ABOUT IKH GAZARIIN CHULUU<hr>The 2 mountains with granite stone massifs and taluses located in Mongolian granite stone zone, Dundgove province are Ikh and Baga Gazriin Stones. Ikh Gazriin Stone covers more than 20km long area consisting of north and south parts. There are many special rocks named for their features of their shapes and figures such as, Uvgun Chinghis (Old Chinghis), Lusiin ezen (Lors of the Sea), Khaan Khatan Hoyor (king and queen), Zagasnii am (mouth of fish), Camel rock, Mother’s womb and Penus rock. There are also over 10 small caves created by the wind and rapid temperature changes including several caves of Ulziit Sumber Mountain, in the east part of Ikh Gazriin Stone.<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:100%;"><img src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/kerege-travel.appspot.com/o/ckeditor%2FIkh_Gazriin_Chuluu.jpg?alt=media&amp;token=24ced695-32f2-4f0a-affc-01d8e8a4ea5f"></figure>The biggest one is Toonot Cave with 27m length. An open air theatre was founded in the centre of Ikh Gazriin Chuluu in 2006 on the occasion of 800th anniversary of the Establishment of Mongolian Statehood and it stage was surrounded by sharp and flat rocks in the west, north and east sides. International Music Festival ‘The Roaring Hooves’ was organized on the stage of the open air theatre in 2007. A beautiful monument dedicated to Mongolian state honored long song singer Norovbanzad.N stands in the mountain for the memory of the great singer. 35000 hectare km area of Ikh Gazriin Stone have been protected since 2003 as Natural Reserve according to decree number 30 by Mongolian State Khural and protected as strictly protected area since 2012.

The 2 mountains with granite stone massifs and taluses located in Mongolian granite stone zone, Dundgove province are Ikh and Baga Gazriin Stones. Ikh Gazriin Stone covers more than 20km long 

IKH GAZARIIN CHULUU

ABOUT CAMEL HERDER NOMADS<hr>Visiting camel herder’s family, explore their unique nomadic lifestyle which has not changed for centuries. Its chance to try drinking Hormog (fermented Mongolian camel milk) when visiting a herder family in their Ger. There is great opportunity to ride a Bactrian camel.&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:100%;"><img src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/kerege-travel.appspot.com/o/ckeditor%2Fcamel_herder.jpg?alt=media&amp;token=da088a0c-265f-41ee-ad6d-774997296437"></figure>COAXING RITUAL FOR BABY CAMELS HAS BEEN INSCRIBED IN THE UNESCO LIST OF HERITAGE<hr>The largest population of Bactrian camel lives in Gobi Desert of Mongolia. Herders in Mongolian Gobi region who face a problem when the female camel unexpectedly rejects her newborn colt after a particularly difficult birth. There is a tradition to coaxing ritual to encourage a female camel to accept a newborn or to adopt an orphan. The mother is tied close to the calf and a singer with traditional musical instrument “Morin huur” or “Horse fiddle” begins a monotone song accompanied by gestures and chanting.&nbsp;<figure class="image image-style-side"><img src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/kerege-travel.appspot.com/o/ckeditor%2Fcamel_herder_mongolia%20.jpg?alt=media&amp;token=5c809f9c-6532-4b30-b692-a62e116b7cf6"></figure>The coaxer changes the melody depending on the mother’s behavior, which may be initially aggressive, and slowly coaxes her into accepting the colt. Performance of the ritual takes place at dusk or twilight and requires great skill in handling camels, as well as talent for singing and musical skill on the horse head fiddle. Most herdswomen engage in techniques and methods of coaxing, but professional coaxers may be enlisted to undertake the ritual when a singer or musician is unavailable within the local community. The ritual acts as a symbolic medium for creating and maintaining social ties among individual nomadic families and their community. It is transmitted from parents and elders to youth through home tutoring. Today, motorcycles are preferred to camels as a means of transportation, and increasing migration to urban centers has diminished the number of young herders. The number of cultural bearers is therefore decreasing rapidly as new generations lose touch with their traditional ties to pastoral husbandry. The coaxing ritual for baby camels appeared on Story of Weeping Camel documentary film which was filmed by Luigi Falorni and Byambasuren Davaa and real nomad family was casted on it. After difficult birth of female camel, she reject her newborn white colt. Two boys of nomad family are sent to nearby town across desert to find musician who can perform coaxing ritual for baby camel. Their travel reach to the village and then return home with word that a musician is on the way. Coaxing ritual is performed in an effort to get the mother camel to accept her colt. Uniquely composed of equal parts reality, drama &nbsp;and magic, this film is a window into a different way of life and the universal terrain of the heart.&nbsp;

