The Mysterious Gobi Desert of Mongolia

The Gobi Desert might be the namecard of Mongolia after mighty Genghis Khan - this enormous desert stretches from today's Inner Mongolia to the Xinjiang province of China - the Mongols take pride in the Gobi Desert as this part is considered to be the most beautiful part of the Gobi desert.  

The 100 km long Khongoriin Els or the Singing Dunes reach as s high as 800 m and create the largest accumulation of sand in the Gobi thanks to which Umnugovi won in the nomination Best of Adventure 2008 Destinations by the National Geographic Adventure Magazine. 

The Yoliin Am or the Vulture’s Gorge is in the Gurvan Saikahn National Park, which was established to conserve the regional birdlife, and became a favorite place to visit for its dramatic and unusual natural landscape shaped by a towering mountain gorge in the middle of the Gobi desert with thick ice all year-round. 

The Gobi Gurvan Saikhan National Park named after the mountain Gurvansaikhan stretches for 27,000 square kilometers making it the largest national park in the country. The protected area safeguards the Mongolian portion of a largely undisturbed part of the vast Gobi desert and provides a last refuge for representatives of the ancient terrestrial fauna of Central Asia with over 620 species of flowering plants and 38 endemic species. 52 species of mammals are found here inclusive of eight species listed in the Mongolian Red Book as endangered. Over 240 bird species occur in the area, including 34 resident species, 99 breeding species, and 70 migrants.The park is abundant with wildlife such as snow leopard, Ibex, Argali, wild assess, gazelles, different species of vultures, gophers, northern pikas, various lizards, lynx, and Mazaalai, the Gobi bear.