Gobi newsletter

Gobi yond!

The Gobi is an almost mythical place! Yet unlike the Sahara or the Kalahari, many people have no clear idea where exactly it is located and what it looks like.

The “post-card Gobi” of majestic sand dunes frequently pictured in guidebooks and on tour companies’ websites actually makes up only a small percentage of this vast area. While sand dunes are few, on a guided trip you will find them even as close as 140km south of Ulaanbaatar.  There is a host of different landscapes and disctinct ecoregions with subtle changes of hues, interspersed with steep mountain ranges and bizarre rock formations. In our first newsletter we share with you, our favourite parts of the Gobi.

There is not one Gobi – There are many Gobis!

In the Mongolian language the term Gobi (говь / gov’) is a general term denoting dry desert or desert-steppe landscapes, with little vegetation or surface water. Such areas make up around a third of the territory of present-day Mongolia.

Taking the degree of aridity as the main criterion, the Gobi area actually expands and shrinks each year depending on the amount of precipitation available. In some years you may drive across the Southern Mongolian Gobi provinces and see lush grasses and flowers all around. In years with little rain there are barren plains as far as the eye can see. In more fitting, albeit somewhat unusual, terms the Gobi could be described as a vast, generally arid area where there are camels but no marmots.

The Gobi thus could be defined as a conglomeration of Central Asian deserts, stretching across Northern China and Southern Mongolia. Even the driest places support some desert wildlife, but few people. The peripheral steppe regions, however, receive a flush of grass during summer that allows the areas to be inhabited, if sparsely, by herders whose goats and camels feed on the region’s meager productivity. The mountains in the Gobi are habitat to some of the densest snow leopard populations in the world!

Gobi yond with Nomadic Journeys and discover the extremely diverse Gobi region of Mongolia:

The East Gobi

The eastern part of the Gobi is great for walks, camel and horse rides. There’s also fantastic wildlife viewing. The Ikh Nart Nature Reserve is Nomadic Journeys‘s exclusive destination, with our own upscale, semi-permanent, as well as fully mobile ger camp possibilities.

This wildlife rich upland of rock formations, part of Mongolia’s Granite Belt, is the best place in the country for viewing the spectacular Argali Sheep, the biggest species of wild sheep in the world. There is also an exceptionally large population of Cinereous vulture here. This largest true bird of prey in the world, on par with the Andean Condor, builds its giant nests in low trees and on rocks. Sometimes large herds of gazelles migrate through the reserve following precipitation in search of good grazing grounds.

The area abounds in prehistoric burial sites, petroglyphs and ruins of Buddhist monasteries, representing all layers of Mongolian archaeology. These sites are just waiting to be explored on guided tours, hiking or mountain biking, or on horse or camel back.

Another quite amazing feature are the living fossils of the Desert tadpole shrimps (Triops spp.), that occur in some years in ephemeral (temporary) lakes in the area and even in small pools of water. The eggs have very hard shells and can wait for decades until conditions favorable for hatching prevail. These small crustaceans have been around since the Triassic period, some 220 million years ago, when dinosaurs started to appear on Earth. Incidentally, close to Ikh Nart is Khuren Dukh, a famous paleontological site, where several important dinosaur finds have been made.

Despite good infrastructure, the area is rarely visited. Ikh Nart is a mere 5 hour drive southeast of Ulaanbaatar, mostly on good tarmac road. Or it’s just 40 km off the Trans-Mongolian Railway line to Beijing. You can travel by train in both directions to access Ikh Nart without first having to overnight in Ulaanbaatar. We recommend taking the train at least for one of the ways, as it provides comfortable travel into this part of the Gobi.

Other major sights in the Eastern Gobi include Khamar monastery, near Sainshand, widely regarded as a center of world energy. In recent years, amazing stories about the hidden treasures of Khamar Monastery have emerged and there are many legends about ist founder Danzanravjaa, an early 19th century infamous monk, poet and innovator.

Our trips to Ikh Nart and through the East Gobi are scaleable, ranging from self-guided stays to fully bespoke luxury travel options.

Trips to the East Gobi can be combined well with going further northeast in Mongolia, to the biggest grasslands remaining in the world, the Eastern Steppes.

The South Gobi

The South Gobi province is among the most-visited regions of Mongolia. It offers a wide range of quite easily accessible dramatic landscape experiences. ‘Must-see’ and well known sights such as the Flaming Cliffs of Bayanzag, Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park with the often ice-covered Yol Valley, and the sand dunes of Hongor Sands were made famous by the early explorers and later by tour companies and tourists. Especially the large sand dunes became something of a post-card Gobi, a stereotypical image printed over and again in every guidebook and travel brochure. As a result of the high number of visitors there is a variety of Ger camps to be found within a three hours drive of Dalanzadgad airport. There are also several basic ger camps close to Hongor Sands.

The South Gobi region may be best explored starting from the bustling provincial capital Dalanzadgad. It can be reached by a 1,5 hours flight or, since the completion of the new tarmac road in 2015, by a mere 10 hour drive from Ulaanbaatar. If driving it is advisable to break up the journey at various great sights along the way, even if the accommodations available en route are truly basic. Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park is vast.  Consider it a “driving destination”, as the major points of interests are quite far apart, and half and full day drives are needed every day. In 2016-2017 the net of tarmac roads has been greatly expanded, making intraregional driving times shorter and thereby improving access.

