash of ger camps.Theroadthen nounced ‘toilet’bymosttravellers, where and station, headlands of lake. Theroadcontinuespastthegorgeous you receive yourfirst of magicalglimpse the Jankhai Davaa, where 17kmfromKhatgal, dryriverbeds andoverseveral thepass, southwest before swingingnortheastacross areasonableFrom Khatgal, roadfirst heads WESTERN SHORE to acouple of gers knownas damage bynow,you couldcarryonfurther N50° 59.677’,E100°42.983’) 41.185’) hills andcontinuespastaninteresting directions. Thetrailmeanders over some the Egiin Gol,where to ask youmayneed rocks, rootsandtheodd bridge.collapsed 15,000km of overland travel! mud, Expect the worst stretch of roadweencountered in possibly ing roadthatheadsuptoKhankh, drawback tothissideof thelake istheappall- experience. Themain an off-the-beaten-path it agreat destinationfortravellers seeking fewer visitors thanthewestern shore, making of grassandplentyof fishing holes.Itgets far Nuur.Khövsgöl There iswildlife, goldenfields the west,butoffers viewsacross spectacular The eastern shore than islessmountainous at thepass If yourspinehasn’t suffered permanent headforthebridgeFrom Khatgal, over About 30kmnorthof Toilogtis A jeep cantravelA jeep about10kmpastToilogt, toagorgeous spotcalled Jiglegiin Am Jiglegiin Ikh SantinDavaa Ikh Toilogt Jankhai

(GPS: N51°00.406’,E100°16.003’)

(GPS: N50°39.266’,E100°14.961’) , onceaRussian scientist , sixhours and by jeep , a series of, aseries springs (GPS: N50°52.622’,E100° Sevsuul lonelyplanet.com Borsog . Theroad Khar Us Khar (GPS: ovoo , ,

lonelyplanet.com ever comesfirst.ever You canget themfrom the and isvalidforthree daysor10fish, which- ling andlenok.Afishing permitcosts T10,000 lake, (bony)sturgeon, includingsalmon, gray- selection). best (Burenshops inKhatgal shophasthe Khaan ing gear already, youcanbuysomeatthe Nuur.about Khövsgöl Ifyoudon’thave fish- If youlove fishing, thenyou’llget excited FISHING Activities or border office inUlaanbaatar in Mörön. –check forupdatesRussia atKhankh atthe planstoopenthebordercrossinginto been only possiblebyboatorhorse. There have long the momentgoingallwayaroundlake is Jiglegiin Am,halfwayupthewestern shore. At no wayanyvehicle to canget fromKhankh bone-crunching,same eastern road:there is will have tocome Ulaanbaatar. to toitsnorthernneighbour thanis closer itand RussianthanMongolian,because ismoreto andfromSiberia. Buriat Khankh (Turt), aformerdepotforoiltankers headed totravelby jeep the200kmorsoto landscape. the Surprisingly,afew dunesdot sand Khankh. lake allthewayto andisusuallypassable actually improves alittlehere, thenhugsthe From Khatgal, allowatleast12hoursFrom Khatgal, Around adozenspecies of fish inhabitthe Remember thatifyoureach you Khankh, (see p162 ). by localtouristcompanieswhodon’tnecessarilyhave thereindeer’s bestinterests inmind. returning. missingisthe‘ Alsoworth Reindeer Festival’, acontrived midsummer event organised todissuade themfrom them away.Touristsmightconsiderrefusing good tokeep theirservices Tsaatan families,knowingthattheyendangerthesecreatures whentheytravel tothelake. death. EachyeartheBiznessTsaatan familiesreturn tothetaigabuymore reindeer fromother upon whichthereindeer feed elevation,causingillnessandsometimes doesnotgrowatlake Tsaatan ontheshores Nuurhashaddetrimentaleffects ofKhövsgöl ontheirreindeer. The lichen thepresence moneyfromtouristpockets, ofthe an innocent wayofextracting may soundlike Shaman’ astheyoccasionallyputonashamandanceinbroaddaylight(anotherUS$5).Whilethis chance toflogantlercarvings. shore,on thelake where (US$5)orthe theyappeareachsummer,ready forphotoopportunities NuurtobenearerKhövsgöl totheirsourceofincome–tourists. Their tepees are easytospot Some Tsaatan (ReindeerPeople) have discovered ofcapitalismandhave moved thefineart to BIZNESS TSAATAN If youwanttovisitaTsaatan family,you’llneedtovisittheircampsoutsideTsagaannuur The authoritieshave triedforyearstomove themoutofthepark,butbusinesshasbeentoo Members oftheirowncommunityknowthemas‘BiznessTsaatan’, orsometimes‘Bizness KHÖVSGÖL KHÖVSGÖL NuurNationalPark ••Khövsgöl all the way back along the thewaybackalong Khankh them for route ideas and/or guides. treks Contact inthesurroundingmountains. pact hikingandhave scouted outsomegood guides infirst aid, route findingandlow-im- havein Khatgal trained somelocalhiking may get shotatby border guards. so becareful crossitoryou nottoaccidentally over ontheborderof 3000m.Itisright Russia, Sayani Nuruurange, which hasmanypeaks of UranDösh Uul (2792m). northwest of Toilogt;andtheextinctvolcano Uul(2961m),alittle Ikh Renchinlkhumbe; Uul (3020m),notfarnorthof thetrailto of SaridagNuruu,such asKhuren Khoridol range inthemountain ous othermountains the hikingisexcellent.Alsotrynumer- (2515m), immediately westof Jankhai, where gion, themostaccessibleisTsartai Uul Ekh much as you can. are easytofollow,orjusthugtheshoreline as or dairyproducts.Thetrailsaroundthelake gers inthearea fromwhich tobuysomemeat there although are afew to beself-sufficient, surroundingit.Youwillneed the mountains This is thelakeone of and thebestwaystosee HIKING fishing illegally is US$40. 15AprilandJune. Thefinefor between Fishingisnotallowedor MSGuesthouse. park rangers, Government Khatgal’s House Both Garage (p157) 24andMSGuesthouse Longer treks are possiblearoundtheIkh inthesouthwesternOf themountains re-

