MONGOLIA

Housing endless steppes and deserts Mongolia is the least densely populated country in the world. This is the best place to get acquainted with the lands of Genghis Khan, to enjoy camels tracing the Gobi Desert and to feel the real freedom watching wild horses galloping across the steppes. Here are listed the places where visitors go more often:

Ulan Bator
Ulan Bator (or Ulaanbaatar) is the capital and largest city of Mongolia. Located in the north central part of the country, the city lies at an elevation of about 1310 m in a valley on the Tuul River. It is the cultural, industrial, and financial heart of the country. The city was founded in 1639 as a Buddhist yurt monastery center and, in the 20th century, grew into a major manufacturing center defined by its broad boulevards and squares and Socialist Classicist-style buildings. There are several museums dedicated to Mongolian history and culture.

Gobi Desert
The Gobi is the largest desert region in Asia, fourth largest in the world (1,295,000 sq km). It covers areas in China and southern Mongolia. The Gobi is most notable in history as part of the great Mongol Empire, and as the location of several important cities along the Silk Road.

Terelj National Park
Gorkhi-Terelj National Park is one of the national parks of Mongolia. It is connected with Ulan Bator by a paved road, 37 km long. Attractions include Khagiin Khar Lake, a 20m deep glacial lake 80km upstream from the tourist camps, and Yestii Hot Water Springs, natural hot springs 18km further upstream. The park also has a Buddhist monastery that is open to visitors. Here are the two famous formations named for things they resemble: Turtle Rock and the Old Man Reading a Book (Praying Lama Rock). The area prides itself for the studs of wild Przhevalski horses.

Kharkhorin (Karakorum)
Kharkhorin was the capital of the Mongol Empire in the 13th century, although for only about 30 years. Its ruins lie in the northwestern corner of the Övörkhangai Province of Mongolia, near today's town of Kharkhorin, and adjacent to the Erdene Zuu monastery.