We leave the stressful, chaotic capital city of Ulaanbataar and, thankfully, are quickly back in the vast expanse of the country. Our destination is the Gobi Desert in southern Mongolia. One of the largest deserts in the world with the most extreme temperature differences: +50 degrees Celsius in summer, -40 degrees Celsius in winter. It is largely a rocky desert, and classic sand dunes are found only in very select areas.
It’s been a long time since we’ve been so lonely on the road: we drive for hundreds of kilometers on small, poor dirt roads – the tracks sometimes barely visible! This part of Mongolia in particular requires “hard work” for exploration, but that is exactly what we like! So it’s all the more surprising when a nomad appears out of nowhere and offers us something to eat or drink (which we usually decline due to the food which is clearly not to our and the difficulty in communication). In one of the most remote parts of the Gobi we meet up with our Austrian travel acquaintance again – only a few travelers make it this far, so the pleasant encounter has a very special character.
Our first destination in the Gobi Desert is the sandstone massif of Khermen Tsov – located about 100 km east of the small town of Gurvantes. The cliffs rise spectacularly along a long cliff edge, above the endless expanse of the desert below. The scenery is fantastic and for the first time, we even find real sand (and not just stones and scree). Shujaa and his team are clearly having fun! Unfortunately, a severe sandstorm hits us in the evening, so our planned sundowner in the dunes unfortunately is canceled. Shujaa is thoroughly coated, and the sand penetrates every tiny crack – fortunately Karin had thoroughly cleaned Shujaa’s interior just a few days ago😉
Then we continue on wild tracks to the dunes of the Khongoryn Els… at over 300 meters, the highest dunes in all of Asia. We circumnavigate the entire 130 km long dune range and, for the first time in a while, need to shovel again: despite having walked through the dune fields beforehand, their load-bearing capacity is unpredictable… But sand is easy to shovel and so after a short interlude we’re quickly back on the road… albeit with the tire pressure lowered to 1.5 bar. Shujaa has serious flat tires! A sandstorm hits us in the evening again. But we insist on climbing the high dune right next to our pitch and enjoying the magnificent view.
The further east we go, the more touristy it becomes… really unusual for us. At the Flaming Cliffs (sandstone cliffs that look like “flames” in the soft evening light), we meet many Asians with their selfie obsession… this gives us a chance to prepare for our next destination, China. At the spectacular Dugany-Am and Yolyn-Am Gorges, our Shujoo quad bike is put to good use again… Shujaa would never have made it through the narrow rock gates. And at the Tsagaan Suvraga Cliffs, we experience a spectacular sunrise after a veritable thunderstorm passed over us the evening before.
Now it is still a good 1,000 km to the Chinese border at Ehrenhot… half of it on dirt roads. It is with sadness that we need to say farewell to Mongolia after more than five weeks and over 5,000 km. Due to our many years of our world travel experience, we naturally encounter beautiful, yet recurring landscapes and experiences more and more often… However, Mongolia, with its endless expanse, isolation, harshness and its huge herds of animals is a completely different experience and challenge (both physically and mentally). We also learn to appreciate Shujaa in a different dimension: especially its extreme self-sufficiency, robustness, and off-road capability. Carrying 800 liters of diesel and 800 liters of fresh water is no luxury here!