155 NORTHERN MONGOLIA MONGOLIA NORTHERN NORTHERN MONGOLIA interesting tripcouldtake youeast two-week visit totheTsaatan, willtake 15to20days.An toTsagaannuur, fromKhatgal horse and a will take from10to 15days.Areturn tripby expect youtoprovide food whileon the trail. fourtourists.Guideswill local guideforevery tions stipulate thatforeigners shouldhave one trips intheregion and,infact,parkregula- als for day trips. camps alongthelake canorganise horse rent- T10,000 toT15,000perdayforaguide. Ger perday,andaboutat aboutT7000perhorse hours. Pricesare negotiablebutreasonable canarrangehouses within24 everything the lake Thethree isinKhatgal. mainguest- The onlyplacetoorganise a trekhorse around HORSE RIDING 156 A complete circuitof thelake onhorseback A guideisrecommended forhorse-riding Map don’t have aguide,atleastbringgoodmap,suchasthe to cross. Bringwet-weather gear,warmclothesandpreferably aguidetogetyouacross. Ifyou to waitonriver banks(sometimesforseveral days)untilwater levels droplowenoughforthem and flashfloodingthatcanstopyouinyourtracks. andhorseridersare Hikers frequently made Arsayn Golaround35kmupstream, upthelogging eventually route. picking This backtoKhatgal. involves followingthe ashortcut tooandtake Renchinlkhumbe could skip route thatrunsthroughthemountains. Ifyouhave nointention ofgoingtoTsagaannuur you a triptotheTsaatan camps. Alternatively, youcouldreturn toKhatgal viatheoldRussianlogging when you’ve reached thevillage. a sanity-savingmeasure istowrapyourheadwithatowelorT-shirt. The bugsseemtodisappear abeelinesouthforthetown. make you reach thebroadexpanseofDarkhad, where there are somecampingspots. It’sthenanotherseven When hourstoRenchinlkhumbe. pletely soyouneedtofillupwithwater whenever possible. raining hardyoucanbestuckforhoursoreven days. Indryspellstheriver candisappearcom- twice. There are alsosomesidestreams tocross. These crossingsare usuallyOKbutifit’sbeen Russian NBCoverboots togetthepassinaroundthree willcomeinhandy.Expect hours. up toJiglegiin Davaa(2500m)isvery muddyeven after alongdryspell–thisiswhere apairof –it’sbesttohave change. exact The jeeptrailthatheads meal(T1000) andgetacooked (T2000) spots alongthisroute. end ofthejeeproad),fromwhere Us. it’sa10-hourjourneytoKhar There are endlesscamping tofeel fivetake theisolationafter days(fourhours’ridingeachday).Youstart Ongolog Gol(the Renchinlkhumbe. goesupthewesternKhatgal, shore andover ofthelake the Jiglegiin Pass) Davaa (Jiglegiin to One ofthemost adventurous treks inMongolia,donebyeitherhorseorfoot,begins in TREKKING FROMKHÖVSGÖL TODARKHAD HVGL • hvglNu ainlPr KHÖVSGÖL NuurNationalPark ••Khövsgöl This route involves moderate ingoodweather. trekking However, thearea ispronetoheavyrain trek it’sanothertwo-day toTsagaannuur,From Renchinlkhumbe fromwhere youcanorganise The finalthree hoursofthetrek are often marred byhorrificswarmsoffliesandmosquitoes– After aseven-hour walkfromthepassyoushould beatOoliinGol(25kmwestofJiglegiin Am) From thepassit’sagentlewalkdowntoArsaynGol,whichyou’llneedcrossatleast Usit’sjustthreeFrom Khar hourstoJiglegiin Amwhere youcanfindaccommodationinacabin toJiglegiinFrom Khatgal Am,abouthalfwayupthewestern shore Nuur,will ofKhövsgöl (Conservation Ink). Contact MS Guesthouse in Khatgal for further detailsonthistrek. forfurther MSGuesthouseinKhatgal Ink).Contact (Conservation rent kayaksforT25,000 per day. trips intheregion. Garage 24( opposite ) can ( Nomadic Expeditions p81 ) runs kayaking island almostexactly inthemiddleof thelake. checkand youcouldeven out little coves, perfect forcampingandfishing, appalling roads.Thelake isfullof glorious lake without thestrainof driving alongthe Travelling by the kayak allowsyoutosee Us andbackinfive or six days. Nuruu StrictlyProtected Area, oruptoKhar Saridag Khoridol themountainous through days. You’lldefinitely aguide. need tonine Bulnai hotspringswouldtake eight Agui,Derkhiin asacred cave. Atriptothe KAYAKING &BOATING of thelake toChandman-ÖndörandDayan Shorter tripsincludeonetoToilogt, Lake KhövsgölNationalPark Satellite lonelyplanet.com Modon Huys , an house (designedlikehouse acamp),intheextreme Ask for Bayara. English-speaking ownerhaskayaks forrent. bit boxy. Thehot showers workwellandthe roomsare inthelodgealso stay butthese a gers andoneger withadoublebed.Youcan ing north,justpasttheshops.Ithasfour-bed islocatedto Khatgal onthemainroadhead- .com; bedperpersonT5000,campingT3000) to theislandandnorthernreaches of run travellers uptoitscampandbeyond icuig meals). including Jiglegiin Am(T300,000foruptosixpeople, boat. Ask aboutthetwo-dayboattripto the lake. alsohasamotor MSGuesthouse Book yourstayatlonelyplanet.com/hotels munal meals andactivities. OwnerGanbaais makes visitorsstaff feel athome,withcom- congenial of ger the campsaroundKhatgal; whenyouarrive intown.Perhapssee themost south of town, isthefirst collectionof gers you camping T2000,rT3000,gerT4000) south. further Gol, eitherintownorthebeautifulvalleys in theforests alongthes a lifttothelake ortoMörön,youcan camp If you have atent andare hangingaroundfor KHATGAL Sleeping check thewebsite: www.ultramongolia.org/. in 42kmor100kmdivisions;formore info, Mongolian andinternational runners compete Ultra-marathon festival) isheldon 11 July. petitions. Khatgal’s skiing, ice-skatingandhorse-sledding com- 28 February. includescross-country Theevent checking outthe northern Mongoliainwinter, itisworth If forsomestrange reason you’ve cometo Festivals &Events out the money. waitingforsometouristortradertofork been boatload of nonpayingpassengers whohave you’ll stillhave toshareto Khankh, itwitha cost anarmandaleg.Ifyoudocharter aboat will onlymove whenchartered, which will daysthey butthese passengers upto Khankh docks.They Khatgal MS Guesthouse Garage 24hasaZodiacboatandcan Bonda Lake In late June orearlyJuly,the Several large boatsremainSeveral moored atthe

