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Lots of horses and blue sky.

TOP ATTRACTIONS OF EASTERN MONGOLIAN  

The Birthplace of Great Chinggis Khan (Genghis Khan), who ruled the world in the XIII century, an untouched, unexplored, and mysterious travel destination of Eastern Mongolia. 
The land of well-respected high mountains, taiga forests, wide-open steppe grassland, rivers, lakes, and all other places are written in the XIII century's world history. 
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Chinggis Khan is the most outstanding leader in human history. None of the empires reached the Great Mongolian Empire, which established and ruled the world. The most inspirational way of traveling in Eastern Mongolia is exploring the historical routes of Chinggis Khan. The Birthplace of Great Chinggis Khan (Genghis Khan), who ruled the world in the XIII century, an untouched, unexplored, and mysterious travel destination of Eastern Mongolia. 
The land of well-respected high mountains, taiga forests, wide-open steppe grassland, rivers, lakes, and all other places are written in the XIII century's world history. 
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Chinggis Khan is the most outstanding leader in human history. None of the empires reached the Great Mongolian Empire, which established and ruled the world. The most inspirational way of traveling in Eastern Mongolia is exploring the historical routes of Chinggis Khan.

MENEN STEPPE

A lady is standing in under the blue sky.

Menen steppe, the most significant and evenest steppe in Mongolia, is 90 km long and 60 km wide. It's located 805 km to the East of Ulaanbaatar and 150 km to the southeast of Choibalsan town in Dornod Province. The steppe is surrounded by the Khalkh River, the Khayngan Range, and the Dariganga Steppe, with ancient dormant volcanoes. The steppe shows a landscape with mat grasses and is home to antelopes. 70% percent of the total Mongolian antelopes are here. According to previous research, the total number of antelopes in Mongolia is 1.2 million. Hilly steppe and even steppe landscapes without any mountains dominate in this area. Pikas, hedgehogs, hares, wolves, foxes, musk, deer, badgers, and antelopes are found here. The steppe is divided into two parts: the northern steppe of Kherlen River and the steppe of Tamsag. 

1. The north steppe of the Kherlen River covers an area from the mentioned river to Mongolia's north border. The steppe has generally surfaced with small low ridges, highlands, and low dips with salty lakes. The absolute altitude of the steppe varies between 560-1200 m. The lowest point is 560 m in Mongolian territory, and mat grasses cover it.

2. The steppe of Tamsag is from Choibalsan town to the Khalkh River and Khyangan range, or in the south of the Kherlen River. The steppe is very even; highlands and low dips are rarely found here. The absolute altitude is 600-800 m. For fauna, mat-grasses, wormwoods, and couch grass dominate here. A protected area in Eastern Mongolia was established in 1992 to protect the mat grass ecosystem and antelopes. The secure site includes Erdenetsagan sum of Sukhbaatar province and Matad and Khalkh gol sums of Dornod Province.

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BUIR NUUR - BUIR LAKE

Buir Lake is the biggest lake on the Mongolian steppe and belongs to the East Mongolian Strictly Protected Area's surrounding zone. It is a tectonic lake but belongs to steppe lakes for shore type—65 km west of Khalkh Gol soum center. The longest is 40 km from northeast to southwest, and the widest is 40 km. 
The shoreline is 118 km long and is considered Mongolia's fifth biggest lake with a 6 m average depth. The Khalkh Gol River and the Buir Lake's junction area are excellent because they have many swamps, reeds, and wicker groves where many migratory birds gather to nest and lay eggs. 
The Khalkha Gol River mainly feeds the Buir Lake, but the Orshuun River begins here and flows into Dalai Lake. Buir Lake freezes in November with a 1-1.5m thickness. 
The lake has fresh water and is home to many species of fish. There are 34 species of fish of 6 classifications; 12 are essential for hunting, namely taimen, ide, lenok, rockfish, crucian, pike, silurus, and false asp. Besides, 236 species have been found around Buir Lake, and many birds are registered in Mongolian and international RED Books. This lake was attached to the Ramsar Convention in 2004 because it is home to over 20.000 birds.

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Buir lake and the sunset

KHAR ZURKHNII KHUKH NUUR - BLUE LAKE OF THE BLACK HEART

Lake of heart shape.

This lake is situated near Tsenkher River, 35km north of the main road in the eastern region and northwest of Tsenkher Mandal Sum, Khentii Aimag. A freshly watered Lake Khukh, consisting of 2 lakes linked underground, is located south of Mount Kharzurkh, 1675m above sea level. A lake area is a place of natural beauty surrounded by a mountain and abundant in various animal and vegetation species. 

