Eagle hunter man with his eagle sitting on the ground

TOP DESTINATIONS OF WESTERN MONGOLIA

Western Mongolia is famous for several ethnic groups, including Mongolians and Kazakhs. Nature is more beautiful and pristine, and the people are more hospitable and generous. There is an impressive Altai Tavan Bogd mountain range here. Kazakhs are the leading ethnic group, with a colorful culture and rich history. Since the Lower Paleolithic period, or 300 thousand years ago, human ancestors have settled in the Altai region, containing precious records of petroglyphs and graveyards. Eco-friendly tours

Glamorous fresh-water lakes are the primary fascination of the area. Golden Eagle Festival is a "must-see." It is an exclusive hunting tradition with Eagles that has endured for 2000 years and remains strong among the Kazakhs. Initially, Kazakhs were descendants of the Hereid tribes and settled in Bayan Ulgii aimag in 1940 after hundreds of years of travel. Eco-friendly tours

ALTAI TAVAN BODG NATIONAL PARK eco-friendly tours

Altai Tavan bogd national park and snow-capped mountains

Located at the westernmost point of Mongolia, this park on the border of Russia and China views Kazakhstan from the highest peak of the Tavan Bogd Mountains (“Five Sacred” in Mongolian). At the northwest end of this 630,000-hectare park, the Tavan Bogd Mountains contain the five highest peaks in Mongolia, with the highest, Khuiten Uul (“Cold Peak”), at 4374 m (14,201 ft). The mountains are considered sacred to local Tuva and Kazakhs. Eco-friendly tours
The park contains the full spectrum of archeological sites in Bayan-Ulgii, including petroglyphs, standing stones, burial mounds, and Kazakh cemeteries. This most significant concentration of petroglyphs, with over 10,000, is at the Tsagaan Sala site, which is situated along a 15km river valley. Another famous park region is the Lakes Region, renowned for its natural beauty. The Altai Tavan Bogd National Park is the most visited in western Mongolia and offers a variety of activities. Eco-friendly tours

Mountain climbing is best during late summer when the weather is warmest. Four of the peaks require mountaineering equipment and experienced climbers, though the shortest, Malchin orgil (“Herder Peak”) at 4025 M, can be hiked by novices. Near the mountains, it is possible to hike to Pontuninii Glacier. Hiking, fishing, mountain biking, horse and camel riding, and whitewater rafting are popular in summer and autumn, with tour packages available for several days or weeks. Eco-friendly tours

The best hiking area is around the lakes and the Tavan Bogd Base Camp, at an elevation of 3092 m. Fishing is permitted in the park from the middle of June to April. Everything except mountain climbing and rafting is available through the winter. Eco-friendly tours

KHAR US LAKE eco-friendly tours

Khar Us Nuur (Dark Water Lake) is Mongolia's second-largest freshwater lake (15,800 sq km), with an average depth of only 4m. Khovd Gol flows into this lake, creating a giant marsh delta. The lake is about 40km east of Khovd city. Eco-friendly tours
Khar Us Nuur is the perfect habitat for wild ducks, geese, wood grouse, partridges, and seagulls, including rare relict gulls and herring gulls by late summer, a billion or two of everyone’s friend, the common mosquito.

The outflow from Khar Us Nuur goes into a short river called Chono Khairkhan, which flows into another freshwater lake, Khar Nuur (Black Lake), home to some migratory pelicans. Eco-friendly tours

The southern end of Khar Nuur flows into Durgun Nuur, a large alkaline lake suitable for swimming. The eastern side of Durgun Nuur is a bone-dry desert with extensive sand dunes. Eco-friendly tours

KHYRGAS LAKE

The Khyargas Lake is one of the four lakes covering over 1000 square kilometers. Khyargas Lake is elevated at 1023 m above sea level, in the south of Uvs province, descending from tectonics, covering 1406.8 km2, 75 km in length, 31 km in width, 253.8 km in length along the shore, 92 m in depth of water near the yellow berry line, and in other places about 40-50 m depth. Eco-friendly tours

