The Gobi - Mongolia - page 352

communist purges. Every night, under the cover of darkness and in total secrecy,
Tuduv buried a crate of treasure in the shifting sands of the Gobi. He only had time
to bury 64 of the 1500 crates before they and the Khamaryn Khiid (monastery)
were destroyed.
The only man alive today who knows their location is Zundoi Altangerel (Tuduv's
grandson and the fifth takhilch), and in 1990 he retrieved all but 17 of them to
found the Museum of Danzan Ravjaa in Sainshand ( Click here ). Then in 2009,
much to the delight of a worldwide audience courtesy of a live webcast ( www.gobi-
treasure.com ), Altangerel dug up two more crates. In 2013, the ninth reincarnation
of the Noyon Khutagt, a young man named Danzan Luvsan Tudev, was identified
and installed as the head of the monastery in an elaborate ceremony that attracted
more than 10,000 people.
For more information on Danzan Ravjaa, pick up a copy of his biography Lama of
the Gobi(Blacksmith Books, 2010), by Michael Kohn.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Ikh Gazryn Chuluu
Caves, canyons and some excellent rock-climbing routes are a few of the reasons travel-
lers head out to this remote Gobi nature reserve (admission T3000) , 70km east of Man-
dalgov in Gurvan Saikhan sum . The Ulaanbaatar-based tour company Wind of Mongolia
( Click here ) can help with climbing. Non-climbers will enjoy simply wandering the
moonscape-like, boulder-strewn scenery, with rocks to clamber over and caves to ex-
plore. One small cave (GPS: N 45°44.389', E 107°13.271') we found about 2.5km southwest of
the ranger's camp has great views from its mouth, halfway up a rocky hillside, and a sky-
light, thanks to a collapsed roof. About 1.5km south of the ranger's camp is a rather sur-
real open-air theatre (GPS: N 45°43.913', E 107°15.005') . Concerts are occasionally held here
in honour of two famous Mongolian long-song singers who used to live locally.
You can overnight at the comfortable Töv Borjigan Ger Camp ( 9976 9266; GPS: N
45°45.664', E 107°15.977'; with meals US$60) . Two kilometres away, just over the rocks to the
southwest, the park ranger, Munkh-Ochir, has his family ger and a couple of basic guest
gers ( 9589 4489; GPS: N 45°44.902', E 107°14.902'; per person T10,000, meals T4000) . The
view of the rocky landscape here is wonderful, but you'll need to bring your own sleep-
ing bag.