In this place, Temuujin was crowned as a king of Mongolian united tribes and titled “Chinggis Khan,” which means great Oceanic king in 1189. In the Secret History of Mongols, a chronicle book of Chinggis Khan’s life, place names such as Lake Khukh, Mount Kharzurkh, and Sengur Gorkhi were mentioned. On the bank of the lake, there is a monument dedicated to the 840th year of Chinggis Khan's birth anniversary. In a crescent-shaped area surrounding the memorial with a diameter of 108m, woodcrafts of 36 royal or golden lineage kings were placed.

In the central part of this establishment, the woodcrafts of Genghis Khan, his father Esukhei, his mother Oulen, and his queen Borte Ujin were posed. Boards with deeds’ inscriptions of a particular king and specific events of that period in English and Mongolian are in front of the kings’ woodcrafts. This memorial complex consists of 50 woodcrafts, including nine marshals of Genghis Khan, placed on two sides of the main gate.

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KHALKHIIN GOL - KHALKH RIVER

Located in the southeast, this area was the site 1939 of a fierce battle between Japanese, Mongol, and Soviet troops' joint forces. The Japanese, already in control of Manchuria (which they called Manchuguo), planned to invade Mongolia and set up a puppet state there. The Soviets, threatened by Japanese imperialism in the East, quickly reacted and bulked up their forces along the front lines. Hundreds of tanks, canons, airplanes, and thousands of troops faced one another across the Khalkha River. 
Although border skirmishes had been ongoing since 1935, the first serious battle occurred in May 1939. The Japanese were pushed back but launched a massive ground force in July. Three wars left 18100 Japanese dead and over 48000 wounded. As for the Soviets' losses equaled 8900 dead and nearly 16000 wounded, the eighth Mongolian cavalry division played a minor role in the fighting; it lost 237 men. Diplomats representing the USSR and Japan met several times after the battle. Finally, in October 1941, all sides signed a document to determine the extent of Mongolian borders.

The Japanese, now seeing the determination of the Soviets in Mongolia (and therefore Siberia), turned towards Southeast Asia. However, the situation remained tense, and huge numbers of Soviet border guards were strung across the frontier. The Khalkha River flows through the Sumber Sum. The main town, Tsagaannuur, is 375 kilometers southeast of Choibalsan. The museum here explains in detail the battle of Khalkhiin Gol. A sizeable Japanese cemetery attracts many visitors from that country every year.

Amazing tall iron statue.

BALDAN BEREEVEN MONASTERY

Baldan Bereeven Monastery in Mongolia

Baldan Bereeven Monastery is a Gelugpa "Yellow hat" Buddhist monastery located in Baruun Jargalt river valley, Khentii Province in Mongolia, first established in 1654. The monastery grew to be one of the largest and most significant in Mongolia at its height in the mid-19th century, housing up to 8000 monks.

Unfortunately, The monastery and temple complex were destroyed by Mongolian's communist regime in 1937. Many of the remaining monks were forcibly removed, shot, and buried in mass graves, while others were forcibly laicized and sent to labor camps. Younger monks were returned to their families. The monastery’s precious relics were melted down and delivered to the Soviet Union for use during World War II.

Baldan Bereeven remained off-limits for nearly six decades. Following the democratic revolution in 1990, a handful of older monks were removed from Baldan Bereevan as young boys in the 1930s returned to the monastery. Restoration efforts for several of the main temples of the monasteries began in 1999. In 2012, Baldan Bereeven Monastery and the surrounding area were placed on the tentative list to be nominated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

IKH NART NATURE RESERVE

Ikh Nart Nature Reserve Situated about 300 km south-southeast of Ulaanbaatar, the most common way to access Ikh Nart is by car while some people reach Shivee Gobi station on the train. Then arrange a vehicle to drive to Ikh Nart 50 km one-way and 100 km in a return way. Ikh Nart is home to 33 species of mammals, 6 species of reptiles, 125 species of birds, and over 200 species of plants.
Established in 1996, Ikh Nart Nature Reserve covers an area of about 66,000 hectares of grassland, semi-desert steppe, and granite stone zones where projects to protect Argali wild sheep, Siberian Ibex, and Cinereous Vultures are being implemented.

As Argali is an original project, many visitors visit the nature reserve to observe the wild sheep in their natural habitat and enjoy the calmness of the Gobi desert. Eco-friendly ger camp or camping are the options to stay in the nature reserve.

wild goats are siting on the rock

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