Khokh Nuur

Khokh Nuur is a small lake at the foot of Khar Zurkh mountain in northern Khentii, and the Secret History places here the gathering at which Temujin was first raised as khan of his own people in 1189, some years before the great assembly of 1206 at which he took the title Genghis Khan. A monument and ovoo mark the spot, and Mongolians visit as a matter of national interest as much as tourism. The lake itself is modest, ringed by larch and grassland with hills behind, and the appeal is the association and the quiet. It sits in the Onon river country where much of the early narrative of the Mongol rise takes place, and travellers following that story usually take it in alongside Dadal further north. Roads in are rough and there are no facilities.

What you actually see

• The lake - a small water below Khar Zurkh mountain.
• The monument and ovoo - markers at the traditional proclamation site.
• Khentii landscape - larch, grassland and hills of the Onon country.
• The historical association - the setting of an episode in the Secret History.

When to go

June to September for the tracks; the area is severely cold in winter and the roads difficult. Summer brings green grass and the best conditions for camping nearby.

Honest expectations

There is very little here beyond the lake and the monument, and visitors without an interest in the history will find it thin. Roads are rough and distances long. No facilities exist at the site. It works as part of a Khentii circuit rather than alone.

Nearby

Dadal lies north; Baldan Bereeven and Ondorkhaan are south.