Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Unlike most other monasteries in Mongolia, Günjiin Süm was not destroyed during
the Stalinist purges, but simply fell into ruin from neglect, vandalism and theft.
The temple is not a must - there are many better and more accessible temples and
monasteries in Ulaanbaatar and Töv - but more of an excuse for a great
overnight trek
,
on horse or foot, or as part of a longer trip in the national park.
Günjiin is about 25km by foot (or horse) from the UB-2 hotel (
Click here
)
, heading in
a northwest direction. The jeep trail is longer (about 40km in total), as you need to skirt
around the mountains, but easier if you don't want to walk the hills. You can do the trip
on your own with a good map and compass (or GPS) but it's best to take a local guide.
Khan Khentii Strictly Protected Area
PROTECTED AREA
(Khentii Nuruu; admission T3000)
To the northeast, Gorkhi-Terelj National Park joins the
Khan Khentii Strictly Protected Area, comprising more than 1.2 million hectares of the
Töv, Selenge and Khentii aimags. The Khan Khentii park is almost completely uninhab-
ited by humans, but it is home to endangered species of moose, brown bear and weasel to
name but a few, and to more than 250 species of birds. If you come from Terelj, the fee at
the gate there covers this protected area as well.
MOUNTAIN BIKING AROUND TERELJ
Note, you'll need to rent a bike from Ulaanbaatar (
Click here
)
as, at the time of re-
search, there weren't any places in Terelj that rented bikes. Depending on your fit-
ness levels, Terelj is about half a day's cycle from the capital. The road is paved the
whole way, but mostly uphill.
Terelj to Gachuurt (Central)
This rugged route takes in two passes along the way. Get a ride all the way to the
town of Terelj and then start riding on the road that heads west; it's about 2km to
the next small settlement of gers. The trail continues west and starts heading into
the wilderness, up a valley with a forest to your left. The ridge tops out at 1859m
and descends to another valley. The trail climbs again, slightly to the right, to an-
other 1859m ridge, from where you begin a long descent towards Gachuurt. At the
end of the valley (it's about 15km) you'll reach Tuul Gol, which you follow to
Gachuurt town. All up it's a 30km ride and should take around five hours.
Turtle Rock Loop
This convenient route begins and ends at Turtle Rock (
Click here
)
in the Gorkhi val-
ley. From Turtle Rock ride west down the slope until the road goes right into a ger
camp (the camp was built over the trail). Go around the camp and then it's a
