Gobi Desert Mongolia Guide | Gobi Desert Travel Information
Filed under Desert Tours
Destination Information:
Covering a vast expanse of Mongolia is one of the world’s largest desert, the Gobi desert. Covered over an area of almost half a million square miles this barren landscape is said to be a result of a powerful curse given by a Mongolian Lord. Unlike the Saharan landscape which is dominated by big sand dunes the Gobi desert is primarily a barren and a rocky outback with gravel plains. This desert is a place of diverse environments with extreme climates. With the mercury capable of swinging from +40 degree centigrade in the summers to -40 degrees in the winters survival here is not at all an easy task.
The rainfall here averages to less than 100 mm per year making conditions all the tougher. It an interesting fact to know that at one time the present Gobi desert was an ancient inland sea. This unique and largely unexplored piece of land is today huge treasure of fossilized dinosaur bones and eggs. Home to the snow leopard, wild ass, wild camel and the Agrali sheep this truly magnificent piece of landmass amounts to almost one third of Alaska in size. Living in these harsh conditions would be nothing less than the harshest of punishments is made possible by the nomad tribes who have made this barren rocky outback as their home and have in fact been living here for centuries now.
Tourist Locations:
The Gobi desert is truly the place to be for amateur and professional paleontologists as here dinosaur bones can be found scattered all around in the landscape. Caravans of Mongolian shepards too can be found travelling through the desert. These homely and welcoming people can aid you in understanding the true desert experience all with its harsh realities and living conditions. The southern part of the Gobi desert is where most of the travelers head towards. With sights such as the Eagle Valley and the Flaming Cliffs situated here this place was bound to be a major crowd puller. The eagle valley is nestled between the peaks of the Gurvansaikhan Mountains and it protects a small glacier and its share of wildlife. Apart from these sights it is also the wild life present in this area which attracts tourists.
The area of Khongoryn Els is a well known tourist destination famous for its sand dune formations. Surrounded by the rocky barren desert is the hidden and isolated Ekhiingol oasis. This water point is the main source of water to about 20 families dwelling on its banks and who using the water from the oasis grow most of the daily needed foods and vegetables here only. The Gurvansaikhan National park is situated in the South part of the desert. Extending almost 240 miles this national park envelopes cliffs, ravines, sandy plains and oasis and at the same time is home to several species of mammals and birds. Bayanhongor Desert is that part of Gobi which is renowned for its dinosaur fossils and its hot water spring of Shargaljuut. Also worth mentioning here are the inscriptions found on the rocks of the Bayan Nuruu mountains.
The Gobi truly is a world of its own kind. Presence of natural beauty in the midst of harsh terrain is surely the work of a genius worth exploring.
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