Dalanzadgad

Overview

Dalanzadgad, the capital of Ömnögovi, lies about 540 km south of Ulaanbaatar. It has a cold desert climate with warm summers, and by Mongolian standards it is one of the warmest places in the country in winter.

It is the nearest city to Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park, created in 1993 and enlarged in 2000 to about 27,000 km², the largest national park in Mongolia. Snow leopards, argali sheep, Siberian ibex, Gobi camels and bearded vultures live in its mountains and plains.

A paved road runs from Dalanzadgad to Yolyn Am, a gorge in the Zuun Saikhan range of the Gurvan Saikhan mountains. Its ice field grows several metres thick by the end of winter; it once lasted all year but now tends to melt by September.

What to See

• Yolyn Am, the ice gorge in the Zuun Saikhan mountains
• Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park and its desert wildlife
• The starting point for trips to Khongoryn Els and the Flaming Cliffs

Visiting

• Dalanzadgad airport, rebuilt in 2007 with a paved runway, has regular flights to Ulaanbaatar.
• There is no direct road across the Gobi to China from here.
• Late spring and early autumn avoid the summer heat; see the ice at Yolyn Am before it melts in late summer.