Taliin Agui Cave

Taliin Agui is a lava tube formed by flowing basalt from the volcanoes that cover this plateau, and it is among the larger caves in Mongolia, with chambers running back some hundreds of metres from an entrance that drops through a collapse in the ground. There is no built access: visitors climb down into the shaft and work along the tube with torches, and the floor is broken basalt requiring care. Deeper chambers hold ice that persists through the summer, which is what most people come to see, and the cold air pours out of the entrance on warm days. Local tradition attaches stories to the cave and it has been used as shelter. Nothing marks it on the surface except a hole in the grass, so finding it without a guide is unlikely.

What you actually see

• The lava tube - basalt passages running back from the entrance.
• Summer ice - ice persisting in the deeper chambers.
• The entrance shaft - the collapse through which the cave is entered.
• The plateau surface - volcanic grassland with nothing to mark the cave.

When to go

June to September for the tracks. Ice is present through summer and most visible in the deeper sections. Torches and sturdy footwear are essential; the cave is cold regardless of the surface temperature.

Honest expectations

There is no lighting, no path and no supervision; this is caving with torches over broken rock. The descent into the entrance requires scrambling. A guide is effectively required to find it. No facilities exist anywhere nearby.

Nearby

Ganga lake and Shiliin Bogd are on the same plateau; Dariganga is the base village.