Gorkhi-Terelj National Park

Rock FormationsTöv,Mongolia

Granite boulders the size of houses rising out of open steppe, at the edge of the range Mongolians hold as the birthplace of Chinggis Khaan.

September·Edge of season

Sep–Oct

The air turns crisp and clear above the granite tors, the nights already freeze, and the ger camps begin closing for the winter.

Year-round The house-sized granite tors, Turtle Rock and the Tuul valley are here year-round. In summer the meadows are green and the ger camps fill up; in autumn the larches turn gold.

Gorkhi-Terelj is a national park an hour and a half east of Ulaanbaatar, in Mongolia, where granite boulders the size of houses rise out of open steppe and larch forest along the Tuul River, at the edge of the mountains that Mongolians hold as the birthplace of Chinggis Khaan. It is the piece of Mongolia that people reach first: green meadows in summer, white felt gers scattered across them, herds of horses and yaks, and the grey tors standing over everything, the best-known of them Turtle Rock, a boulder shaped so exactly like a turtle that it needs no explaining. The way to see it is on a horse. Herding families rent stocky Mongolian horses and ride out across the grassland with visitors, letting the animals pick their own line through the river, and the riding is the way the valley was always crossed; ox carts do the same at walking pace. A scramble up one of the granite outcrops opens the whole of Terelj beneath you, meadows, gers and dark ridges of larch running to the horizon. On a hillside above the valley stands the Aryapala meditation temple, a small Buddhist temple built in the shape of an elephant's head, reached by 108 stone steps laid out to trace the curl of its trunk, with the valley spread below the door. The nights are the other reason: camps of gers tucked against the granite, where the tors hold the last of the day's warmth, the wood stove ticks down to nothing by dawn and the stars are as thick as anywhere on Earth. Behind the park lies the Khan Khentii wilderness, strictly protected and largely closed, holding brown bears, wolves and red deer where the Siberian forest meets the steppe, and Terelj is as far in as most people get. The road out from the capital passes a silver Chinggis Khaan on horseback, 40 metres high and built from 250 tonnes of stainless steel. Terelj is Mongolia in a day, and the horse is how you meet it.

Worth knowing

Good to know

Come in June for green and quiet or September for gold — July fills the valley with ger camps at the highest prices, while late May and October risk hard frost and snow.
A paved road reaches the main valley from Ulaanbaatar in about ninety minutes, but the hot springs, back lakes and quiet side glens need a Russian van or a horse.
Tour buses from the city fill the main valley around midday — visit Turtle Rock and the Aryapala temple early or late and you may have the granite almost to yourself.
The sky here is dark enough for the naked-eye Milky Way — pick nights near the new moon and let your eyes adjust away from the ger camp's lamps.
Even in July nights drop near 5°C, and by September they freeze — a ger's wood stove usually dies before dawn, so pack a warm layer for sleeping.

Things to do

1
Ride out with a herding family, by horse or ox cart
Swing up onto a stocky Mongolian horse and ride out across the open grassland the way local herders do, letting the animal pick its own line through the Tuul River. Cold spray flies up at the crossings, and from the saddle the granite hills and larch stands slide past at a walk or a canter. The slower version is a wooden ox cart, the transport that has moved gers and belongings across Mongolia for centuries, creaking along the river shingle behind the cattle. Spend an afternoon in camp either way and you can watch the animals milked, help move the herd, and drink the salty milk tea offered to every guest.
2
Hike up to a granite viewpoint over the valley
Scramble up one of the weathered granite outcrops that stud the valley and the whole of Terelj opens beneath you — green meadows, scattered white gers and dark ridges of larch running to the horizon. The climb is short but the rock is loose in places, so sturdy shoes help; the reward is the park's best free panorama.
3
Sleep out beneath the granite tors and stars
Spend the night in a camp tucked against the granite, where the tors hold the last of the day's warmth and the wood stove ticks down to nothing by dawn. With the nearest city glow an hour away, the sky fills with stars, and on clear moonless nights a bright band of the Milky Way arcs straight over the rocks.
4
Climb to the Aryapala meditation temple
Follow the 108 stone steps — laid out to trace an elephant's curling trunk — up the hillside to Aryapala, a small Buddhist temple built in the shape of an elephant's head. Prayer wheels and painted riddles line the path, and from the terrace at the top the whole Terelj valley spreads out below you.