Mongolia 2017 - Part 5

<< Back to the overview

Part 5 of the trip: Ömnögov' (1)

Steppe (Dundgov'/Ömnögov'). We are crossing the Gobi today. This is a desert you may not have seen anywhere else; deserts usually mean burning sun, dry air, high temperatures, sand, dunes, camels. Well, camels are also here, but the sun is hidden behind clouds. It starts raining. Among the sparse grass you can find wild thymus, and there is a scent like in a herbal cabinet as soon as you leave the bus.

The ground turns to rusty red, and we encounter the saxaul forests. They really do not look like forests, but mainly because the saxauls do not grow very high, more like bushes.

Bayanzag (Ömnögov'). We arrive at the Mongolian Gobi Luxury Tourist Camp near Bayanzak,a rock formation that is also known as the "flaming cliffs". We are truly lucky - after the rainy morning, the sun appears again, making the rocks glowing in a orange light. Bayan-zag means "full of saxaul", but we did not see that many saxaul here.

The area around the hills is unbelievably flat. The camp does not look too far away, but it takes some time to walk back from the flaming cliffs.

On the next morning, I can see a fantastic sunrise in the Gobi desert. What else could you want?

We continue our journey again, visiting the small supermarket in Bulgan, then continuing to the south.

Public pictures