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( x 9996 3994; [email protected]; 9996 3994;[email protected]; Khatgal IceFestival Khatgal naadam 9979 6030;lake_hovsgol@yahoo very Thisnewaddition hores of theEgiin occasionallytake (traditionalsports KHÖVSGÖL KHÖVSGÖL NuurNationalPark ••Khövsgöl Sunrise toSunset Sunrise Thisguest- , heldon .com; dmT5000,gerT10,000) without mealsUS$30/15) qualifies as a work of art. Beautifully qualifies as aworkof art. Beautifully decorated .mn; with/withoutmeals US$40/20) yak cart trips. tour groups.Ithas acoupleof boatsanddoes Hangard campisalarge campthatcaters to 7km). another shore (which isblissfullyger-camp free for foot youcanwalkhere andcontinueupthe Ifyouarethis section. exploringthelake by theroadupcoastbypasses miss itbecause Egiin Golmouthforabout6km.Mostpeople This area extends duenorthof upthe Khatgal, MODOT BULAN It serves meals (T1500). the northwestern partof townbelowthe hills. powered byaninventive footpump.It’son lers mayprefer itthatway.Thehotshoweris communal thanothers, sometravel- although .com; perpersonUS$5) and the Egiin Gol. MSGuesthouse headed thatway.It’sbetween on thelake soyoucanget infohere ifyouare andtheJiglegCamp Inn atRenchinlkhumbe cosy fireplace. withtheSaridag It’saffiliated gers ordormsandthere isanicelodge witha aretion atcompetitive available rates. Beds in thisplaceoffersKhatgal, qualityaccommoda- drums of the petrol station. ofat thebase thehill,notfarfromstorage is spoken. Garage 24isinthenorthof town, isfriendlybutlittleEnglish camp). Thestaff (note that some kitmaybeattheJankhai camping gear are rented outtosuityourneeds bikes,Mongolia. Mountain kayaks,horses and where youcanget thebestfoodinnorthern home. Ithasbunkbedsandadiningarea fireplace, feels like anoldEnglish country truck garage. Thecosylodge, warmedbya hangout isbuiltfromareclaimed Soviet-era consciousbackpackerenvironmentally .4thworldadventure.com; dmT5000,campingT3000) be youronlyoption in winter. breakfast. Thisplaceisopenallyear,andmay you canordermeals(T1200).Pricesinclude showers, cleanpittoiletsandalodge where trekking routes inthearea. Thecamphas hot very knowledgeable about hikingandhorse- Ashihai Hangard Sunway 24 Garage Khövsgöl Inn Khövsgöl

