Wilderness Adventure

Amarbayasgalant Monastery is the place of a bright spirits, religious intelligence and admiration of local architectures. Officially, Amarbayasgalant monastery was the retreat place of the “Dalai Lamas” of the Mongols, the Bogd Khaan Javtsundamba. It is located on the Iven River valley of Burenkhan Mountain in Selenge province. The monastery was established by an order of Manju Emperor Enkh-Amgalan to cherish and give a respect to Mongol’s first Bogd Khaan Undur Gegeen Zanabazar. Its stunning architecture is traditional with Tibetan style of temple building, curved roofs, mystical gargoyles, mandarin inscriptions and imperial colors. 3730 kg of silver from the state were used to build a magnificently styled place for Buddha practicing. The monastery was being restored by UNESCO from 1975 until it reopened in 1990.      

Day 1.Ulaanbaatar. Arrival in Ulaanbaatar and transfer to hotel in the city centre. After lunch, we will start the city tour including Gandan Monastery, Chinggis Khaan square and surroundings including Parliament House, National Opera Theatre, Cultural Palace and House of City Council. Then we will drive to Zaisan Hill, which provides wide view of the Ulaanbaatar then we will visit Museum of National history with an excellent exhibitions such as Stone and Bronze Age, Turkic and Mongol Empire, rise of Buddhism and communist regime. Overnight and relax in the hotel.

Day 2. Amarbayasgalant monastery. 380km In the morning we will drive to the Amarbayasgalant Monastery via Darkhan town, the second largest town of Mongolia and will have lunch. Amarbayasgalant is the Monastery of Tranquil Felicity, once one of the three largest Buddhist centers in Mongolia, is located near the Selenge River. It was built between 1727 and 1736 by Zanabazar, the first Bogd Khaan Undur Gegeen Zanabazar, a religious and cultural; leader. Unlike other monasteries Amarbayasgalant shows great class of style. The overall design is Chinese despite some Mongolian and Tibetan influence. Amarbayasgalant monastery is a 2 storey building that covers an area of 87 hectares. In the early 1900s, the 8000 monks were practiced Buddhist philosophy, astrology and medicine. Overnight in the ger camp.

Day 3. Ugii lake. 400km After breakfast we will drive to Ugii Lake, that is located at the edge of Bulgan province. This lake has 27km sq with average depth 7m. Delicate sand, whetstone coast and soft wave offer fantastic opportunity for bird watching, boating, kayaking, swimming, fishing and sunbathing. There are 150 species of rare migrated birds and 14 species of fish belonged to North Atlantic Ocean. Overnight in the ger camp near the lake.

Day 4. Kharkhorin. 200km After breakfast, we will drive to Kharkhorin via Turkish monument at Khushuu Tsaidam, which are made up of four memorial complexes including those erected in honor of Bilge Khan, a famous leader of Turkic Empire (d.734) and Kul Tegin, a general of Turkish army (d. 731). These memorials are the most important known archeological remains of the Turkic Empire which extende across Central Asia in the 6-8 centuries AD. In the afternoon, we will visit Kharkhorin; an ancient Capital of Great Mongolian Empire and Erdenezuu Monastery. Kharkhorin was established in the valley of Orkhon river in 1220. Kharkhorin played significant role in Mongolian history and was a capital city of Mongolian Great Empire until Khubilai Khaan, a grandson of Chinggis Khaan moved the capital to Beijing of Yuan Dynasty. Erdenezuu Monastery – the first Buddhist monastery was founded by Avtai Sain Khaan, descendant of Chinggis Khaan, on the ruins of Kharkhorin in 1586. The monastery is surrounded by beautiful looking white walls with 108 stupas. Overnight at the ger camp.

Day 5. Ruins of Ongi Monastery via Shankh. 350km In the morning, we will drive to Shankh monastery, once known as the West Monastery, is the only one of the region's monasteries other than Erdene Zuu to have survived. Shankh was renowned because of its connections with the great Zanabazar and is said to have once housed Chinggis Khaan's black military banner. At one time the monastery housed over 1500 monks. We will continue to the Ruins of Ongi Monastery, which was founded in 1660 and consisted of two temple complexes on the north and south banks of the Ongi River. The older southern complex consisted of various administrative buildings as well as 11 temples. The northern complex built in the 18^th century, consisted of 17 temples-among them one of the largest temples in all Mongolia. Overnight at the camp.

Day 6. Khongor sand dunes via Bayanzag. 300km After breakfast at the camp, we will drive to Bayanzag, a famous Flaming Cliffs named after by Roy Andrews Chapman, a modern day Indiana Jones. He was an American explorer who visited Mongolia in 1920s. The striking red Bayanzag cliffs have dinosaur fossils, eggs and bones all over the place and neighbored by bushy Saxual tree forests. We will have lunch at Bayanzag. In the afternoon, we will drive to the Khongor sand dunes in the afternoon. Khongoriin Els dunes stretch for 180 kms, as wide as 7-20km. The dunes lie on the northern part of Servei and Zuulun mountain. The sound of masses of wind-blown sand can be heard from the long distance. Overnight at the camp.

Day 7. Yoll valley. 180km After breakfast at the camp, we will drive to the direction of Gobi Gurvan Saikhan National Park in the South Gobi province. We will visit Yoll valley, is the narrow canyon of a river that flows through the Zuun Saikhan Mountain. The rock walls stand 200m and the canyon has green meadows with thick glacier layer that is deeply set between the walls. We will hike or ride a horse to the canyon from the parking for 3-4km. Overnight at the camp on the mountain.

Day 8. Tsagaan Suvarga rock formation. 240km The rocky formations of Tsagaan Suvarga, ”white stupa”, are located in the southeast of the Ulziit sum, on the southern border of the province of Dundgobi. These rocky formations eroded by the wind look like a ruined city when observes from a certain distance of 85km. The rock formations are about 60m high and 400m long. Overnight at the camp.

Day 9. Baga gazriin chuluu. 260km After breakfast, we will drive to Baga Gazariin Chuluu is 1751m high granite stone mountains in the territory of Adaatsag soum, Dundgobi province, is another place with unique scenery that many tourists compare with lunar scenes. The mountain contains remains of old temples. They are not only rich in minerals, crystals but also eyes spring, old stone temple ruins related with 17th century. Overnight at the camp.

Day 10. Ulaanbaatar. 280km After breakfast, we will drive to Ulaanbaatar and arrive in Ulaanbaatar in the afternoon. We will visit cashmere outlet factory and state department store for souvenir shopping. Traditional folklore performance in the evening. Overnight and relax in the hotel.

Day 11. Departure. We will end our memorable tour by transferring to the “Chinggis Khaan” International Airport with team of Blue Gobi Tours.