Visiting camel herder’s family, explore their unique nomadic lifestyle which has not changed for centuries. Its chance to try drinking Hormog (fermented Mongolian camel milk)

CAMEL HERDER NOMADS

ABOUT TSAGAAN SUVARGA<hr>Tsagaan suvarga, 90degree of straight, consists of many colors of clay deposits. This is 65 km south west of Ulziit sum, Dundgovi province. Tsagaan suvarga is big escarpment with 200m height and 400m long. In ancient time there was a big sea in a Khevtee and Bosoo valleys of Tsagaan Suvarga.<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:100%;"><img src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/kerege-travel.appspot.com/o/ckeditor%2FTsagaan_Suvarga.jpg?alt=media&amp;token=acc4e07c-4c3a-48d9-b802-f648d0de3f1a"></figure>

Tsagaan suvarga, 90degree of straight, consists of many colors of clay deposits. This is 65 km south west of Ulziit sum, Dundgovi province. Tsagaan suvarga is big escarpment with 200m height and 400m long. In ancient time there was a big sea in a Khevtee 

TSAGAAN SUVARGA

ABOUT BAGA GAZARIIN CHULUU<hr>It is located in Delgertsogt sum, Dundgovi province and surrounded by plain. &nbsp;Baga Gazriin Stone is 15 km long and 10 km wide granite stone-mountain elevated at 1768m above sea level. 30km away to the south east of Adaatsag soum center. &nbsp;Wild sheep, ibexes and mammals, rare rodents are seen here. Surtiin am is one of many beautiful and eye-catching places in Baga Gazriin Stone massif. This is a narrow canyon with different trees, asp, birch, white wicker and elm trees, as well as ruin of stone temple and site of two yurts where Buddhis monks lived and meditated since 17th century. Also you can see Bolort Cave, eye treatment spa, rock images, petroglyphs, burial mounds many other sightseeing. There is a ruin of Choir monastery which was established by “Zava” Damdin, a famous ancient historical, religious and scientific researcher. This monastery had a monastery with few monks translate, print, explain and advertise books from Tibetan languages and research religious philosophy and medical science.<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:100%;"><img src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/kerege-travel.appspot.com/o/ckeditor%2Fbaga_gazar.jpg?alt=media&amp;token=5d3da5c8-9e50-488a-a0e5-82282ffe636a"></figure>

It is located in Delgertsogt sum, Dundgovi province and surrounded by plain.  Baga Gazriin Stone is 15 km long and 10 km wide granite stone-mountain elevated at 1768m above sea level. 

BAGA GAZARIIN CHULUU

ABOUT ONGIIN KHIID OR ONGI MONASTERY<hr>This small mountainous area along the river, The Ongi River, in the western sum of Saikhan Ovoo, makes a good resting place to break a trip between the south Gobi and Arvaikheer. It is located in Saihan-Ovoo soum of Dundgovi province. Ongi was established in 1660 and composed of two temple complexes on the North and South banks of the Ongi river. At its peak, Ongi monastery grounds housed around 30 temples, 4 big Buddhism universities and over 1000 monks at a time. This monastery was one of the largest and most respected monasteries of Mongolia before its destruction by the communist authorities. During 1930s, communism spread out throughout Mongolia.<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:100%;"><img src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/kerege-travel.appspot.com/o/ckeditor%2Fongiin_khiid.jpg?alt=media&amp;token=54cc3830-cae9-42ca-858f-92f904e0f880"></figure>As part of their ideological campaign and rise to power, Communists arrested most monks. In 1939, the monastery was destroyed completely, over 200 monks were killed, and many surviving monks were imprisoned or forced to join the Communist controlled army. Other monks escaped and became ordinary people. In 1990, after the democratization in Mongolia, some monks returned to the monastery and began their Buddhist education as young children some 60 year prior. The water of the river was diverted to supply the local mines owned by the government. The river was dried up, which forced the local population to leave the place. The monastery then seemed to be about to sink into oblivion. Nevertheless, when the communist power fell in 1990, three monks who had begun their Buddhist education in Ongiin Khiid sixty years earlier, decided to go back there. Slowly and patiently, these monks built new foundations on the old ruins in order to restore Ongiin Khiid and to revive Buddhism in Mongolia. Today one temple has been completely rebuilt and two little museums have been set up inside some yurts. We can find a collection of objects, traditional religious items, and some architectural elements of the original monastery. Ongiin Khiid also houses a cold water source, Bar Khamba, reputed to be health-giving waters, notably for “intern” diseases, often bound to digestive apparatus. According to tradition, these waters are effective only if we drink them before the sun rises.

