Elsen Tasarkhai

Elsen Tasarkhai is a band of sand dunes running for some eighty kilometres across the steppe, only a few kilometres wide, and it gets its nickname because travellers who will not reach the real Gobi can see dunes here on the main road west. The sand is fixed in places by grass and shrubs and loose in others, with a river and green pasture along one edge, so the transition from grassland to desert and back happens within a few hundred metres. Camel and horse rides run from the ger camps that cluster along the road, and climbing a dune for sunset over the steppe is the standard evening activity. Khogno Khan mountain rises immediately beside it. It is convenient rather than spectacular, and it is on almost every organised central Mongolia itinerary for exactly that reason.

What you actually see

• The dune strip - sand running across the steppe in a narrow band.
• Camel rides - short trips from the roadside camps.
• The green edge - river and pasture directly beside the sand.
• Sunset dunes - the usual evening climb for the view.

When to go

May to September; summer evenings are the best time for the dunes and the light. It is busy in July and August with tour groups. Winter has its own look with snow on sand but few services open.

Honest expectations

These are small dunes and anyone who has seen Khongoryn Els or a real desert will find them modest. Camel rides are brief and aimed at tour groups. Ger camps along the road vary in quality and can be crowded. Litter along the roadside is a problem.

Nearby

Khogno Khan rises alongside; Kharkhorin lies west.