Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The small town of Bayangovi is about 250km south of Bayankhongor (by road) in a
beautiful valley dominated by Ikh Bogd Uul (3957m). While there is nothing of special
interest in Bayangovi itself, the surrounding countryside offers some intriguing desert
sites and ample opportunity for exploration.
Gobi Camels
( 9904 4108; GPS: N 44°45.750', E 100°20.585'; per person with meals US$48)
is a ger camp in a beautifully remote location with a mountain backdrop, 6km northwest
of town. The manager speaks English. The other alternative is the clean
Sumshig Hotel
and Restaurant
( 9915 2046; per person T10,000)
within a compound on the western
edge of the town 'square'. The restaurant has a photo menu (mains T4000-6000) and a
bar. There's also a games room with pool and table tennis. No showers, but the tiny pub-
Shared minivans or jeeps occasionally run to Bayangovi from outside the central mar-
ket at Bayankhongor. To get back to Bayankhongor (T17,000) ask at the post office,
shops or petrol station, and wait. The road around Bogd can become an impassable quag-
mire after heavy rain.
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Amarbuyant Khiid
Located 47km west of Shinejist, this ruined
monastery
(GPS: N 44°37.745', E 98°42.214')
once housed around 1000 monks until its destruction in 1937 by Stalin's forces. Its claim
to fame is that the 13th Dalai Lama, while travelling from Lhasa to Urga in 1904, stayed
here for 10 days. The extensive ruins today include temples, buildings and walls, and the
main temple has been partially restored. Locals can also show you a small
ovoo
built by
the Dalai Lama; out of respect no rocks were ever added to the
ovoo
.
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Ekhiin Gol
This fertile
oasis
(GPS: N 43°14.898', E 90°00.295')
located deep in the southern Gobi pro-
duces a tremendous amount of fruit and vegetables. This is probably the only place in
Mongolia where, upon entering a ger, travellers are served tomato juice rather than tea.
Until the 1920s, Chinese farmers tilled this soil and grew opium, an era that ended when
a psychopathic lama-turned-bandit named Dambijantsan came by here and slaughtered
them all. Ekhiin Gol is a good place to start or end a camel trek from Shinejist.