Khan Khukhii Mountain, lying behind Khyargas Lake, is damaged by rainwater. Thus, there are many creeks and chutes. And the south side of Khyargas Lake looks so beautiful that it seems to be made of white marble rocks. Eco-friendly tours
Khyargas Lake has many kinds of fish: pikes, Altai herrings, Nokhoi herrings, and migratory birds, which are rare, gather mainly in the lake surrounded by mountains; thus, it is a gorgeous, unique native land. Eco-friendly tours

GURVAN TSENKHERIIN CAVE

Gurvan Tsenkher cave is located in Mankhan County, Khovd Province. Related to the upper Paleolithic period, the rock art in Khoit Tsenkher Cave includes symbols and animal forms painted from the walls up to the ceiling.

In one of the cave's corners, measuring 2.5 m high and 1.5-2.0 m deep, numerous symbols and animals were painted, overlapping each other on the top and wall. A quiet, standing stag was clearly portrayed among the animals. Also, a standing buffalo with Horus looking ahead was represented separately.

Therefore, many animals, including foxes, ibexes, elephants, and ostriches, were pictured overlapping each other. On its wall, in a hollow cave measuring 10 m long and 8 m wide, a camel with two humps was portrayed.

Also, many symbols and trees were painted at a 2.0-2.5 m height, close to the wall where the camel was depicted. Lions, elephants, argali sheep, ibexes, ostriches, antelopes, and camels, as well as symbols, were painted on the walls deep inside the cave with rosy and brown mineral-based paints. Eco-friendly tours

By depicting different kinds of animals, their colors, and views, the Khoit Tsenkher cave rock paintings show their original artistic, cultural, and historical features, which differ from those of other rock paintings in Mongolia and neighboring countries.

Some particular parts of the animals, such as their horns, necks, and humps, are depicted with an exaggerated hyper-realism typical of the Paleolithic period. In the Cultural category, this site was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List on August 1, 1996. Eco-friendly tours

TSAMBAGARAV NATIONAL PARK eco-friendly tours

Tsambagarav Mountain National Park is situated along the border of Khovd Province. This park has many snow-capped mountains and glaciers. It houses many endangered animals. On the southern slope, there are small patches of larch and coniferous trees. Eco-friendly tours

This park is filled with beautiful valleys and gorges, making it a spectacular destination. The wildlife is diverse here. One can see many Turkic stone men and petroglyphs. This park offers various recreational activities, including camel trekking, sunbathing, canoeing, swimming, mountain climbing, and horse riding. Eco-friendly tours

This park covers an area of 110 hectares. The park's highest point is 4208 m above sea level. Ulaanbaatar, the capital city of Mongolia, is about 1630 km from this park. Khovd city is around 130 km from Tsambagarav Mountain National Park. Jeeps and other vehicles are readily available to reach the park. Eco-friendly tours

UUREG LAKE Eco-friendly tours

Uureg Lake has breathtaking surroundings. The salty water lake is in a superb panorama, surrounded by Altai's high summits.

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Fishing and hiking opportunities are overwhelming here, and rock paintings representing animals can be seen in the gorge of the Tsagaan River. The local herders of this area are called the Durvud ethnic group. Eco-friendly tours

ACHIT LAKE Eco-friendly tours

Achit Lake is one of the largest lakes in Mongolia, covering 311 square kilometers. The length of the lake is 30 km, and the width is 16km. It is between Kharkhiraa Uul and Turgen Uul, at 1,464 meters above sea level.

Achit Lake is irrigated from 10500 sq. ft. km² and is fed by the Altangadas and Bukh Murun rivers, which flow into the Khovd River. Eco-friendly tours
The state has protected the island of Devel in the Usan Khooloi River.

MUNKH KHAIRKHAN MOUNTAIN

Munkh Khairkhan Mountain is situated in the Munkh Khairkhan soum of Khovd province, which is located 1458km west of Ulaanbaatar. It is the second-highest peak in Mongolia, standing at 4362m above sea level, and was designated as a state-protected area in 2006 to safeguard endangered species such as Snow Leopards, Ibex, and Wild Mountain sheep, as well as valuable ancient cultural sites. Eco-friendly tours

Munkh Khairkhan Mountain also serves as a natural boundary between Hovd and Bayan Olgii provinces, and crossing over the mountain range will bring you in contact with different people, cultures, and so much more.

