Terelj, Kharakhorum
and the wild horses
Rock formations, the mini Gobi, the imperial capital, and the only truly wild horse left in the world — four days, all of it on decent roads.
Four days, four different landscapes
Mongolia's draw is the combination — the formations, the nomadic life, the history and the hospitality, all within a day's drive of each other in this part of the country. This itinerary takes one of each: the rocks of Terelj, the dunes and forest of Khugnu Tarna, the ruins at Kharakhorum, and the takhi at Hustai on the way back in.
Day by day
Strictly protected since 1965 and close enough to the capital to reach on tarmac. Brown bears, grey wolves, foxes and over two hundred bird species live here, the Tuul river runs through it, and the rock formations bring climbers. We walk to Turtle Rock — twenty-four metres of wind-cut granite — and up to the Ariyapala meditation centre with its hundred and eight prayer wheels.