This small mountainous area along the river, The Ongi River, in the western sum of Saikhan Ovoo, makes a good resting place to break a trip between the south Gobi and Arvaikheer.

ONGIIN KHIID OR ONGI MONASTERY

ABOUT BAYANZAG CLIFF<hr>Precipitous banks, hillocks, and hardened clay soil, mostly unchanged since Cretaceous period, blaze brilliant shades of red and orange at sunset- hence the name Flaming cliffs as dubbed by American paleontologist Roy Chapman Andrews on his expeditions to the region in the 1920s. Then as now the fossilized remains of dinosaurs, who roamed our planet 230 million years ago, still litter the ground everywhere, alongside dry saxaul shrubs, which can spring to life in an instant after a burst of rain. Only in the Gobi, where the dry wind and sand sweep away any signs of current life, could such a large quantity of fossils survive millennia remarkably intact.<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:100%;"><img src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/kerege-travel.appspot.com/o/ckeditor%2Fdinosaurs_bone.jpg?alt=media&amp;token=eb1c5ac6-3de9-43bd-bdc5-208a656f3c53"></figure>The third Asian expedition to the Gobi that was headed by U.S scientist Roy Chapman Andrews first discovered fossil dinosaur eggs in Bayanzag. Their findings proved to the world that dinosaurs laid eggs. Giant dinosaurs and boundless sea was once existed in this vast Gobi Desert. The majority of Gobi Desert is flowery vast steppes beautiful crags, towering dunes, salt marshes, and saline and green saxaul thickets. The Naitonal Geographic Society’s “Adventure” magazine selected the Mongolian Gobi as one of the tourism destinations of the world.

Precipitous banks, hillocks, and hardened clay soil, mostly unchanged since Cretaceous period, blaze brilliant shades of red and orange at sunset- hence the name Flaming cliffs as dubbed by American paleontologist Roy Chapman Andrews on his expeditions to the region in the 1920s. 

BAYANZAG CLIFF

ABOUT YOL VALLEY<hr>Yol valley origininally established to conserve birdlife in the region. But it’s now more famous for its dramatic and very unusual scenery- its valley in the middle of the Gobi Desert with meters thick ice almost all year around. It’s one of the natural secret of Gobi Gurvan Saikhan National Park and beautiful deep canyon with many rocky cliffs, has been created by many years of water erosion. Yoliin Am is located in the mountains of Züün Saikhan. The bearded vulture, Yol in Mongolian, gave its name to the Yoliin Am Valley, the Gorge of Bearded Vultures. Located at a height of 2500 metres (8202,10 feet), Yol Canyon forms a gorge that is so deep and so narrow, that only two persons can pass in some places. The water forms four small waterfalls. Although the sun shines a lot in this region, the canyon remains dark, so that in the bottom, a part of the river remains nearly all year long covered by a thick layer of ice. Yol valley origininally established to conserve birdlife in the region. But it’s now more famous for its dramatic and very unusual scenery- its valley in the middle of the Gobi Desert with meters thick ice almost all year around. It’s one of the natural secret of Gobi Gurvan Saikhan National Park and beautiful deep canyon with many rocky cliffs, has been created by many years of water erosion. Yoliin Am is located in the mountains of Züün Saikhan. The bearded vulture, Yol in Mongolian, gave its name to the Yoliin Am Valley, the Gorge of Bearded Vultures. Located at a height of 2500 metres (8202,10 feet), Yol Canyon forms a gorge that is so deep and so narrow, that only two persons can pass in some places. The water forms four small waterfalls. Although the sun shines a lot in this region, the canyon remains dark, so that in the bottom, a part of the river remains nearly all year long covered by a thick layer of ice.<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:100%;"><img src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/kerege-travel.appspot.com/o/ckeditor%2Fyolin_am.jpg?alt=media&amp;token=ec7b198c-0b25-4f6b-9d61-0dfa35943acb"></figure>

Yol valley origininally established to conserve birdlife in the region. But it’s now more famous for its dramatic and very unusual scenery- its valley in the middle of the Gobi Desert with meters thick ice almost all year around.

