Ikh Gazriin Chuluu

Ikh Gazriin Chuluu, the great earth stone, is a granite massif rising to around 1,700 metres from the Dundgovi steppe, considerably bigger than Baga Gazriin Chuluu and far less visited, with canyons, towers and boulder fields spread across a wide area. Argali sheep and ibex live on the rock, and eagles and falcons nest on the crags. Rock climbing has developed here in recent years with bolted routes on the granite, and scrambling in the canyons is possible everywhere. The area carries associations with the 1930s political violence, when people hid among the rocks, and older sites including rock carvings and a ruined temple lie scattered through it. There is almost no infrastructure: a ger camp or two and steppe tracks. It is the kind of place where a day's walking meets nobody at all.

The landscape

• Granite canyons - clefts and gullies cutting through the massif.
• Rock towers - weathered formations rising from the steppe.
• Argali and ibex - wild sheep and goats on the higher rock.
• Climbing routes - bolted lines developed on the granite.

When to go

May to September; heat is severe in high summer and the rock becomes unpleasant by midday. Spring and early autumn are best. Nights are cold in the desert at any season.

Good to know

Tracks are rough and unmarked, and getting around the massif needs a guide or GPS. Facilities are one or two basic ger camps. There is no water in the rocks, so everything is carried. Climbing routes are sparsely documented and gear must be brought.

Nearby

Mandalgovi is west; Baga Gazriin Chuluu lies northwest.