Off the Beaten Track

Amarbayasgalant Khiid
After Erdene Zuu Khiid in Kharkhorin, Amarbayasgalant Khiid is considered the most important monastery in Mongolia. It's also one of the most beautiful. Situated in northern central Mongolia, Amarbayasgalant Khiid was originally built in 1737 by the Manchurian king Kansu, who dedicated it to the great Mongolian Buddhist and sculptor, Zanabazar. The communists found their way here in the 1930s and destroyed 10 of the 37 temples and statues. These days the temples are normally closed but you can ask the head monk to open them and you're welcome to watch the 30 resident monks conduct their daily ceremonies. A daily bus and frequent express trains link Ulaan Baatar and Darkhan, which is 219km (136mi) north-west of the capital. The monastery is 140km (87mi) south-east of Darkhan; you'll need a jeep to reach the monastery from Darkhan.

Gurvansaikhan National Park
Unlike other national parks in the Gobi Desert, the Gurvansaikhan contains notable attractions, and the facilities - ger camps and roads - are reasonably good. The park contains mountains, dinosaur fossils, extraordinary sand dunes, rock formations and a valley that has ice for most of the year. The park 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. A small permit fee is collected at the gate to the Yolyn Am valley, where there's also a small museum of stuffed animals. Many foreigners regard the Gobi as a remote, exotic and mystical place. While it is some of those things, it's mainly grass, shrubs and rocks: oases and sand cover only about 3% of the desert. It is, however, a land of extremes: decent rain falls only every 2 to 3 years, and it can be well over 40°C (105°F) during summer and below -40°C (-40°F) in winter; storms of dust and sand can be fearsome in spring. Gurvansaikhan is 340km (211mi) south-west of Ulaan Baatar, near the town of Dalanzadgad and not far from the Chinese border. Most travelers to the Gobi fly into Dalanzadgad and then rent a jeep. There's also a weekly bus between Ulaan Baatar and Dalanzadgad.

Khovd
Once a small farming community, and later a centre for Russian and Mongolian trading, Khovd city is now a major industrial centre and a good place from which to start exploring western Mongolia. At the northern end of the city are the rapidly disappearing Sangiin Kherem ruins, built in about 1762 by the Manchu warlords who once conquered, and brutally governed, Mongolia. The walled compound was completely abandoned after the 1911 Chinese Revolution overthrew the last emperor. The dry, rugged hills north of the ruins offer some great views and good hiking. Khovd is 1425km (884mi) west of Ulaan Baatar via a westward bus route that travels through Arvaikheer, Bayankhongor and Altai. There are regular flights from Ulaan Bataar to Khovd and, once there, you can rent jeeps for jaunts into the surrounding countryside.

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