Dornogobi Province

Dornogobi province remains an authentic experience unlike any other. Between Sainshand city to the north and Khamariin khiid monastery to the south, you'll find the genuine Gobi nomads you have been waiting for. Dornogobi province is situated in the southeastern part of the country, borders with China in the south.

Although mostly dry and flat, its eastern end – which visitors see on the famous Trans-Siberian train from Beijing to Moscow provides a taste. Sainshand the capital of the province is a stop on the railway that offers several wonderful attractions such as Khamariin khiid monastery, border crossing point Zamiin Uud, and natural oasis called Burden Bulag. Khamariin khiid monastery is the most visited place, founded by Danzan Ravjaa, the Fifth Noyon Khutuktu. At its height, there were over 500 monks and 80 temples at the site.

Beginning in the 1990s, the site was rehabilitated and expanded; it now houses a museum showcasing Ravjaa's texts and artifacts, which were carefully hidden and preserved to avoid their destruction. The territory contains historical heritages as petroglyphs, bronze and iron tools, tombs, ruins of cities under the pristine climate conditions over the years.

Halfway to the border crossing point Zamiin Uud and Burdene Bulag are some of the Gobi’s largest and most extensive sand dunes including lovely oasis. Sainshand is the best starting point for longer cross-country travel to the steps of Central Asian Expeditions of Roy Chapman Andrews by the Museum of Natural History in America in 1920s.

Very few visitors come to this remote place called Ergeliin Zoo Natural Reserve, the nearby Jurassic petrified forest and home of black tailed gazelle Tsagaan Tsav. Sainshand has a decent railway station, a medical museum, the music and drama theater named after Danzanravjaa, an ethnographic museum, an electrical power plant, food mills, and trade and cultural centers. Wide-open spaces plus gracious people, Dornogobi is the where a rugged place meets nomadic hospitality.