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BAGA OIGOR PETROGLYPH

The Tsagaan Salaa River flows into the Baga Oigor in the far western region of Bayan Olgii aimag, in the Mongolian Altai Mountains. The "Altai" project, a joint effort between Mongolian, American, and Russian researchers, began in 1994 and revealed that the lower Tsagaan Salaa and upper Baga Oigor are home to one of the largest rock art complexes in North and Central Asia. Eco-friendly tours

The region is also the richest in terms of the chronological age, quantity, and quality of imagery. The rock art depicts various animal species, hunting scenes, and aspects of human life in the area. We can see humans riding and leading animals, as well as loaded caravans, and schematic drawings of what are believed to be enclosures. Eco-friendly tours

Some of the imagery seems to have had religious or ritual significance, such as bell-shaped anthropomorphic figures and birthing scenes, which are arguably among the earliest images. A great deal of the imagery may also be connected with human and animal reproduction. Although precise dating is impossible, plausible hypotheses correlate specific themes with different periods, reflecting changes in climate and patterns of human activity. Eco-friendly tours

TSAGAAN SALAA ROCK PAINTINGS

Tsagaan River Petroglyphs are located in Naran soum of Gobi-Altai province, along the left side of the Tsagaan River. Tsagaan River Petroglyphs, or Tsagaan Salaa Rock Paintings, are protected by UNESCO because they are part of Mongol-Altaic petroglyphs that were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage in 2011.

The rock formation that exhibits the petroglyphs covers about 15 square km along the Tsagaan River inside Altai Tavan Bogd National Park. Eco-friendly tours

There are about 10,000 rock paintings that you can examine with your own eyes. Those invaluable historical evidences date back to the Neolithic and Bronze Age period, and they mainly depict hunters and herders doing their chores. Eco-friendly tours

The petroglyphs are a fundamental subject matter for various reasons, not only because they are numerous but also because the depictions show intricate details of the everyday life of prehistoric people. The main information we can collect here is the transition from hunter-gatherers to agricultural societies, which primarily involved domesticating and breeding animals rather than cultivating plants.

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TELMEN LAKE

Telmen Lake is a saltwater lake located in Telmen soum of Zavkhan province. It is 28km long, 16km wide, with a surface area of 194 square km and a maximum depth of 27m. There are three islands in Telmen Lake, which host migratory birds. Eco-friendly tours

The lake has only one tributary, the Khooloi River, and is mainly fed by rain and groundwater. The area around Telmen Lake is barren, with no trees, and is a mix of steppe and Gobi desert. The temperature ranges from -32°C in winter to 12°C in summer.

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TOLBO LAKE Eco-friendly tours

Located 45 kilometers south of Ulgii, it stretches from southeast to northwest. The lake depression is of tectonic origin, the reservoir's source is glacial, and it is one of Mongolia's largest lakes. Tolbo soum is located at the southern end of the lake. It covers an area of 185 square kilometers, the longest is 21.5 kilometers, the widest is 6 kilometers, and it is 2,080 meters above sea level. Eco-friendly tours

There are several small islands. The largest is Gichgenii Tolgoi, which is only 4 meters above sea level. It is irrigated by about 10 rivers flowing from the surrounding mountains, and the excess water is discharged through the Turgen River into the Umnu River, a western tributary of the Khovd River. Eco-friendly tours

The story near the lake: Eco-friendly tours

There is a story known as the Battle of Tolbo Lake, which is related to the events of the 1921 People's Revolution. Eco-friendly tours

It is a historic event in which 160 Mongol-Soviet troops, led by Khasbaatar and Baikalov, fought on the shores of Lake Tolbo against about 2,400 White Russian troops, led by Baron Ungern's Kaigaradov and Bakich. In this unbalanced battle, the Mongol-Soviet soldiers swore an oath of allegiance, stayed together for 42 days, and finally decided to break the siege, which they succeeded in doing. Thus, a plaque has been erected in their memory and is placed atop a hill along the main road. There is also a monument to Khasbaatar and Baikalov 1 km behind the Tolbo soum center.

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