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157 NORTHERN MONGOLIA MONGOLIA NORTHERN NORTHERN MONGOLIA t north: to Jankhai Davaa. Thefollowing are listed south thelake,road meets after descendingfrom facilities. mentioned Note thatnoneof willhave these theabove- foracouple ofwill letyoustay USdollars. around youcanprobably findafamilywho park andtheydon’tadvertise, butifyouask guest ger. Theyare notregistered withthe majority openonly in mid-June. if youbringandcookyourownfood.The the lake. Mostplaceswilloffer alowerprice line andhave regard littleenvironmental for manyarethough dangerously neartheshore- ity, runningwater, flush toilets andshowers, or twoontheeast).Nearlyallhave electric- cations onthewestern shore (butonlyone There are ger campsinstunninglo- several Ger Camps Borsog. at best spottocampontheeastern shoreline is ence oneof theworst roadsinMongolia,the you have andwanttoexperi- yourownjeep, Ongolog Nuur,10kmnorthof Toilogt.If shoreline are anywhere Jankhai between and of the shore. camp,washorbuildfiresnever within50m 100mfromothergers.try tostay Youshould pitch your tent anywhere youwant,though primarily atMongoliantourists and groups. tobeaimed Jankhai seem andToilogt.These Jankhai camp,andtwointhebaybetween sites neartheNature’s Doorcamp,justpast yellow signswithatriangle. There are camp rash of ger camps. tohikeand you’llneed abitto get pastthe On thedownside,itoften rainsinsummer plenty of fish, andthehikingisoutstanding. opportunities. There isendlessfresh water, NuuroffersKhövsgöl excellentcamping Camping WESTERN &EASTERNSHORES lake and the bay. fine locationonspitof landoverlooking the forms andoffer lake views.Thecamphasa furniture. Gersare ontowoodplat- elevated and theinteriorexquisitely contains carved gers are embroidered withtraditionalpatterns 158 Away from these areasAway fromthese youcanpretty much There are designated campsites, marked by Several familiesalsoacceptguestsina Several The bestcampingspotsonthewestern The maingroupof where campsstart the HVGL • hvglNu ainlPr KHÖVSGÖL NuurNationalPark ••Khövsgöl plush cabins,alodge andexcellentWestern T10,000) pit stopfortrekkers ontheirwayto T25,000/5000) western is 42kmnorth shore, Khirvesteg guests. Thecamphasaboatthatcantransfer hire. Concertsare occasionally organised for the campoffers bikes, boatsandhorses for Nuur. Facilities here are and of standard high lovely lake immediately adjacenttoKhövsgöl Itissituatedto theright. byapeacefuland is 5kmnorthof Jankhai, andoff themainroad Hovsgol Travel Company,thisexcellentcamp travel.com; with/withoutmealsUS$35/18) about 5kmpast Jankhai Davaa. is associated withGarage it’s 24inKhatgal; other operators where possible. Nature’s Door carefully, andcompare offered withthose by transport andtripshere, docheck theprices dealings withthemanagement. Ifbooking manytravellersEnglish although report frosty to thehot-water speaks showers. Thestaff (US$3)allowsyouaccess an option.Camping for aroundUS$30,theflashy cabinsare also inthegersfood options.Mostpeoplestay but T15,000) available. bathrooms of isolation.Qualitycabinsand some sense the trees andoffthemainroad,providing this partof thelake, thisoneishiddenin (Jankhai Davaa). Unlike manyothers on US$30/15) option in Khankh. per personwith mealsUS$40) compound. the hillwherethe trackupsteep you willsee most of andfollow thetwojetties,turnright nearthenorthern- northern endof Khankh walkoverthe guesthouse, thebridge atthe (see inKhatgal Guesthouse p157 ). Tofind Guesthouse Ger Gate Northern KHANKH Inn Khövsgöl Book through in Khatgal. head). Thecampis90kmnorthof Khatgal. attheJiglegtrail (it’sright Renchinlkhumbe Khatgal. of advance noticetothe office.Ulaanbaatar you here togive butyou’llneed from Khatgal Jigleg Camp Khirvesteg o Door Nature’s Sor Khuvsgol The Thispopularbackpacker hangouthas Operated bythepeoplefromMS Last Frontier Thisisthefirst campafter thepass Toilogt Oneof thelastcampson

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x ( 9938 8955;with/withoutmeals x 011-300 150;with/withoutmeals (GPS: N51°30.566’,E100° 39.296’; 9926 0919;gerwithoutmeals 011-460 368;www.hovsgol

