2011 - Mongolei - Bike to Asia

A three weeks road trip through Northern, Central and Southern Mongolia along the "Golden Circuit" which includes some major and easily accessible tourist attractions. Anyway it is still a very remote area devoid almost of any human settlements. You find some further information in the tiny captions on top of each picture.

Eine dreiwöchige Reise durch die nördliche, zentrale und südliche Mongolei. Der "Golden Circuit" führt an einigen vergleichsweise gut erreíchbaren Sehenswürdigkeiten vorbei, dennoch überwog nach der Reise der Eindruck, durch ein wildes, menschenleeres und abgelegenes Land gereist zu sein. Weitere Info entnehmt ihr den winzigen englischsprachigen Bildüberschriften.

The capital of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar is situated 1350 above sea level. It is surrounded by scenic mountains. Without any doubt it is Mongolia's political, administrative and economical center dwarfing any city in size and importance.

In recent years, a lot of highrise buildings popped up in the city center of Ulaanbaatar. The oldfashioned building to the left houses the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Further left, the Blue Sky Tower is currently Mongolia's highest building (110m)

Founded in 1639, "UB" is a rather young city. Except for some temples, few old buildings have survived. The Soviets started rebuilding the city in the 1940s when Mongolia had become the first Soviet satellite state

Gandan monastery in Ulaanbaatar. One of three monasteries nationwide which survived the Stalinist purges. It has now become a major tourist attraction

The 26m high Buddha was financed by private donations in 1991was re-introduced to Mongolia after the comunist period

The Zaisan monument was erected at the southern outskirts of UB to commemorate the achievements of communism. It offers gourgeous views of the UB skyline

Mongolian countryside roads. Most of these earth tracks are now being replaced by paved roads

Amarbaryasgalant monastery in Northern Mongolia. Before the 1930s, over 1000 monks resided here. Even today after its restoration with a mere 60 monks accomodating, it only gives a dim impression of its former glory.

Endless horizons, pristine nature, fresh air and clear starry skies make up the Mongolian countryside. Mongolia is the least densely populated country in the world

Shy kides near Jargalant, Northern Mongolia

Erdenet city. 75.000 people are enough to call it Mongolia's second biggest city. It came to existence in the 1970s when large copper deposits were discovered nearby.

On our way further north to Khovsgol lake.

Imagine an alpine lake with crystal lake surrounded by lush pine forests, snow covered peaks and alpine meadows on whioch yaks graze and you have a vague impression of Lake Khovsgol

the lake, 250km long and 30km wide hides on the northernmost corner of Mongolia. It is said that this lake contains 2% of the world's freshwater reserves due its maximum depth of 262m

it is chilly even in summer with water temperatures hovering around 10C in July. Nevertheless, it has become a main tourist attraction of Mongolia in recent years

Mongolian mass tourism means that you meet around 10 other tourists per day (if you look sharp). This pic shows the reindeer herder festival at the lakeshore

The lake itself was really stunning, surely one of the most scenic places we've ever been to. The night was quite frosty with starry skies over our heads.

On the next day we went for a hike. Our target: hike to one of the mountaintops surrounding the lake. The trip back and forth tooks us about 7 hours but we did not meet a single person on our way

Some areas were still covered with patches of snow. There were no marked hiking trials therefore the steep way down took longer than up

returning south again to the Khangay mountains via several mountain passes up to 2700m high

saturday evening just before the BBC news journal starts...

Jargalant village. Jargalant means "luck" translated into English

a scenic drive over a high mountain pass to Terkhin Tsaagan Nuur lake

Terkhin Tsaagan Nuur translates to Great Whtie Lake in English. It is a volcanic lake located at 2060mk altitude

another hike near Tsaagan Nuur. The valley turned out to be much vaster than expected and it took us two hours until the valley finally closed in. The soil was a nasty mixture of rocks and muds so we had to take some detours.

We enjoyed some great views from the mountain shoulder but also saw some thunderclouds moving to our direction.God had mercy and waited until we had reached our SUV. Just a few minutes later a Noachian deluge submerged the valley

some manmade stone piles. They have no particular meaning except to attract some tourists :)

Some very brave men were hiking down the crater

Taikhar Chuluu is an isolated rock rising fro the middle of the steppe. We also had the chance to see a Shamanic procession here (Shamanism is still common in some parts of Mongolia)

Recreational activities in the evening near Taikhar Chuluu

these very remote and tiny shops have various functions: besides food products also household goods can be purchased here. Plus a notice board for buying & selling goods or getting a lift. And a local meeting point to have a chat

proud construction workers in the small provincial capital of Tsetserleg

Erdene Zuu monastery in Kharakorum, Mongolia's ancient capital where Gengihs Khaan resided

Kharakorum is a must see for every tourist. It was once the world's capital, or better the capital of the biggest existing empire ever. In the 13th century also some mosques and even a church stood inside the city walls

South of Kharakorum, the forests disappeared, the terrain got flat and dry and the first sand dunes and camles came into sight: GOBI!

the Flaming Cliffs in the Southern Gobi dervie their name from the colour they take during sunset. There are some dinosaur excavation sites nearby

waitresses playing cards instead of working in a restaurant in the Gobi

the Khongoryn Els (Singing Sand Dunes) strech over 180km across barren Gobi terrain and soar up to 200m high

Nomad's dairy food. These "yummies" are made of fermented horse milk and are hard as stone. Theoretically they can be used to stabilize a stable or as a brickbat. And for nutrition. They taste sour.

we rented some camels to take a ride to the sand dunes. After one hour I nearly got seasick and decided to continue on my own

The dunes are located in the Gurvansaikhan national park

this area contains a varied landscapeslike sand dunes, mountain ranges, oasis and endless plains that seem to go on forever

beneath the soil huge coal and copper are waiting for exploration

this could bring a lot of development to the region. And, simultaneously, put a huge untouched ecosystem at risk

now something completely different: Yoly Am, the Vulture Gorge, a green oasis in the desert. Hidden within in a 3000m high mountain range the 800m steep canyon is only a few meters wide in some parts. Sunrays barely reach the ground therefore in some...

...years the gorge is blocked by ice even in summer

we had some mobile phone connection here

Bagazriin Chuluu, some bizarre rock formations in the Gobi desert