Yolyn Am

Yoliin Am was originally established to conserve the birdlife in the region, but it's now more famous for its cliffs and very unusual scenery - it is a valley in the middle of the Gobi Desert, with metres-thick ice almost all year-round. The small nature museum at the gate on the main road to Yolyn Am has a collection of dinosaur eggs and bones, stuffed birds and a snow leopard. There is also an ethnography museum in a ger, which is worth a visit. Look out for the remarkable petrified wood lying by the roadside. The ranger office and museum sell some good souvenirs, including landscape paintings and, amaz-ingly, one of the best collections of Mongolian stamps in the country.

Khongoryn Els

Khongor dunes, ”Khongoriin Els”, are the most important sand mass of Gobi Gurvan Saïkhan National Park. Its area is more than 900 square kilometres (347,49 square miles). It’s one of the largest sandy areas of Mongolia. Suddenly standing out from the plains, they are undoubtedly among the most spectacular of the country. The wind continuously blows from North towards West and the dunes can reach breathtaking heights, between 100 and 300 metres (328,08 – 984,25 feet) at their highest points. Khongor dunes are more than 180 km long and can reach 27 kilometres (16,28 miles) wide. The inhabitants name their imposing dunes ”singing dunes” due to the noise made by the wind when it moves the sand. Beyond the dunes, the steppe extends as far as the eye can see.

Bayanzag Saxual Forest

Bayanzag red sand cliffs, today better known as “flaming cliffs” due to their colours ochre and red, are located about 100 km (62,14 miles) at the northwest of Dalanzadgad. Bayanzag means “rich in saxaul”. This thorny shrub measuring approximately two meters high proliferates in the surroundings and is a good source of food for camels.

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