If
you have time for only a short visit to Mongolia
and want to fit in the most important and well-known
sites, you must visit the historic valley of
Kharkhorin and the fabled Gobi Desert.
Your 370 km trip to Kharkhorin is made by jeep,
stopping several times along route to enjoy
places with varied and often spectacular scenery.
Kharkhorin was the site of Chinggis Khaan's
capital in the thirteenth century. After the
city was destroyed by invading Manchurians
a huge Buddhist monastery was built in the
valley. During the Stalinist era of the last
century many of the temples were destroyed,
but the monastery is again active and at present
has about 40 monks of all ages.
After
returning to Ulaanbaatar from the Gobi, You
can fly to the Gobi and there travel around
the desert by jeep to see the beautiful and
unusual places.
