Oases in the South

Friday 23 June 1999 – Saturday 26 June 1999

From Orkhon, our route was to take us south into the Gobi desert.  We had crossed almost every kind of landscape imaginable, but a tour of Mongolia would not have been complete without visiting this unique region, one of the world's great deserts.

Our primary goal was to visit the Khongoryn Els, the largest and most spectacular sand dunes Mongolia has to offer.  It took us two days to reach them and as we drove further and further south, the gers became more and more sparse as the grassy plains gave way to dry scrubland.  We began to see more and more camels and herds of wild gazelle sweeping across the barren landscape.  There were more frequent sightings of vultures picking over carcasses, and a growing sense of how inhospitable this part of Mongolia can be.  We passed through some spectacular settings:  mountain ranges covered in purple slate and green copper deposits; deep red earth swirling in the wind; white sand dunes stretching as far as the eye could see.

Khongoryn Els (also known as the “Singing Dunes”) are about 100km (60 miles) long, 20km (12 miles) wide and up to 800m (1/2 mile) high.  As we set off to climb to the top of one of the highest, we were unaware of how exhausting it would actually be.  As the sand slips away under your feet, the layers of sand begin to shift down one by one, deeper and deeper under the surface, causing an ominous, low-pitched rumbling sound which you feel as much as hear; when this happens, the dunes are said to “sing”.  It was a terrifying experience at first, and difficult to cope due to the thinness of the air, which helped make the view from the top literally breathtaking.  

As we scrambled back down, we headed directly for an oasis of water we had seen from the top and jumped straight in to cool off, watched carefully by several camels who seemed indignant at having their watering hole invaded.

We camped out by the small pond that night, surrounded only by camels and the ever-present flying insects.  We had seen so few tourists on our travels and here was no exception:  indeed, this was the first and only spot we were not visited by the local Mongolians.  Watching the sun go down behind the dunes that evening, we knew we would be back in Mongolia again one day and were sad that our time here were almost over.

The following day, we headed towards Yolyn Am.  The surrounding area is part of the Gurvansaikhan National Park (yes, there will be a test) which contains mountains, dinosaur fossils, sand dunes, rock formations and a valley, which, almost unbelievably, is packed with ice for almost the entire year.  It was the latter of these we were intrigued to see although we did stop off at the small museum to look at their collection of dinosaur eggs and other fossils, as well an alarming collection of stuffed endangered species!

The gorge was a good 30 minute walk from where the road ended and we set off with two cans of beer to see if this ice-valley phenomenon really was true.  It is. Apparently, in winter the ice can be anywhere up to 10m (35ft) high and fill the gorge for a distance of more than 10km (6 miles).  It remains frozen for most of the year and although it was thawing when we saw it, you could still walk on it.  We left our beers to cool while we explored, and then sat drinking them in the sunshine wondering how on earth something like that can exist.  

That evening, we camped out at the 'Flaming Red Cliffs' of the Gobi, an area that has become renowned worldwide for the number of dinosaur eggs and bones found there.  It is an eerie landscape marked by an awesome sense of emptiness.