Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
DORNOGOV
POP 75,600 / AREA 111,000 SQ KM
Dornogov (east Gobi) is the first place visited by many overlanders, as the train line from
Bĕijīng to Ulaanbaatar runs straight up its gut. The landscape seen from the train window
is one of flat, arid emptiness and the occasional station where locals shuffle about on the
platform. The railway supports local trade while the rest of the economy rides on the
back of uranium development and small-scale oil extraction.
NATIONAL PARKS OF DORNOGOV
Ergeliin Zuu
(90,910 hectares) A small protected area with interesting rock forma-
tions and palaeontology sites that include 30-million-year-old mammalian fossils.
Ikh Nartiin Chuluu Nature Reserve
(67,000 hectares) Easily accessible from
Ulaanbaatar and home to argali sheep, ibexes, black vultures and other wildlife.
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Sainshand
01522, 7052 / POP 19,891 / ELEV 938M
This aimag capital is divided into two parts: a cluster of homes and businesses around the
train station (though nowhere decent for tourists to stay), and the more developed centre,
2km south.
