Baga Gazriin Chuluu

Baga Gazriin Chuluu is a granite massif rising a few hundred metres from flat steppe, weathered into boulders, slabs and clefts over an area of some three hundred square kilometres, and it is the usual first stop on the drive south from Ulaanbaatar into the Gobi. Among the rocks are a spring said to have healing properties, a small cave, and the ruins of a nineteenth-century temple where two lamas lived, with rock carvings nearby. Ibex live on the higher outcrops and the granite holds enough moisture for elm and willow in the gullies, which is striking in this dry country. Scrambling among the boulders is the main activity, along with looking for the ibex. Ger camps sit at the foot and the site is busy in summer with tour groups on the standard Gobi route.

What you actually see

• Granite formations - weathered boulders, slabs and clefts.
• The temple ruin - remains of the nineteenth-century hermitage among the rocks.
• The healing spring - the water source local people visit.
• Ibex - wild goats on the higher outcrops.

When to go

May to September; spring and autumn are more comfortable than high summer heat. Early morning and evening for ibex and for light on the granite. It is a standard overnight stop on the Gobi circuit.

Honest expectations

The site is on the main tourist route and ger camps at the foot can be busy in August. Scrambling is on rough granite and shoes matter. Litter around the popular rocks is a problem. It is modest compared with what comes further south, and works as a first night rather than a destination.

Nearby

Mandalgovi is southeast; Ikh Gazriin Chuluu lies east.