Menen Steppe

The Menen steppe in eastern Dornod is flat grassland running to the horizon in every direction, and it is among the largest surviving temperate grasslands in the world, largely unploughed and unfenced. Its significance is the Mongolian gazelle: the eastern steppe holds a population in the high hundreds of thousands, and they move in herds that can number thousands, one of the great remaining ungulate migrations anywhere, comparable in scale to the more famous African ones and seen by almost nobody. Wolves follow them, and steppe eagles, cranes and larks fill the sky. There is essentially nothing built here: no roads worth the name, no settlements, no landmarks, so driving requires GPS and a guide who knows the ground. Camping on open grass under a full sky is the experience.

Highlights

• Gazelle herds - thousands of animals moving across the grassland.
• Unbroken grassland - flat steppe to the horizon in all directions.
• Steppe birds - eagles, cranes, larks and demoiselle cranes.
• Emptiness - no settlements, fences or landmarks for great distances.

When to go

June to September; gazelle calving is in June and large aggregations form through summer. Winter on the eastern steppe is severe and travel unwise. Wind is constant and there is no shelter anywhere.

Before you go

Navigation is the real challenge: no roads, no landmarks and no signal, so a GPS and an experienced driver are essential. Everything including water and fuel is carried. Gazelle are wary and viewing is at distance with binoculars. There are no facilities of any kind.

Nearby

Buir Lake lies south; Toson Khulstai reserve is west.