The drive from Chinggis southwest to Sainshand was surprisingly easy. I had the wide open steppe with the usual animal herds in the first half.

The second half of the trip was paved all the way. I did hit a pretty nasty thunder storm on the way, but I was happy about it since it cleaned a lot of the dust off the LandCruiser. I can actually see out the front window again, still not the back window, however.

I finally arrived in Sainshand on the eastern edge of the Gobi Desert with enough time to take in the two local museums before they closed. Awesome! I also checked into the Ikh Soyon Hotel for my two nights here. It’s a good thing too because that nasty thunder storm I drove through on the way here caught up with me and dropped some ferocious rain on the city all night!

Sainshand is a very important hub for Mongolias tiny but vital railroad. The line starts in Beijing, China, makes its way up through Sainshand to Ulaanbaatar, then continues north into Russia where it links up to the Trans Siberian railway.

One of the museums in town is dedicated to Noyon Khutagt Danzan Ravjaa. He was a very well known writer, composer, painter, and the leader of the Red Hat Buddhists in Mongolia in the 19th century. Mongolias own renaissance man. About 25 miles south of Sainshand is the rebuilt version of his monastery, Khamariin Khiid (N 44.598248, E 110.272425). But first, there was a bit of a mix up getting gas. The attendant and I had a misunderstanding due to the language barrier and about 40 liters of diesel ended up in the LandCruiser before I caught it. Uh-oh!

A phone call to the owner of Drive Mongolia and my only real contact here, Baatar, got us a plan. Three hours later, with the help of the gas station attendants husband, I had gifted some future recipient 40 liters of diesel and learned how to remove, drain, and reattach a gas tank from a Toyota LandCruiser… you know, just in case I ever have to do it again. I hope not because it wasn’t fun. Everything turned out ok in the end and I made it to Khamariin Khiid only three hours later than planned. Good thing it’s not that far away.

Anyway, Khamariin Khiid is where Danzan Ravjaas original monastery was before it was destroyed in the 1930’s by Stalin. What’s here now is the modern reconstruction. There’s a lot less grass and a lot more sand than I’m used to on this trip, though. It’s quite a bit warmer here too, but nice.

A short ways beyond Khamariin Khiid is Danzan Ravjaas Shambala site (N 44.617744, E 110.275332). I don’t really know the story behind the site, but it’s considered sacred ground and locals come here to cleanse themselves of their sins and make offerings to and feel Ravjaas spirit. It’s a pretty incredible place no matter what your beliefs are.

About ten miles west of Khamariin Khiid is Bayanzurkh Uul (N 44.694067, E 110.045117), another of Mongolias most sacred mountains. The mountain is home to the spirit of one of Danzan Ravjaas predecessors, the third Noyon Khutagt. This is apparently where dreams come true.

Once at the top, it’s said that if you make three wishes then walk around the wishing ovoo three times, they will come true. We’ll see.

Whether you make three wishes at the top or not, there’s no denying the view is spectacular!

There’s also a lot more camels all around the area. I caught these guys at a local watering hole near the monastery.

My next stop is approximately 165 miles from Sainshand, but it’s still technically the eastern Gobi, so I’m going to include it here. It was another long day of driving. The roads leading out of Sainshand are a little harder to follow than usual.

There was still no shortage of animals, except there are more camels now.

After getting gas, the GPS had trouble getting a lock on me and I was stuck navigating with just the compass for a while. Once the GPS finally found me I realized I wasn’t on the road I was supposed to be on. Instead I was on a road that wasn’t even on the map, but I was almost to my destination after having unwittingly taken a short cut that shaved forty miles off my journey. Lucky!

Finally I arrived at Ikh Gazriin Chuuluu, which loosely translates to “Great Land Stone”. In the middle of the desert/grassland is this magical rocky mountainous landscape.

It was still early enough to do a small bit of exploring so I checked out the theater they built here among the rocks. It doesn’t look like it gets used a lot, but apparently they have performances here every July for the Naadam festival.

It’s an amazing location and the views around are incredible. They don’t allow bugles, though for some reason.

After the theater I drove to what appeared to be a secluded area and set up camp 7 and 8 (N 45.756852, E 107.250016). It was such a beautiful spot I stayed here two nights. Also, with the nearest source of light pollution about 50 miles away, the stars out here are spectacular!

I woke up early with the intention to hike, climb, and explore the hell out of this place! I started with a couple of caves nearby. The Burkhant Cave (N 45.757594, E 107.241436) was used to hide some relics from a temple that was burned down by the Soviets. Not too far from there, the Ikhriin Cave (N 45.759659, E 107.229766) was made famous when a monk hid inside for several years after leaving his monastery. He continued to see devotees to help them with their prayers and bestow blessings from this cave for many years. There’s still a makeshift alter in there today. If not for signs at the bottom of the mountains, there’s no way you’d even know these were there.

I’m not sure the story with Toonot Cave (N 45.739817, E 107.221183) but it’s probably the most well known feature in Ikh Gazriin Chuluu. I sat outside the entrance to eat lunch, then I wandered inside.

It doesn’t go too far back, but at the end of the cave is a nice skylight that you can climb up and out of. It was actually pretty fun, not counting the smacking my head part of course.

There’s really not much else to say about Ikh Gazriin Chuluu, so I’ll let the pictures do most of the talking. I climbed a bunch of rocks, explored the caves, and didn’t see or hear another person or car the whole two days I was there. I’ve never experienced isolation like THIS before. Unbelievable!

This next one was a surprise. I decided to call it Monkey Mountain, for obvious reasons.

After hiking about eight or nine miles around the park, I finally made it back to my camp, had a good dinner and slept really well before leaving this incredible place. I’ll be seeing more of the Gobi Desert later, but now it’s time to head northwest. Stay tuned…