ger camp isanother Serves asahandy Serves

lonelyplanet.com (NGGH; perperson Runbythe following placesare all in Khatgal. sible, stockupinMörönorUlaanbaatar. The ofand alimited selection vegetables. Ifpos- softthings such asbeer, drinks,chocolate bars There are afew selling basicshops inKhatgal Eating lonelyplanet.com for T7000 perperson or T70,000forthejeep. (three Mörön and Khatgal hours)between regularlyMinivans andjeeps make thetrip JEEP a liftto come along. more and youcouldwaitfordays difficult camping gear and food. with for alift.Youshould beself-sufficient for aliftanyway.Ask theguestsatcamps but you’llprobably enduppayingafairbit inthesummer, Toilogt shouldn’tbedifficult the post office. mosttruckswillstopinfrontofin Khatgal, –andkeep asking.Once or thepetrolstation For liftsfromMörön,hangaroundthemarket HITCHING no longer anyflights to Khankh. so check withMIAT inUlaanbaatar. There are Schedules arepeak season. continuallyinflux beaddedfortheJuly might but extraflights return. are Flights season, cutbackintheoff thecostisUS$101/192oneway/ days aweek; (viaMörön)four toKhatgal Ulaanbaatar In summerMIAT hasdirect from flights AIR Getting There&Away visitors. and and authenticMongolianbarbecueforguests to eatandwilloccasionallyprepare ing aspreparations take around an hour. and pizza(T5500).Give someadvancewarn- menu items includeshepherd’s pie(T4800) toast, beansandsausage. Lunch anddinner The Englishbreakfast (T6000)includesbacon, a few daysof hardtrekking inthewilderness. menu thatwillcomeasawelcomebreak after pancake). soup, goulashandvegetable English-language menuthatincludescream the rowof downtownshops and Hitching aroundtheeastern shore ismuch hitchingFrom Khatgal, aridetoJankhai or ( MS Guesthouse p157 ) isanotherniceplace Garage 24( p157 ) hasaWestern-oriented Restaurant Orgil KHÖVSGÖL KHÖVSGÖL ••Chandman-Öndör

(meals T900; h khuushuur 9am-9pm) guanz. khorkhog Amid Has an (fried

Museum local history.More interesting isthe ride isvery and takes five rough tosixhours. The 85km yourown jeep. youneed Khatgal ern sideof themarket inMörön.From a onthemainroad to Tsagaan-Uurstatue is 24.994’, E100°58.548’) Mörön isapainted a small fee. python-skin banjo,andwillgive lessonsfor couple thatmanages the place. for Oyunchimeg thelocal orEnkhtuvshin, where somegers are upinsummer. set Ask fenced-off grassyarea inthecentre of town Töv 2009. August isin Mongols.Thenextinstalment Khalkh Tuvans andBuriatsaswellahostof Mongols fromInnerMongolia,Kalmyks, to honourAlanGoa. Thenaadamattracts and Khaan Chinggis revered locally. shaped logcabin. Alan Goawasanancestorof good exploratorytripfor hardy travellers. alpine forests andwildflowers, makingita The surroundingarea isoneof widemeadows, out of thepages of aBrothers Grimmfairytale. village of Chandman-Öndör comesstraight consisting almostentirely of logcabins, the and pine-cladmountains Nestled between ЧАНДМАНЬ CHANDMAN-ÖNDÖR road. gravel is101kmfromMörönoverKhatgal araised where itisbesttoaskattheguesthouses. plenty of inMörönbutfew jeeps inKhatgal, the normalT450perkilometre. There are Mörön fortransport to Khatgal. be fairer. (p151)in Guesthouse Bata Contact ers withthe‘ foreigners uptoUS$50fortherun;localdriv- owners Somejeep willtrytochargeKhatgal. at Mörönairporttotake passengers directly to market in Mörön. Inquire atthenorthernendof atthestand the (T11,000) occasionally leave fromthe north- deer stone Every three years alarge A chartered should notcostmore jeep than flight theUlaanbaatar Transport alsomeets Around 11kmfromtownontheroad to Oyunchimeg canplaythe intownis The onlyplacetostay The town Shared goingtoChandman-Öndör jeeps

( x

01382-26535, 95776963;perpersonT5000) (admission T500) . ХӨА museum . About 5kmwestof the ’ license plate are’ license likely to - ӨНДӨР statue of AlanGoa , housed insidetheger-, housed

(admission T500) naadam shanz, shows off showsoff isheldhere asortof (GPS: N50°

Alan Goa Alan Goa 159

a NORTHERN MONGOLIA MONGOLIA NORTHERN NORTHERN MONGOLIA across (ask at the monastery), but you’ll need across (ask atthemonastery), butyou’ll need beavailableings. Atractormight tohaul you Erdenebulgan check. to Agui, there although israrely anyonearound permit forTsagaan-Uur andDayanDerkhiin aborder forT5000.Intheoryyouneed horse Herders inthearea maybeable torent youa way isbyhorse (asix-hourreturn journey). reach thecave by vehicle, insummertheonly the shamanhadstolen.Inwinter youcould wifebe captured whose Khaan, byChinggis turnedtostoneratherthan Dayan Derkh Agui DayanDerkhiin lamas. Another15kmeastof thetemple isthe mains of anoldermonastery, ishometoseven log cabintemple, rebuilt in2006over there- onabeautifulbendofset theUur Gol.The Monastery Derkh 97km pastChandman-Öndör)isthe large wood 15km eastof Tsagaan-Uur you’llspotanother the river crossingnowisabitdicey.About bridge eastof townwashedawayin2006and after another5km,hasshopsand Thetownof silk scarves. you’ll spota plus onecentral the 12years accordingtotheAsian calendar, E101° 17.478’) pass arowof 13 road followstheArigGol.After 41kmyou’ll 48°C. reach wood cabinsover thesprings,someof which northwest of town.ThisSoviet-era resort has ( sites, including the for several Chandman-Öndör isthejumping-off point AROUND CHANDMAN-ÖNDÖR areas dayof onthesecond the trek. drawback beingswarmsof flies intheboggy five thelone days.Theroute isspectacular, by horse; thetrek takes fromKhatgal fourto attempt itafter a heavy rain. valley around48kmoutof Don’t Khatgal). bogged are pretty good(theworst bitisina It’s muddyinplacesandthechances of getting 160 astery wasfoundedafter thefamedshaman shamanists. Accordingtolegend, themon- cave considered holybylocalBuddhistsand Булнайн Heading eastof Chandman-Öndör,the thebestwayhere is In therainyseason, The road from Dayan Derkh Monastery to The roadfromDayan Derkh Around 38kmpastTsagaan-Uur (and HVGL • rudCada-nö KHÖVSGÖL ••AroundChandman-Öndör

