Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
You can buy tickets up to two days in advance from the
ticket office
(
7.30am-6pm)
at the bus stand.
MINIVANS & TAXIS
Minivans leave when full for Ulaanbaatar (T30,000) via Mandalgov (usually same
price). They gather outside the Department Store & Everyday Supermarket.
Hiring a taxi is fairly straightforward, even though no one here speaks English. Again,
look for drivers outside the Department Store & Everyday Supermarket. A day trip to
Yolyn Am with three hours of waiting time costs T60,000 to T70,000, although most for-
eigners end up paying around T100,000. An overnight return trip, taking in Yolyn Am,
Khongoryn Els and the Flaming Cliffs will set you back between T250,000 and
T300,000.
Readers have recommended
Tumee
(
9953 8319)
as a reliable local driver.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Gurvan Saikhan National Park
With its iconic sand dunes, ice canyon, striped badlands and stunning mountain vistas,
this is understandably one of Mongolia's most popular national parks. Most travellers
only see a fraction of it, sticking to the main sites - the standout one being the monstrous
sand dunes known as Khongoryn Els. With more time, though, it's possible to drive to
the remote western area - an eerie landscape so lacking in life that you may feel as if
you've landed on Mars.
Gurvan Saikhan National Park
(Three Beauties; entry fee T3000)
is named after its three
ridges (though there are four). Besides its spectacular natural beauty it contains more
than 200 bird species, including the Mongolian desert finch, cinereous vulture, desert
warbler and houbara bustard. Spring brings further waves of migratory birds.
The park also has maybe 600 or more types of plants, many of which only bloom after
(very infrequent) heavy rain. The sparse vegetation does manage to support numerous
types of animals, such as the black-tailed gazelle, Kozlov's pygmy jerboa, wild ass and
endangered species of wild camel, snow leopard, ibex and argali sheep.
OFF THE BEATEN TRACK
