Kharkhorin

Overview

Kharkhorin lies where the eastern foothills of the Khangai mountains meet the central Mongolian steppe, at the lower end of the upper Orkhon valley. The valley is part of the Orkhon Valley Cultural Landscape, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Beside the modern town are the ruins of Karakorum, the capital of the Mongol Empire under Ögedei Khan and his successors in the 13th century. Erdene Zuu, founded in 1585 with stone from Karakorum's ruins, is probably the oldest surviving Buddhist monastery in Mongolia.

Tourism and farming are the main livelihoods today; water from the Orkhon irrigates fields on the plain east of town.

What to See

• Erdene Zuu Monastery, with its wall of stupas and surviving temples
• The site of Karakorum, the 13th-century imperial capital
• The phallic rock, a well-known local landmark near the monastery
• Moiltyn Am, a Palaeolithic site near the Orkhon bridge just west of town
• Khujirt, a resort on the river south of town

Visiting

• Kharkhorin is the usual base for the Orkhon valley, with hotels, guesthouses and ger camps.
• There is a small airport with flights to Ulaanbaatar; most visitors come by road.
• Summer is the wettest season, with most rain in July. Winters are very cold, with January daytime highs around −11 °C.