Рашаан made from sticks. These represent madefromsticks.These ovoo requires river cross- twodifficult sacred tree sacred

. shamanic tepees (GPS: N50°26.804’,E101°53.328’) ovoo ; perpersonT5000) ( Даян . After another13km honoured withblue Tsagaan-Uur

Дэрхийн Bulnai hotsprings (GPS: N50°30.727’,

, about60km guanz

, reached Агуй Dayan . The ), a ,

Gols isparticularlygoodfor ArigandKheven around theKhökh, impact. Darkhad isoneofimpact. Darkhad Mongolia’sstrong- lifestyle –buttourismisrapidlymakingan p149 ), are abletocontinuetheirtraditional ofamong theinhabitants thevalleys(see sures theunique Tsaatan people,whoare originally formedasa glacial lake. Nuurandwasalso sizeasKhövsgöl same Depression. Thedepression the isroughly scattered over awideplaincalledthe Darkhad landscape of prairie,forest, and300-odd lakes a wallof sitsaharsh mountains, butmystical About 50kmwestof Nuur,behind Khövsgöl ДАРХАДЫН DARKHAD DEPRESSION hiking ern Bulgan aimag. andremoteGol, arough journeyintonorth- offers basicfood and lodging. you’ll reach thetownof Erdenebulgan,which Head westattheEg andafter about35km tery istheconfluenceof theEg andUurGols. to follow you). crossings are 20kmapartsothetractorneeds (the to payaroundT50,000forthisservice as possible. You’ll need amapofas possible. You’llneed where you days. Delaysare common soapplyasearly and are inonetothree working processed register in Mörön. Borderpermitsare free thatyou it’s strongly advised In eithercase, turned awaysoyou’re your chances. taking manytravellersMörön, although have been youcould trytogetin Ulaanbaatar onein available inUlaanbaatar. Ifyoudidn’tget one a youwillneed inlkhumbe) border permit, To visitTsagaannuur (andprobably Rench- with mosquitonets and repellent. ruin yourtripifyouare notfullyprepared appetitesinsatiable for foreign skinandwill summer. littlecritters warned:these have Be thatinvadetheareagion istheinsects in be foundin the region. and trout. Salmon andhuge canalso taimen Mongolia andthelakes are fullof white carp est centres of shamanism. Permits The difficulty inreachingThe difficulty theregion en- In thenortheastof theaimag,area About 26kmdownstream fromthemonas- Alternatively, continuedowntheEg-Uur One definite drawbacktovisitingthere- This isoneof thebest-watered regions in enthusiasts.

