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The Gobi Desert is truly a place of legend and
mystery. Not a barren wasteland, the Gobi offers
startlingly diverse landscapes, from grassy pastures
to rocky mountains, with dinosaur fossil beds,
extraordinary white sand dunes, seemingly lunar
landscapes, red sandstone formations and a valley
that has ice for most of the year.
Once the site of an ancient inland sea, the Gobi
is home to many unique natural formations, brimming
with flora and fauna found nowhere else in the
world. Large herds of gazelle roam the endless
steppe and may even wander in front of your vehicle.
Local herders, famous for their hospitality, welcome
you into their Gers. You will also have chance
to ride camels and the sturdy Mongolian horses,
go hiking or bird watching. You can explore the
dinosaur fossil beds. Don’t forget to bring your
film! Our journey will take you through Yoliin
Am, an exotic glacial canyon; Bayanzag- site of
some of the world’s important paleontological
discoveries; and we will visit Khongoriin Els,
the biggest sand dunes in Mongolia.
This deep and narrow valley, with its high rock
walls, supports a huge block of glacial sheet
ice even in the hottest summer months. Its breathtaking,
dramatic scenery makes it one of the most beautiful
places in Mongolia.
During the rainy summers, hundreds of small waterfalls
appear in the rocky walls. Situated in the Gobi’s
Gurvansaikhan National Park, Yoliin Am is home
to over 200 species of birds, including the Mongolian
Desert Finch, Cinerous Vulture, Desert Warbler
and Houbara Bustard. The sparse vegetation manages
to support black-tailed gazelle, snow leopard,
ibex, argali sheep and endangered species of wild
camel.
Bayanzag, also known as the "Cemetery of
Dinosaurs," is a picturesque saxaul forest
(Zag is a wood so dense that it sinks in water),
that is internationally famous for dinosaur remains.
It was here, on the trail of famous naturalist
Roy Chapman Andrews, where the first discoveries
of large dinosaur eggs were made. Archeological
finds of the Paleolithic era have been found here,
as well as a complete dinosaur skeletons, eggs,
and hatchlings.
Archeologists believe that the area also holds
many unearthed objects from the Stone Age. Every
stone looks like a dinosaur bone in this reddish
colored sand canyon, which is especially gorgeous
at sunset! This is a must for Gobi visitors.
Khongoriin Els- the largest sand dunes in Mongolia.
These sand dunes are 800 meters high, 20 km wide,
and 100 km long. Next to the sand dunes there
is an oasis where the Khongoriin river flows.
Locals call Khongoriin Els the “singing dunes”
because the tons of sand make a sound similar
to that of distant aircraft as they shift in the
wind.
The dramatic scenery features five different colors
of natural beauty at the same time: the white
sand dunes; the light green desert steppe; a crystal
clear river bordered by dark green grasses, the
reddish-blue bordering mountains; all under the
eternal blue sky.
Contact us at:
info@thisismongolia.com
