South Gobi, Umnogovi aimag. Umnogovi, Omnogovi, Mongolia, Gobi Desert, dunes, Dalanzadgad. Gurvansaikhan Natural Park. Bayanzag. Khongoryn Els.
THE REGIONS OF MONGOLIA<
UMNUGOBI AIMAG
DALANZADGAD
Umnugobi province in southern Mongolia is one of Mongolia’s largest provinces, with a population density of only 0.3 people per sq km. The few people who live here
are of the Khaikh ethnic group. It's not hard to see why humans prefer to live elsewhere. With an average annual precipitation of only 130mm a year, and summer
temperatures reaching an average of up to 38°C, this is the driest, hottest and harshest region in the country.
Dalanzadgad. Dalanzadgad (Mongolian: Äàëàíçàäãàä) is the capital of Ömnögovi Aimag in Mongolia. It is located 540 kilometers (340 mi) south of
the national capital Ulaanbaatar. The altitude of the city center is 1,470 meters (4,823 feet).
Population 12,500. Elevation 1465m. The capital of Omnogov aimag, Dalan-zadgad is a soulless and windy town. Sit-ting in the shadow of the Gurvansaikhan Nuruu range,
the town has reasonable facilities and regular transport, so it's a good base for explorations into the desert. Be-sides the museum - which is not as good as the
one at Yolyn Am - there is little to see or do.
There are several hotels in Dalanzadgad, including the Tuvshin, Devshil and Gobi. Restaurants include the Mazaalay and Gobi, as well as those located in hotels.
Attractions of the city of Dalanzadgad and the surrounding area
- South Gobi Museum. Surprisingly, this museum has little on dinosaurs - just a leg, an arm and a few eggs. (All of the best exhibits are in Ulaanbaator, or in any of a number of museums around the world.) There are a few nice paintings, a huge stuffed vulture, and a display of scroll paintings and other Buddhist items, which presumably makes up for the fact that this is the only aimag capital with-out a functioning monastery or temple.
- Bayanzag.
Bayanzag, 120km northwest of Dalanzadgad, earned its place in history as the
first spot dinosaur remains were found in Asia by US paleontologists in 1921. It
is called Bayanzag because it is rich in saxual trees (haloxylon ammodendron).
Skeletons of protoceratops and tarbosaurus have been found here. With its huge
red cliffs, Bayanzag is a beautiful place with unusual land formations. The
Americans dubbed these cliffs the “Flaming Cliffs” in 1921. Because it is such a
big tourist attraction, there are plenty of souvenirs for sale here. You can
also hire camels to ride.
- Gurvansaikhan Natural Park. Stretching from the border with Bayan-khongor almost to Dalanzadgad, the 2.7 million hectare Gurvansaikhan National Park is the highlight of the aimag, and the overwhelming reason why any tourist comes here. Unlike other national parks in the Gobi, the Gurvansaikhan does contain a few attractions, and its facilities - ger camps and roads - are reasonably good.
Gurvansaikhan, which means the 'three beauties' and refers to its three ridges (though there are four), contains mountains, dinosaur fossils, sand dunes, rock forma-tions and a valley which, incredibly, has ice for most of the year.
The park also contains over 200 species of birds, including the Mongolian desert finch, cinereous vulture, desert warbler and houbara bustard. Spring brings further waves of migratory birds.
The park also has maybe 600 or more types of plants (a lot of which only bloom after very infrequent heavy rain). The sparse vegetation does manage to support numerous types of animals, such as the black-tailed gazelle, Kozlov's pygmy jer-boa and wild ass, and endangered species of wild camel, snow leopard, ibex and argali sheep. In 2000, the park was expanded by over half a million hectares, stretching into Bayankhongor aimag.
- Yolyn Am. Yolyn Am (Vulture's Mouth) was originally established to conserve the birdlife in the region, but it's now more famous for its dra-matic 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.
From the museum, the road continues for another 10km to a car park. From there, a pleasant 25-minute walk, following the stream, leads to a gorge full of ice. In winter, the ice is up to 10m high, and continues down the gorge for another 10km. It remains frozen for most of the year, except lor about a month starting in late August.
You can walk on the ice - but be careful, especially in late summer.
The surrounding hills offer plenty of opportunities for some fine, if somewhat strenuous, day hikes. If you are lucky you might spot ibex or argali sheep along the steep valley ridges.
- Khongoryn Els (Khongor sand dunes). The Khongoryn Els are some of the
largest and most spectacular sand dunes in Mongolia.
There is an exotic sand dune called Khongor in the territory of Sevrei soum of
Sout govi province. This sand dune stretches in 130 kilometer area of the
province. The width of the sand dune is 3-5 kilometers and gets to 20 kilometers
in some parts. The height of the Khongor sand dune is approximately 80 meters.
The highest point of it reaches 195 meters above ground level. The dune is also
referred to "Voicy mankhan" by locals as it generates sound similar to that of
airplanes. Travelers coming up here run down the sand dune and as they stop
suddenly they would hear plane like sound. The locals advise that the travelers
should walk barefeet on the hot sand which is extremely good for health. If you
do not want to walk you may choose to go by camel, just behind the sand dune
there is a river called Khongor as well and it runs over 10 kilometers long.
Khongor river has gorgeously gfeen grass. It flows into Adag nuur. Green grass
covering land behind yellow sand under blue sky. Perfect harmony in nature.
- Moltsog Els. These sand dunes are smaller than those at Khongoryn Els,
however it is a popular spot for tourists who cannot go to Khongoryn Els. The
area is also worth seeing for its saxual forest with its thick and uniquely
shaped wood.
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