ХӨНДИЙ lonelyplanet.com camping and lonelyplanet.com will rest here foratleast one night. Most travellers headingfurtherintothetaiga ous two-dayjourney onfootorhorseback. Nuur, anadventur-Am trailheadonKhövsgöl is42km westofRenchinlkhumbe theJiglegiin Renchinlkhumbe & Visitors Center ( p162 ). encouraged tovisittheTsaatan Community you’ll get abetter welcome for it. respect theTsaatan bydropping anemail; best travel dates andprovide travel tips.Please .org. Therepresentative willinformyouof the can dothisbyemailingreindeer@hovsgol Tsaatan representatives inUlaanbaatar. You tors tosubmittheirnameandtravel dates to in andoutof thearea. Onemeasure asksvisi- system isin placetomonitorvisitors heading the Tsaatan camps,butaninformalcontrol contacts. Mörön their arrange through thepermitinKhatgal tion of can somesort.Inapinch, guesthouses letter of supportfromaMongolianorganisa- intend totravel, passportcopiesandideallya Once youreach Tsagaannuur, youare also Additional permitsare tovisit notneeded www.jetsundhampa.com. tions prevent him fromdoingso. Formore informationonMongolia’sexiledspiritualleader,see Mongolian monksandnuns. Hestillhopestoreturn toMongoliaonedayalthoughcurrent restric- leave after overstaying hisvisa. and thecountryside. Althoughmobbedbyadoringfanswherever hewent,waspressured to speculation. Jiang Zemin, butwhetherornotthevisitwasorchestrated fromDharamsalaremains pure deity Vajrapani’!) visa inMoscow.(Onecanonlyimagine thecustomsform:‘Occupation:ReincarnationofTibetan later escapedanonymouslytoIndia. tion attheageoffour. asecret Toprotect himfromStalin’s thugshisidentitywaskept andhe was formallyidentifiedbytheDalaiLamain1991. lifted in1990theMongoliangovernment itsdistancefromtheninthJebtzunDamba,who kept future ‘reincarnations’, ensuringtheircontrolover MongolianBuddhism.Even after restrictions were eighth JebtzunDambadied,thenewlyformedcommunistgovernment refused torecognise any Dharamsala, India. who in1999wasofficiallyrecognised asthechief Buddhist monk,currently hishomein makes allowed tovisitthecountry.The 76-year-old ninthJebtzunDamba(‘ inMongolian), Bogd Khan’ It’s somewhatironicthatwhileMongoliaenjoysfreedom ofreligion, itsspiritualleaderisnot THE NINTH JEBTZUN DAMBA The JebtzunDambastillteaches BuddhisminDharamsalaandhasamonghisstudentsseveral The JebtzunDambastayedinMongoliafor60days,visitingmonasteries inboth Ulaanbaatar It seemsalltoocoincidentalthathisvisitcoincidedwithofthenChinesepresident In 1999,attheageof67,heturnedupinUlaanbaatar,unannounced,havingreceived atourist The ninthJebtzunDambawasborninTibet in1932andwasaccepted astheninthreincarna- The debate regarding thestatusofJebtzunDambahasitsrootsbackin1924.When KHÖVSGÖL KHÖVSGÖL Depression ••Darkhad Рэнчинлхүмбэ 06.852’, E099°40.135’;camping/r/gerT3000/4000/T5000) singing competitions. great traditionalhorse gamesand timetosee what controversial within the community. their health,andthe festival hasbecomesome- isdefinitely notgoodfor down tothiselevation a bigbonfire. bringingthereindeer However, polo, reindeerdeer racing,artsandcrafts, and Itincludesrein-now becominganannualevent. encampments in the taiga. Tsagaannuur, thelaststopbefore theTsaatan About is 40kmbeyond Renchinlkhumbe Tsagaannuur dary. Pricesare per person. water showers andsit-downtoiletsare legen- Lodge Company.Itshot- is runbyKhövsgöl racingand horse archery.standing archery alongwiththeusualwrestling, events, racingaroundbarrels)(horse andmounted naadam when ithoststhe Tsagaannuur’s mid-June The localger camp, A nicetimetovisitthetownisinmid-June Renchinlkhumbe hostsanexcellentlocal Renchinlkhumbe (July 11) complete with‘barrel (July racing’ Цагааннуур Blue Valley AwardsFestival Saridag Inn Saridag Reindeer Festival Reindeer

(GPS: N51° 161 is is

, a

NORTHERN MONGOLIA MONGOLIA NORTHERN NORTHERN MONGOLIA ahead of asit yourvisit(atleastoneweek) taiga hotel nextto andpostoffice, taiga the lake. and other logistics for trips to the taiga; it’s and otherlogisticsfortripstothetaiga; area. TheTCVC canorganise guides,horses Tsaatan tipsontravel andimportant inthe whose Italian company Italian whose taiga. Aspecialist inthearea isDinodeToffol, tion and meals. US$30 adayforhorses, guides,accommoda- left Tsagaannuur, figure onspendingaround cooked bytheTsaatan families.Onceyou’ve tobe meal kitsthatyoucanbringtothetaiga to keep thebugsatbay.TheTCVC offers own tent, campingsuppliesand100%DEET ier tovisitfortravellers without much time. more iseas- rugged beautywhiletheeasttaiga has byferry.which Thewesttaiga iscrossed is10kmnorthofeast taiga theShishged Gol, are operated bytheTsaatan themselves. The hotels tepee Programmehasdroppedseveral Development intheearlysummer).TheUNally closer byhorse(thecampsmovetaiga butare usu- it cantake fourto12hours toreach thewest south of FromTsagaannuur, theeasttaiga). a littleconfusingasthewest isactually taiga east The Tsaatan live intwogroups,knownasthe Around Tsagaannuur and yourownfoodwill also suffice. it’s located justnorthof thepostoffice. A tent a withGanbaa,alocalwhoruns can alsostay tion atitsnewfacilityinTsagaannuur. You The TCVC offers accommoda- guesthouse SLEEPING &EATING in the region. an auto-reply tipsontravel filledwithuseful email [email protected]; you’llreceive an send on usingTCVC Otherwise, services. 2667; [email protected]) oremailthe horses. Call can take afew daystoorganise guidesand port fromthe operated bytheTsaatan communitywithsup- .htm) Center & Visitors The village ishometothe INFORMATION 162 It’s a good idea to contact theTCVCIt’s agoodideatocontact well guesthouse Plenty of tour operators offer tripsto the Once youare your you’llneed inthetaiga, A , which provides backgroundinfoonthe (zuun) HVGL • öö oTrhi sga ur KHÖVSGÖL ••MöröntoTerkhiin Tsagaan Nuur bathhouse

(per personT5000)

and west (incl breakfast T5000) Itgel Foundation Itgel

(T1000)