YOL VALLEY

ABOUT KHONGOR SAND DUNES OR KHONGRYN ELS<hr>One of beautiful sand dune in the Gobi is the Khongor Sand Dunes that extend more than 180 km (112 miles) with majestic heights of 15-30 m along the northern side of Sevrei and Zuulun mountain ranges. The largest dunes are northwest of the range up to 800 metres high The Khongor Sand Dunes are some of the largest and most impressive white sand dunes in Mongolia. The dunes make sound like plane engine in a windy day so it has been named as Singing Dunes. From the top of the sand dunes, the view of the desert is awesome. The Khongoryn River flows along the sand dunes and gives birth to oases. The sand dune change the color with each hour of one day, from yellow to silver to rise colored at dawn / sundown. Picturesque Khongor Sand dunes against a sky of blue or a full moon, with perfectly contoured shadows of ripples and undulating crests, have always been a favorite subject of photographers. Depending upon one’s particular situation, sand dunes can be one of the most incredibly beautiful, thrilling, eerie, treacherous or just plain inhospitable places on earth.&nbsp;FEATURES<hr><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:100%;"><img src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/kerege-travel.appspot.com/o/ckeditor%2FKhongor_sand_dunes_mongolia.jpg?alt=media&amp;token=97851261-0584-4090-bbb7-0ca23de48979"></figure>Mongolia has three types of deserts, and some of it has enough grass for livestock to graze, but the Khongoryn Els, in the extreme south of the Gobi Desert, has a huge range of sand dunes – 6–12 kilometres (3.7–7.5 mi) wide, 100 kilometres (62 mi) long (180 kilometres (110 mi) is also mentioned) and rising to a height of 80 metres (260 ft) (a maximum height to the apex can be 300 metres (980 ft)). They are similar to the dunes of Egypt. The sands have attractive curves which end in a sharp edge, making wave like patterns on the sand. They continually change shape due to wind and reflect yellow-white colours as the intensity of light changes during the day. As the sand is moved due to winds or is in the process of collapse due to small avalanches, a strong sound is made giving it the name Singing Sands. A French team has explained this phenomenon as due to a thin surface coating of slate over the sand grains which causes the sand to make a resonant sound. The sound is also attributed to heat, the weather conditions in the desert and to the avalanche effect caused by the sand particles moving harmoniously. This sound is also compared to the sound made by an aircraft during take-off and landing stages. Its length and width vary. The largest of these dunes is found in the northwestern end of the range. The northern border of the dunes is skirted by a small river, the Khonggoryn Gol, where green pastures are noted. The river is sourced by subterranean flows from the mountains forming its valley. Grazing by camels and horses of the nomadic population of the area is noted. The wildlife recorded consist of Saker falcons, Pallas’s sandgrouse and Saxaul sparrow, Corsac fox or red fox.

One of beautiful sand dune in the Gobi is the Khongor Sand Dunes that extend more than 180 km (112 miles) with majestic heights of 15-30 m along the northern side of Sevrei and Zuulun mountain ranges.

KHONGOR SAND DUNES

ABOUT KHERMEN TSAV CANYON<hr>Going through the Khermen Tsav seem like travelling through ancient city ruins with many religious stupas and temples. This area was bottom of the ancient sea and now is wonderful geological exhibition. Khermen Tsav with special landscape is big escarpment and is located 120-130km northwest of Gurvan Tes sum centre, the escarpment is 12 to 15 km long and approximately 3 km wide, but it becomes more than 10km wide and and 100 to 120 km deep at the end. This kind of landscape is internationally called ‘Badland’ while Mongolians called it ‘Tsav’. Deposits in Khermen Tsav includes yellow, red and white lime stones look like marble and crystal. Those deposits are dated back to geological Cretaceous Age. One can see her some canyons look like mammoth, laying camel and crocodile. Deser eagles, lizards, some reptiles and insects are here. There are some small oases. Khermen Tsav is registered in UNESCO as a wonderful natural valuable. The American archaeologist Roy Chapman Andrews named this place “The end of the World”. Khermen Tsav is famous for its natural beauties, as well as for its bountiful underground fossils of dinosaurs. Besides it’s not unusual to find some in the place.<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:100%;"><img src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/kerege-travel.appspot.com/o/ckeditor%2FKhermen_Tsav_canyon_Tour_Mongolia.jpg?alt=media&amp;token=cd655796-83e7-4676-ad3c-3cd8511aada3"></figure>

Going through the Khermen Tsav seem like travelling through ancient city ruins with many religious stupas and temples. This area was bottom of the ancient sea and now is wonderful geological exhibition.

IKH GAZARIIN CHULUU

RELATED DESTINATIONS

CAMEL HERDER NOMADS

TSAGAAN SUVARGA

BAGA GAZARIIN CHULUU

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