Of course Genghis Khan is known all over the world but Mongolia is vast and diverse. Hustai National Park (Хустайн байгалийн цогцолборт газар) The takhi wild horses native to the grassy steppes had vanished from the wild in the 1970s, but as a result of various breeding programs, they slowly reappeared in their old stomping grounds, including their original home: the Khustain Nuruu national park. The takhi (officially named Przewalski’s horse after the Russian explorer who first spotted it), may be the world’s last truly wild horse. While most “wild” horses around the globe are domesticated horses gone feral, the Przewalski’s horse was never domesticated. Up until the 18th century, these short stocky horses freely roamed the steppes of Mongolia, Kazakhstan, and Russian Siberia. But then the numbers started dwindling. In 1967, the last herd of takhi was spotted and in 1969, the last individual horse. They were declared “extinct in the wild,” which remained the status quo for nearly 30 years. There were only 13 surviving takhi horses, kept in different zoos around the world. They were bred carefully, and the population slowly increased to more than 1,500 at which point they were reintroduced into the wild. The downside of this method is that the genetic pool of all the existing horses is limited. One of the places where the reintroduction took place in 1992 was the horse’s native habitat of Khustain Nuruu or Hustai National Park. A year later the park, which stretches across 50,000 hectares, was declared as a Specially Protected Area. Its key mission is to maintain and build a sustainable population of these rare creatures. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hustai_National_Park The Erdene Zuu Monastery (Эрдэнэ Зуу хийд) is probably the earliest surviving Buddhist monastery in Mongolia. Located in Övörkhangai Province, approximately 2 km north-east from the center of Kharkhorin and adjacent to the ancient city of Karakorum, it is part of the Orkhon Valley Cultural Landscape World Heritage Site. The monastery is affiliated with the Gelug sect of Tibetan Buddhism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erdene_Zuu_Monastery Eej Mod (Ээж мод) – The Mother Tree of the Mongolians Those who practice Shamanism believe that shamans communicate between the human and spiritual worlds, and the Mother Tree became seen as a gateway to the spirits after it was struck by lightning. Now worshipers will travel to the tree to make an offering in hopes of having their prayers answered. Until 2015, the Mother Tree was an actual tree, around which a ger (aka yurt) had been built. Following a practice that thousands of others had engaged in before, one worshipper in 2015 lit an incense stick by the tree, but this time the tree caught fire, and it was all but destroyed. The stump was salvaged from the fire and placed in the outside compound. Today, the ger is still in its place, and the ground where the Mother Tree once grew is the object of people’s veneration. The stump, alongside a number of nearby trees, is shrouded in ceremonial scarves, mostly blue, and drenched in milk and vodka. The fence around the compound is “fortified” by tea bricks. In an adjacent compound, another tree has been elevated to the status of Holy Tree in recent years by an eminent Mongolia shaman. https://japanesemythology.wordpress.com/eej-mod-the-mother-tree-of-the-mongolians/ https://www.sonin.mn/news/culture/1279 The Flaming Cliffs site (also known as Bayanzag, Bain-Dzak or Bayn Dzak (Баянзаг rich in saxaul), with the alternative Mongolian name Улаан Эрэг (red cliffs) , is a region of the Gobi Desert in the Ömnögovi Province of Mongolia, in which important fossil finds have been made. It was given this name by American paleontologist Roy Chapman Andrews, who visited in the 1920s. The area is most famous for yielding the first discovery of dinosaur eggs. Other finds in the area include specimens of Velociraptor and eutherian mammals. It exposes rocks of the Djadochta Formation. It is illegal to remove fossils from the area without appropriate permits. The nickname refers to the red or orange color of the sandstone cliffs (especially at a sunset) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flaming_Cliffs Terkhiin Tsagaan Lake (Тэрхийн Цагаан нуур) is one of the most dazzling in Mongolia, sitting a mile and a quarter (2,060 m) above sea level. On the northeast shore you can see a dramatic and jagged silhouette against the azure sky, made by shamanistic heaps of stones called “ovoos.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terkhiin_Tsagaan_Lake Taikhar Rock (Тайхар Чулуу) is located 22 kilometres (14 miles) northeast from Tsetserleg, in the village of Ikh Tamir, south the Khoid Tamir River. It’s a big 20-metres (66 feet) high granite rock, covered with 150 writings in many different languages and dating back from many different periods (runic, Sogd, Uyghur, Mongolian, Nangiad, Tibetan writings). The oldest one is the runic writing, dating back from the turkish period of the 6th and 7th centuries. An ovoo was placed at its top. Unfortunately, there are many graffiti on this rock and the old writings almost disappeared. The government decided to protect the rock in 1994. The most famous legend bound to Taikhar rock tells that Bukhbilegt, a giant warrior, threw this rock on a snake that was coming out from the land, which explains its strange presence in this place. Another local legend tells that this rock symbolizes the love of two unfortunate lovers. Tamir loved a girl, Taikhar, but the local lord, who wanted to marry the beautiful Taikhar, prevented their love. So the girl ran away towards the river and her lover sat near the river to wait for her to come back. But the wait was endless and Tamir ended up becoming a rock, standing along the river for eternity, with no possibility ever to meet up with his love again. Locals also believe that anyone manage to throw a stone on the top of the rock, will get rich. https://www.mongolia-trips.com/travel-guide/attraction/taikhar-chuluu Khamriin Khiid (Хамарын хийд) is a spot in the middle of the Gobi desert is where the strongest spiritual energy in the world converges. To mark the location, the monastery complex was built in the 19th century, Khamriin Khiid. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khamar_Monastery Eej Khad (Ээж хад) - Mother Rock is a prime destination for devout Buddhists and shamans in Mongolia. It’s a granite stone that natural elements molded into a vaguely human form. Pilgrims flock to this location to seek advice and have their dreams or wishes granted. http://www.shuud.mn/a/496020 The morin khuur (морин хуур), also known as the horsehead fiddle is a traditional Mongolian bowed stringed instrument. It is one of the most important musical instruments of the Mongol people, and is considered a symbol of the nation of Mongolia. The morin khuur is one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity identified by UNESCO. https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/traditional-music-of-the-morin-khuur-00068 Traditional craftsmanship of the Mongol Ger (гэр) (yurt) and its associated customs inscribed in 2013 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/traditional-craftsmanship-of-the-mongol-ger-and-its-associated-customs-00872 I hope any of this will be added
