Tour description

Bogd Khan Mountain strictly protected area is the first protected place in the world, since 1778. The Bogd Khan Uul, in the south of Ulaanbaatar, has an area of 416 square km and the highest point is Tsetsee Gun which is 2256 meters above sea level. The Bogd Khan Mountain has over 220 species of plants, some rare animals like red deer, musk deer, Siberian deer, Siberian ibex, wild boar and many species of birds such as common buzzard, woodpecker, stork and others. The mountain is great for hiking and it is popular for its forest with larch trees, grasslands, stunning plants and its animal life. Climbing to the top of the tors of the granite cliff peak, Tsetsee Gun for splendid views is really challenging. The peak is a three hour hike away and five-six hours for the roundtrip hike.

Manzushir Khiid or “Manzushir Monastery” is located in the southern part of the mountain Bogd Khan Uul, at an altitude of 1800 meters above sea level. The monastery enjoys a beautifully stunning setting surrounded by a forest of Siberian larch with a backdrop of natural granite cliffs eroded into tors of huge rounded boulders. Many thousands have fallen from the cliffs to make a grassy spreading out to the forest. The monastery had over 20 temples and was once home to at least 300 monks but was destroyed in the 1930s. A reconstruction project is underway. The main temple has been restored and converted into a museum but the other buildings in the area remain in ruins. The ruins of the original monastery, dating from 1733, are clearly visible. A god image, carved in the granite rock at the monastery, is a unique historical and cultural exposition. There is a big boiling kettle with a diameter of 2.15 meters, a depth of 1.4 meters and capacity of one ton that is known to have been used here to cook food for 1000 people at one time.