Gorkhi-Terelj National Park

What makes it special

Wind and rain alone shaped Turtle Rock, Melkhii Khad in Mongolian, a granite outcrop 24 metres tall. Other granite formations stand around it, and tourist ger camps now surround the rock.

Close by stands the Aryabal Meditation Temple, a white main building whose roofs are decorated with Buddhist signs.

The path to the temple is lined with boards carrying 144 Buddhist teachings, placed to encourage slow, mindful walking. The last stretch is 108 steps, laid out to suggest an elephant's trunk, and there are eight black steps as well.

From the temple's upper platforms you look out over grassland, forest, valleys and rocky ridges. The park around it covers more than 2,800 square kilometres of mountains, forest and valleys.

Visiting

Turtle Rock comes first. You can take it in from the meadow or walk right up to it, and horse and camel rides are offered at its foot.

Drive on to the Aryabal Meditation Temple close by. Read the teaching boards in English and Mongolian as you follow the path, then climb the steps to the temple and walk out onto the upper platforms for the view.

Spend the afternoon on horseback, on a ride with a local herder leading the way. Then stay the night in a ger camp. Many gers are heated by a wood stove, some by an electric heater, and some camps serve meals.

Guided or on your own

A day or overnight tour from Ulaanbaatar is the easiest way to see the park, because the transport comes with it. Going on your own works if you book a driver from the city and a night at a ger camp, then book a horse ride once you arrive.

Tips

If you stay the night, walk back out to Turtle Rock at sunset or sunrise, when the low light throws dramatic shadows across the rock face.

Bring warm clothes for the night from late September, when the temperature can drop below zero. In winter it can fall as low as minus 28C.