The Great Lakes region, Western Mongolia

Although mainly famous for the eternally snow-capped peaks of the Mongolian Altai and its Kazakh eagle hunters, the western region of the country may in large parts also be categorized as Gobi territory. Due to its remoteness it is an often overlooked Gobi region. For example some minor lakes in Bayanhongor province are usually referred to as the “Gobi Lakes“ while in fact, the much larger lake region in the west truly deserves this title. Especially since Mongolia’s largest sand dunes, Mongol Sands, are located here. Rising out of an area of bone-dry desert, the dunes embrace the Zavkhan River flowing west from the Hangai Mountains. Mongol Sands extends right up to the eastern shores of Dörgön Lake, forming beautiful sand beaches, completely devoid of people. The area consitutes the easternmost part of Khar Us Nuur National Park, encompassing three large but shallow lakes – Khar-Us, Khar and Dörgön. Khar Us Lake has the largest reed beds in Central Asia, surrounded by desert landscapes, similar to the Changtang Plateau of Tibet. This contrast makes for exquisite birding, being able to see Henderson’s Ground Jay, Pallas’s Sandgrouse and ducks in the same place! Nearby Jargalant Hairkhan Mountain is home to charismatic and rare mammals such as Snow Leopards, Argali Sheep and Siberian Ibex, although these are difficult to observe. There are several valleys here which resemble the more famous Yol Valley in the South Gobi, with the addition of the highest waterfall of Mongolia.

The area is inhabited by several distinct ethnic groups, featuring unique cultural traits. The birthplace of throat singing is said to be in Chandmani district, where Nomadic Journeys maintains longstanding partnerships with community groups, active in wildlife conservation.  The rare Saiga Antelopes can be seen in the distance on the Chandmani Plains. Along with the great landscapes and the fantastic birding, encounters with local nomads are a main attraction here. Rare experiences such as riding Bactrian Camels across the sand dunes and right down onto deserted sand beaches are to be had nowhere else in Mongolia!

This is by far the most remote and uncommon part of Gobi offered by Nomadic Journeys.

Not only the low visitor numbers make it necessary, that we provide fully mobile, usually private, ger camps. The nomads of the region, who host us here, migrate long distances with their gers and livestock. The lake area may have large numbers of mosquitoes in the summer months, so the local herders prefer to move to higher terrain. For the same reasons our routes need to be adapted to such seasonal variations. The trips here are mostly part of our exclusive 360° program, offering fully bespoke itineraries with private camps set up in 360 degree pristine, uninterupted landscapes. A true wilderness experience with a high level of comfort!

‘Gobi experiences’ further north in the Transition zone

For travelers visiting Mongolia for just a few days, or those focussing on other parts of the country, a trip to any of the far flung Gobis might be just too far and time consuming. To still be able to experience Gobi landscapes a visit to Arburd Sands, an area with 20km long sand dunes just 140km south of UB, might be just the right option. Arburd is located in the transition zone of “Gobi” grasslands and has much to offer. From encounters with genuine nomads, horse or camel riding trips of a few hours to several days, to wildlife watching opportunities at closeby Zorgol Hairkhan Mountains, granite mountains rising vertically out of the plains, a place fraught with history and legends.

Despite being easily accessible and quite conveniently located for short desert steppe escapes, this is a very traditional area and not a place which tourists normally visit.

Our small, family-run Arburd Sands Ger Camp is the only camp around, in a great scenery with uninterupted steppe extending to the horizon in all directions.

Selection of striking Gobi facts → Select the best ones!]

• Opposed to what most people think the Gobi contains only 3-5% sand dunes (according to different sources), and is mainly made up of rocky plains, desert steppe, steppe and even high mountains.
• The Gobi is the largest desert in Asia and the fifth largest desert in the world.
• It lies in a rain shadow caused by the Himalayas
• The Gobi desert is growing by more than 1300 square miles every year, expanding into the southern grasslands of China. This process of desertification has worried the Chinese government and they are planting new forests to try and halt the spread of the Gobi. The forest barrier is sometimes called the Green Wall of China.
• In spring and early summer large parts of the Gobi are covered in wild onions. Many people have described these onions as having a distinct hazelnut type of flavor.
• The Gobi desert is home to the Gobi bear, one of the most endangered species on Earth. Human encroachment on their home territory has reduced to the number of surviving Gobi bears to an estimated 20 surviving individuals. Other extremely rare Gobi fauna include the Mongolian wild ass and the wild Bactrian camel.
• The population density in the Gobi region is extremely low: One square mile of Gobi is usually home to fewer than three people.
• Most deserts suffer from rapid changes in temperature throughout the year, but the Gobi has a climate of extremes. The temperature has been known to shift 60 degrees Fahrenheit in as little as 24 hours. It can get down to minus-40 degrees in the winter, and as hot as 122 degrees in the summer.
• Dinosaur eggs were first discovered in the Gobi in 1923 by Roy Chapman Andrews, an American explorer. His exploits are said to have inspired the creation of the fictional character Indiana Jones, though this has not been confirmed by the creators of the Hollywood blockbuster movies. Even today adventurers may find dinosaur eggs in the remote areas of the Desert.

Mongolian Death Worm: A bright red worm, 2 to 5 feet long. It spews yellow, corrosive acid at victim, killing it and can also kill by electric discharge. This creature has never been seen, but the fear through Mongolian locals has been around for hundreds of years. There is no way of knowing if the Death Worm is real or not, but there have been numerous Hollywood movies based on the original folklore of the worm.