(TCVC; http://itgel.org/visitors_center (TCVC; in Ulaanbaatar ifyouplanin Ulaanbaatar islocated southof the (baruun) in both taigas; these these inbothtaigas; Lupo World Trekking Itgel office Itgel Tsaatan Community andrestaurant; (www.itgel.org)

taiga (thisistaiga

( x 9972 .

ot o SieIe village. Shine-Ider of north miss Nuur.Khövsgöl days (bypassingJiglegiinAm),butyouwould Tsagaannuur onaneasytrailinaboutfive toto 20days.YoucouldgofromKhatgal with avisittotheTsaatan, willtake from15 A return toTsagaannuur, tripfromKhatgal youcantake them from Khatgal. otherwise by horse. Horses canbehired inTsagaannuur, There isreally onlyonewaytoget tothetaiga: HORSE ing summer–orit may not. day ortwo,somethingmaycomealongdur- tent andfood, anddon’tmindwaitingfora extremely butifyouhave sparse, yourown MörönandTsagaannuur between Traffic is HITCHING from flying saucer outer space. Tsaatan encampmentsandlandlike some sometimes take ahelicopter directly tothe agencies sies anddevelopment inUlaanbaatar fromforeignodd charter embas- Staff flight. There are toTsagaannuur, noflights save the AIR Getting There&Away back into the community. the area andcontributes someof theprofits (www.world-trekking.com) on themain road,isanarea of with adramaticstick interesting headlandjuttingintothelake ends summer manynomadicfamilieslive here. An There isgoodcampingintheregion andin oflake theregion. and thescenichighlight is About 97kmsouthwest of theaimagcapital This isalsoanexcellentroadfor cyclists. Terkhiin Tsagaan aimag. NuurinArkhangai A popularroute outof issouthto Khövsgöl MÖRÖN TOTERKHIINTSAGAANNUUR hiring onewouldcost around T50,000. scheduled publicshared toTsagaannuur; jeeps and longforareasonable price. There are no T20,000, butyou’llhave tonegotiate hard shouldcostaround the stateof theroad.Aseat bone-crunching 12to20hours, dependingon from Mörön(butrarely ina fromKhatgal) By chartered youcanget jeep, toTsagaannuur JEEP Zuun Nuur Zuun Around 30kmsouth of Shine-Ider, right

(GPS: N49°03.727’,E99°31.096’) Book yourstayatlonelyplanet.com/hotels bringssmallgroupsinto ovoo . Thelake is13km standing stones , alarge toric 8km bringsyoutoascenicpassandthehis- and flewasifhewere somekindof Icarus- of wings withaset sheepskin a200mcliff off (1870–1937),wholeapt Gelenkhuu Khainzan 22.650’) and graves lonelyplanet.com the above - ‘Do the right thingwithourcontent.’ the above -‘Dotheright theterms and conditionsonoursiteforalonger wayofsaying youknow,orresell it.See everyone site,mass emailitto only. Inotherwords, pleasedon’tuploadthischapterto apeer-to-peer Inreturn, wethinkit’sfair toaskyouuseitforpersonal,non-commercial purposes restricted. © LonelyPlanetPublications. iteasier foryoutouse,accessthischapterisnotdigitally Tomake someofproudly showoff hiswood craftand a localeldernamedShagdarsuren whowill It’srunby not litsobringatorch (flashlight). and religious objects. Twoof theroomsare Jargalant animals oldphotos,stuffed contains of himinthe local museum). pictures (youcansee who was2.63minheight herder named Öndöör Gongor(Tall Gongor) perhaps mostfamousasbeinghomelandof a ence of Gols.The theIderandKhonjil Jargalant. to incarnate. Fromthe pass it’saneasy19km The Jargalant Gelenkhuugiin Suvraga Gelenkhuugiin , anoldstupabuiltin1890bylocalhero museum

(GPS: N48°45.808’,E99°23.084’) isapretty townneartheconflu-

KHÖVSGÖL KHÖVSGÖL ••MöröntoTerkhiin Tsagaan Nuur (admission T500;

(GPS: N48°41.182’,E99° h 8am-7pm) . Afurther sum in is ger camp3kmeastof town(mealsare US$6 Terkhiin Tsagaan Nuur. from it.It’sanother70kmtotheshores of mounds, includingonewithatree growing across theriver, justfollow the pipes). thenaturalpool eral springpool(youcansee of thecampisamin- to US$8).Thehighlight E99° 22.061’;with/withoutmealsUS$42/16,showerUS$2) ( Moreto midnight). upscaleisthe which thelocalbar(open9am alsocontains Hotel, Khonkh is theDeed most established each offering roomsforaroundT5000.The could stillhave a look around. 1890. It’srun-downandboardedupbutyou Süm), anoldmonastery thatdates backto x is and othertools.Theattractionintown ofdemonstrate theuse hand-powered drills About 6kmeastof townare burial several Jargalant hasthree basicbutcleanhotels, Jargalantiin Dugan Jargalantiin 011-450 093;[email protected]; GPS:N48°33.615’, (alsocalled Dashbijeliin © LonelyPlanetPublications Jargal Jiguur Jargal 163 , a

NORTHERN MONGOLIA MONGOLIA NORTHERN