Things to do
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Flaming Cliffs
Red sandstone escarpments at Bayanzag gave up the dinosaur eggs that Roy Chapman Andrews identified in the 1920s, the first recognised as such anywhere. The cliffs are modest in scale and the draw is the colour, which deepens in the hour before sunset. Removing fossils is illegal, and the site lies a couple of hours by track from the main road.
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Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park
Three ranges of bare mountain, gravel plain, saxaul scrub and the Khongoryn dunes fall inside a park covering a large part of the South Gobi. Wildlife includes ibex, argali and the black-tailed gazelle herds that cross the flats. There is no public transport and no marked road network, so trips run with a driver and a permit taken at the gate.
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Other
Khongoryn Els
Sand dunes run for about a hundred and eighty kilometres along the northern edge of the Gobi Altai, rising to around three hundred metres where they meet the mountains. A stream and a green strip at the foot support camel-herding families, and the climb to the crest takes roughly an hour in loose sand. Descending is quick. Sunset light on the ridge is why many camps stay two nights.
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Yolyn Am
A narrow gorge in the Gurvan Saikhan mountains holds a sheet of ice on its floor well into summer, fed by shade and a stream that freezes each winter. The walk in follows the water for a few kilometres past pika colonies and nesting lammergeiers. Horses are hired at the entrance. By August the ice has often gone, which surprises visitors who came for it.